A number of on-line resources are available to help web designers make their sites compliant with Section 508 regulations.

...on the web

• Adobe has taken several steps to overcome the problem of inaccessible PDF documents. Using Adobe's Make Accessible plug-in, Web designers can analyze the logical structure of PDF files and attach "reading order tags" to page elements so screen readers can read them using Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0. Both plug-ins can be downloaded for free from Adobe's Web site, www.adobe.com.
• To convert scanned PDF's into text PDFs, Adobe has a free, downloadable optical character reader called the Paper Capture plug-in that works with Acrobat 5.0. The plug-in can read a scanned PDF page in about 30 seconds and convert it into a text file, it can then be turned into an accessible PDF or saved as a text document.
• Another accessibility service provided by Adobe is a free Web-based service that permits Web users to send troublesome PDF files to Adobe to be converted into HTML or plain text. Go to www.access.adobe.com.

..on the shelf

• A good book for organizations interested in complying with Section 508 regulations is Michael Paciello's "Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities."