Currently most of the Webcasts available from the Library of Congress are neither captioned nor do they have accompanying transcripts.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as enacted by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998) is a law requiring that electronic and information technology developed, procured, used or maintained by all agencies and departments of the U.S. government be accessible to both to Federal employees with disabilities and to members of the public with disabilities.
While these laws are not applicable to agencies of the Legislative branch (including the Library of Congress), the Library has seen the need to honor and comply with Section 508 and work towards making its Web materials and technology available and accessible to all. The Library is the home of the National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and has supported people with disabilities in many ways throughout its history.
Clauses in Section 508 exempt agencies from making all of its properties compliant prior to the adoption of the Act if such an effort will cause an undue hardship (including financial) on the agency. Traditional methods of transcription and captioning the Library's growing collection of webcasts would cause such a financial hardship, and Library officials have been researching technologies for efficient and automated transcription for several years.
In early 2007, the Library of Congress began a pilot program that would speed and automate the process of captioning and transcribing our webcasts, which are being added to the site at a rate of 5-10 per month. Once this pilot is complete and the production process finalized, all new webcasts will not only be captioned and transcribed, but the audio/video will be searchable using the transcripts. In addition, earlier webcasts will be transcribed as resources permit.
The Library appreciates the patience of people with disabilities as it moves ahead with its plans to make all of its resources accessible to all people.
