[Ncabs] Google Accessibility

Sat Apr 6 17:43:27 UTC 2013

It would make no business sense for Google to stop linking to the
majority of articles.  That is like telling Time Warner cable to stop
playing TV shows that do not have audio description for the blind,
something that would never happen.  If you take into account that
blind users of Google Scholar only make up a very small percentage of
the total users, it becomes even more self-evident that attacking
Google Scholar for something that they have no control over makes no
sense.

I think that a better use of our effort is to make the journals and
conferences more aware of accessibility requirements, that way we
encourage the people who can do something about it to act.
Furthermore, I believe that attacking Google on this issue would send
the wrong image, one of ignorance of Google’s actual role in content
delivery, not creation.

On 4/6/13, Jewel <herekittykat2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Because they pool from the same databases as schools, does that make
> inaccessibel PDFs any better? JSTOR is a nightmare resource full of
> inaccessible PDFs, for example, but just because a school uses it
> doesn't make it any better. On the topic of inaccessible PDFs in
> Google Scholar, I have come across oh-so-many of them. I  click them,
> I open them, I can't read them. Maybe I'm going into subjects that are
> far different from what others are (One inaccessible journal article
> was on the cellular respiration of the bacteria, Staphylococcus
> aurelius, another on the mitochondrial DNA of bats). I have to print
> the article out, scan it page by page into my computer, and then I'm
> able to read it. But what if it's the wrong article? I just spent half
> an hour scanning in an article that is useless to me.
>
> I think Google *can* stop linking to inaccessible journal articles.
> Don't you think that would put pressure on journals and authors to
> make sure their article is accessible? Personally, I'm going to call
> the number and add my input on Google Scholar, in the hope that
> someday all or most of the articles are accessible. I'm just not
> finding that to be the case right now.
>
> On 4/6/13, Sean Mealin <spmealin at ncsu.edu> wrote:
>> Just my experience: Google Scholar links to my paper, however, they
>> never contacted me for permission or any other requests.  So Cala is
>> correct, they do not contact the authors.
>>
>> Sean
>>
>> On 4/6/13, Cala Estes <cala.estes at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> As a frequent user of Google scholar, I thought i'd add my input.
>>> First of all, google can't just stop linking to certain PDF's because
>>> they're inaccessible. I hope you're not suggesting that they stop
>>> linking to valuable content for everyone just because it's
>>> inaccessible! I don't know that google has any contact with or access
>>> to the authors they link to, but I doubt they do. So putting pressure
>>> on Google doesn't sound like it would do much good. In my experience,
>>> Google links to the same PDF's which you can find on your university's
>>> academic database, such as ebsco or JSTOR. All these academic search
>>> providers are just linking to content, not controlling it. In
>>> addition, maybe others have had different experiences, but I rarely
>>> come across a PDF wich hasn't had OCR done on it. I can read them with
>>> jaws 99 percent of the time, and I save them to a plain text format so
>>> I can work more freely with them. I haven't come across an
>>> inaccessible PDF in years.
>>>
>>> Therefore, I'm not sure what the NFB wants Google to do here. They
>>> pull from the same pool of content as university databases, and
>>> neither entity has control of the author. Clarification would be
>>> appreciated.
>>>
>>> Cala
>>>
>>> On 4/6/13, Sean Mealin <spmealin at ncsu.edu> wrote:
>>>> Sorry, can you please clarify what you mean by “the colleges can put
>>>> pressure on google to act in better faith of compliance?”
>>>>
>>>> Google has absolutely no control over content, therefore pressuring
>>>> Google Scholar would be wasted effort.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 4/6/13, Alan A. Chase <aachase1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Yes, Jewel, Google Scholar is what links you to articles from a
>>>>> search.
>>>>>
>>>>> The important thing here to note that is while Google doesn't control
>>>>> the
>>>>> accessibility of these documents it can control which documents it
>>>>> links
>>>>> to.  Higher education institutions are required to provide materials
>>>>> in
>>>>> accessible formats and if an institution, such as Wake Tech, chooses
>>>>> to
>>>>> use
>>>>> Google the college has an obligation to ensure the accessibility.
>>>>> Thus,
>>>>> the colleges can put pressure on google to act in better faith of
>>>>> compliance.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 3:37 PM, Jewel <herekittykat2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Is Google Scholar the source of the scholarly journal articles that
>>>>>> come up in search results? I just want to check before making that
>>>>>> assumption! Almost all of those journal articles are inaccessible
>>>>>> PDFs
>>>>>> from my experience, so if this is what is meant by Google Scholar,
>>>>>> you
>>>>>> can count me in to call about it.
>>>>>> Later,
>>>>>> Jewel
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 4/4/13, Alan A. Chase <aachase1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> > The NFB wants to see what can be done to address the problem of the
>>>>>> > inaccessibility of Google Apps in the workplace and on campus.  To
>>>>>> > that
>>>>>> > end,
>>>>>> > the NFB would like to hear from employees or students - by
>>>>>> > telephone
>>>>>> only -
>>>>>> > who have experienced inaccessibility with any of Google's
>>>>>> > applications,
>>>>>> > including but not limited to the following:
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> > Google Docs
>>>>>> > Gmail
>>>>>> > Google Calendar
>>>>>> > Google Slides
>>>>>> > Google Plus
>>>>>> > Google Chat
>>>>>> > Google Scholar
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> > If you have encountered such difficulties and would like to help
>>>>>> > us,
>>>>>> > DO
>>>>>> NOT
>>>>>> > RESPOND BY EMAIL, but instead please call Valerie Yingling at
>>>>>> > 410-659-9314 x2440.
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> > --
>>>>>> > *Alan A. Chase, M.Ed.*
>>>>>> > Occupational Course of Study Teacher, New Hanover County Schools
>>>>>> > Program Coordinator, Envisioning Youth Empowerment Retreat
>>>>>> > President, North Carolina Association of Blind Students
>>>>>> > Secretary, Governor Morehead School Alumni Association
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>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> *Alan A. Chase, M.Ed.*
>>>>> Occupational Course of Study Teacher, New Hanover County Schools
>>>>> Program Coordinator, Envisioning Youth Empowerment Retreat
>>>>> President, North Carolina Association of Blind Students
>>>>> Secretary, Governor Morehead School Alumni Association
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Ncabs mailing list
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Sean Mealin
>>>> spmealin at ncsu.edu
>>>> (336) 772-2507
>>>> http://www4.ncsu.edu/~spmealin/
>>>>
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>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Sean Mealin
>> spmealin at ncsu.edu
>> (336) 772-2507
>> http://www4.ncsu.edu/~spmealin/
>>
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>
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-- 
Sean Mealin
spmealin at ncsu.edu
(336) 772-2507
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~spmealin/