Katelyn Wittenborn
Katelyn Wittenborn, Wyoming State Library Digital Initiatives Librarian, recently graduated from the University of Washington iSchool with a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree. In her position as a professional librarian, the MLIS brings advanced knowledge and training for future success in the field.
She joined the State Library in July, 2021 as the Interlibrary Loan Technician, and moved into her current position in April, 2023. The capstone project she completed for her degree made a significant contribution to improving accessibility on the WSL’s recently updated website.
“I wanted to do something to improve accessibility in the State Library,” Katelyn said. “As someone who is disabled myself, I have learned that accessibility is beneficial to all people, no matter their abilities. Through my research, I found that one of the areas that is often overlooked during accessibility checks is the digital presence of an institution. To determine where the Wyoming State Library could improve our digital presence, I decided to do an accessibility audit on the new website.”
Katelyn first completed the online training course from the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative (W3C WAI), called “Introduction to Web Accessibility”. This course gave a basic overview of how to perform an accessibility audit of a website. From there, she began the audit.
She found that the WSL is in a good position in regards to digital accessibility. While there are areas for improvement, the website overall is navigable for disabled patrons,. “As we work on improvements,” she said. “I hope we can incorporate accessibility audits into other digital resources from the Wyoming State Library, and improve access for all patrons in Wyoming.”
“I’m so proud of Katelyn and all that she has accomplished,” said Abby Beaver, WSL Information Services Manager. “She has learned a lot in her program, and I’m impressed with how she applies it to her new position.
“We’re always pleased to see our State Library employees advance their education and careers,” said Jamie Markus, Wyoming State Librarian. “Katelyn made a tremendous contribution to our new website with her capstone project, and we’re excited to see her put those skills to use further.”