The accessibility of image maps is dependent on the web server software used at your site. Some recent server programs can pull the link information from the image map and present it in a menu format for graphical browsers. However, many servers are not yet this sophisticated, so always include ALT tags.

c. Include descriptive captions for pictures, and transcriptions of manuscript images.
What information do your pictures and images provide to the viewer? Always provide an ALT tag for an image. This is sufficient for logos and graphics that that are not critical to the information content of the page. But if the graphics provide information beyond this, adding captions and transcriptions is important for those who cannot see your page either because they are blind, or because they are using a text-based browser. If you're not sure how critical a particular image is to the content of a page, temporarily remove it and consider its impact.

If you present information in an image format, such as a scanned-in image of a page of a manuscript, be sure to also provide a transcription of the manuscript in a straight text format. This aids a wide variety of users including those with vision impairments, users who speak English as a second language, and users with learning disabilities who may have difficulty reading the original document.

d. Caption video and transcribe other audio.
Multi-media and audio formats can be barriers to people with hearing and visual impairments as well as for people with less sophisticated technology. Provide captioning and transcriptions for materials in these mediums so that these visitors 'to your page have an alternative method of accessing this information.

e. Make links descriptive so that they are understood out of context.
Patrons who use screen reading software can adjust their software to read only the links on a page. For this reason, links should provide enough information when read out-of-context Never use "click here" as a link, or next to an graphic used as a link.

f. Other options
Some organizations caption images by adding a hyperlink immediately before or after the image to another page with image descriptions. They suggest that the hyperlink text be a simple "D". At the end of the description is another hyperlink - "Return". . Selecting Return will take you back to the image.

While this is one option, we suggest including the caption as part of the page in which the image resides. In the same vein, some have advocated the use of alternative text versions of their pages. This adds a great deal of maintenance as two versions must be updated, and many people with disabilities would prefer to have the original version edited so that it is accessible to them.