Database accessiblity for the visually impaired

There was an interesting post on the ERIL (electronic resources in libraries) listserv today. A librarian who is very interested in accessibility wrote that when looking at databases we should ask whether the pdf's in the database are "locked" or "unlocked". If they're locked you're not able to use the Text selection tool to copy any text. But more importantly, if they're locked they are not accessible to patrons with vision disabilities . A locked PDF is an image file with inaccessible text. An unlocked PDF has text that is accessible, that can be manipulated by screen readers designed for the print disabled. You can read her thoughts on open access on her blog, poetic economics. Another librarian added that librarians should look for databases that have multiple full text options, such as PDF and HTML because PDFs--even accessible ones--can be quite problematic. He pointed us to an article on website accessiblity for the visually impaired.