LibraryOn
Technical lead on LibraryOn, the national digital platform for public libraries in England: a searchable map of every public library in the country, each with its own page.
Challenge
Public libraries in England had no shared digital front door. LibraryOn (formerly the Single Digital Presence, backed by the British Library and Arts Council England) set out to build one: a national platform to help people find and use their local library.
My responsibility
Technical direction and architecture for the platform, code review, and the accessibility standard the build was held to. Product, design and content sat with the British Library and Arts Council England teams; day-to-day development was shared with the web development team.
Approach
Hands-on technical leadership on an accessible public service: architecture and code review, delivery held to WCAG 2.1 AA and the public sector accessibility regulations, with Lighthouse and axe in the development loop.
Outcome
A national library map in public use: every public library in the country listed, each with its own page for opening times, accessibility and services.
What I learned
Accessibility is cheap when it's in the development loop and expensive when it's an audit at the end. Running Lighthouse and axe on every change meant the public sector regulations were a check we passed, not a phase we scheduled.