(Courtesy of the Jefferson Parish Library Program)
Hey friends! As an ever-learning librarian, I’m currently in the thick of helping teen librarians plan one of our library's most exciting teen events yet: Wicked for Good.
It’s a community service program with a magical twist - inspired by the upcoming movie release Wicked For Good, our teens will be creating zines about kindness, assembling care kits for local shelters, and painting positivity rocks with quotes from Glinda and Elphaba themselves.
As we prepare the program, I’ve been thinking a lot about digital accessibility - not just who can attend, but also how we communicate about it. If our goal is to build an inclusive and empowering space, then accessibility can’t be an afterthought. It has to be built into our displays, flyers, and especially our social media campaigns from the beginning.
But as someone new to digital accessibility standards, what and how do I see their use in social media campaigns?
For instance, when we start promoting Wicked for Good on Instagram, I’m planning to include detailed alt text for every image we post. Instead of something generic like “Wicked for Good flyer,” we’ll use something descriptive and meaningful: “Digital flyer with green and black background. Illustration of a witch hat and sparkles. Text reads: Wicked for Good – Teen Service Event, Saturday at 2PM. Paint kindness rocks, make care kits, create zines.”
This helps followers using screen readers truly understand the message and vibe we’re sharing.
We’re also being more intentional about color choices in our designs. I love a dark Oz-inspired palette, but neon green text on a black background isn’t accessible to everyone. So we’re experimenting with lighter green tones on dark gray or high-contrast combinations like black on mint green or white on forest green; options that meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2) for readability.
Even our Reels and TikToks will have captions from the start, not just for those who are Deaf or hard of hearing, but for teens watching without sound (which is most of them, honestly).
The more I dive into this, the more I see accessibility not as a limitation, but as an opportunity to reach more teens in meaningful ways. If Wicked for Good is about using your voice for change, we want to make sure every voice can be heard, and every message can be seen (and it's what Elphaba would have wanted).
Got ideas? Let’s make the library more accessible, together.
Hi Tova, thanks for sharing this awesome and excited program! I'm personally beyond excited for the new Wicked movie and a bit disappointed that my library didn't plan anything, but it sounds like you've got a great program. I especially like the way you've worked community service and accessibility in. Alt text is something more libraries should do- you're so right that social media as a whole is very visual so not providing alternatives can leave groups of people out. Being intentional and descriptive in alt text and going above and beyond is a great way to let marginalized groups feel included. I also like your point about designing flyers in an accessible way and always including captions. Putting in some extra effort to do these things reaps so many benefits and ensures your library is actually being inclusive rather than just saying so.
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