Accessible Kiosks

Ron Jones
Office of the CIO, NWS

Internet kiosks can be a valuable tool for providing access to news, information, and current events to the public and employees.

Many kiosks are designed to allow users to remain standing and navigate the information using a touch screen monitor. The convenience offered by the kiosk becomes barrier to many people with disabilities. Section 508 § 1194.25 (Self contained, closed products) does specify minimum standards that must be met by kiosks.

When the National Weather Service embarked on a project to replace several older kiosks, possible solutions ranged from very complex and expensive to more basic yet exceeding requirements of Section 508. The solution selected makes use of accessible web pages, Windows accessibility tools (Narrator, Magnify), and Adobe Acrobat 6.0 built-in "Read Out Loud" to provide full access to displayed information.

This demonstration will address the accessibility features of the kiosk and show how similar solutions may apply to other agencies.