Accessibility & JASNA-NC

“It was a very agreeable visit. There was everything to make it so; Kindness, conversation, & variety.”

Jane Austen, Letters (26 June 1808)

We want everyone to feel welcome at JASNA-North Carolina. By periodically assessing our policies, procedures, and practices, we can do our best to make that happen. This fall we spent time assessing our accessibility—defined as the ability to use a product/service/place regardless of disability—and in November 2022 the JASNA-North Carolina leadership approved a new accessibility statement and policies.

Accessibility Statement

JASNA-North Carolina fully embraces accessibility for members who identify as having a disability, and we will make JASNA-NC as accessible as possible within our staffing, budgetary, and technical limits.

In planning JASNA-NC activities, we take accessibility into account in three main ways:

• Speakers and programming, including subject matter relevant to accessibility issues and engaging speakers who identify as having a disability
• Event design, including making both in-person and virtual events as accessible as possible
• Communication, including proactive communication of event access options/challenges and making communications themselves accessible

We recognize that accessibility issues are evolving and we always want to improve, so we encourage members to offer feedback or to let us know about accessibility requests they may have. Simply contact the regional coordinator(s) at jasna.ncarolina@gmail.com.

Accessibility Policies 

1. In planning in-person events, we will choose ADA accessible locations whenever possible. This may not always be feasible, e.g., arboretum outing, someone’s home.
2. When holding in-person meetings, we will, to the extent possible, also offer a virtual option (e.g., via Zoom, recorded for later viewing).
3. When holding Zoom meetings, we will offer captioning, and we will offer recordings for later viewing (to the extent allowable, e.g., some guest presenters may prefer not to be recorded).
4. We will communicate the accessibility of all meetings (virtual or in-person) in advance so attendees know what to expect and can make accessibility requests if needed.
5. We will use best practices for accessibility in our communications, newsletter, website, and social media, including things like alt-text, image captions, and adequate contrast.
6. We will review our accessibility policy and procedures at minimum once a year and make adjustments as needed.

What you’ll notice

You may notice (or may already have noticed!) a few new things going forward:

• The website includes our accessibility statement and policies.
• We’ve developed checklists for ongoing procedures, so you’ll see, for instance, accessibility information in our event announcements and live captions in our Zoom meetings.
• For 2023 we have scheduled a presentation on disability studies and Austen by Kathleen James-Cavan, who had a fantastic article on the topic in Persuasions last year.

Other actions may not be apparent to everyone, but, for example, we use alt-text with images and we’ve made some website changes that enhance readability/usability, especially for those with low vision.

We will continue to make adjustments over time. If you have suggestions or requests, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the RCs.

Thanks to Our Team!

These new accessibility guidelines were developed by a member team that included:

• Karin Wiberg, co-RC
• Sara Tavela, co-RC
• Elizabeth Jewell 
• Betsy Ray 
• Vanessa Roesler

We appreciate your thoughtful participation!