Pearl is satisfied that she booked a meeting room pretty easily, and her wrong turn on the site allowed her to stumble on something she wouldn't have found otherwise.

In-person experiences have always been where OPL shines. Li Xiu Ying, like many Chinese immigrants in Oakland's Chinatown, has discovered a bit of home away from home in OPL's Asian Branch, and is eager to make it part of her regular routine. It's given her a new social opportunity as well as a place to get books and TV shows in her language.

However, for people who struggle with poor mobility and linguistic isolation, finding this experience is a matter of luck. OPL's website doesn't offer anything similar, even though there will be a parallel page in Chinese. It's not difficult to imagine a Li Xiu Ying who lives even slightly farther away and is never able to have the warm in-person experience described here. Creating interactive online experiences would be a big step forward in accessibility and serving all people.