Editorial: A New Look for Library Resources & Technical Services

Abstract

Those of you who enjoyed the double issue on open access likely noticed that Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS) articles have a new look. After years of maintaining its signature double-column layout, LRTS is now published in a single-column format. What prompted the change, you ask? A few months ago, a reader reached out to request that LRTS switch to a single-column format. The reader rightly noted that the change would improve the accessibility of the content. Specifically, the formatting issue relates to screen reader technology. Screen readers frequently default to reading text from left to right, top to bottom. The dual column format increases the chances that text may be read by the screen reader out of order, which is compounded on pages that also include tables or figures. The linearity of the single-column format mitigates this potential issue with screen readers. Accordingly, the single-column request was brought immediately to the LRTS Editorial Board and delivered in the very next issue. The change may seem minor, but we’re quite pleased that we can respond in an agile manner to such requests, and appreciative that ALA Production Services was able to quickly facilitate said change.