Accessibility Statement

Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statement for Libraries NI

This page explains how accessible the website of Libraries NI is and what we are doing to improve accessibility.

Accessibility statement

This statement applies to content published on the www.librariesni.org.uk domain. It does not apply to content on third party domains hosting Libraries NI services.

This website is run by Libraries NI. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:

  • zoom in up to 300 per cent without problems
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

The website is also supported by ReachDeck functionality which provides services including the ability to have PDFs read by its screen reading software.

How accessible this website is

Parts of this website are not yet fully accessible. For example:

  • some pages and elements have poor colour contrast
  • some heading elements are not consistent
  • some images and icons do not have good alternative text
  • many documents are in PDF and MS Office formats and are not accessible

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information in a different format contact us by using the feedback form and tell us:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your name and email address
  • the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF
  • Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us by using the feedback form.

 

Enforcement procedure

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’) in Northern Ireland. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).

 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Libraries NI is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

 

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 (external link opens in a new window / tab) AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

 

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

  • Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Note that web accessibility tests and scanning tools may indicate a small number of issues with the Libraries NI website. However, the elements that produce the issues are contained within web pages solely for background processes and will not affect the frontend user experience from an accessibility point of view. Specifically, the following two type of issues persist:

1. Spacer images have missing alt text (throughout the website) – these images are generated by Twitter and Google Analytics tags to allow for tracking user activity where the end user has opted into being tracked. These elements will always be hidden on the page, so should not be accessed by the screen readers or other accessibility tools.
2. Missing form label – this relates only to hidden fields used by the Content Management System software to generate a web form. These fields are never displayed to end user.

The content that is not yet fully accessible is outlined below with details of:

Page

Error

/resources/digital-support/helpsheets/

Missing Alt/Alternative text for images

/resources/health-matters/health-helpsheets/

 Missing Alt/Alternative text for images

/Library Men of WW1

Missing Alt/alternative text for images on zoom only

 

 

 

Documents

Please note that the ReachDeck software provides extra functionality with reading PDF documents.

If you find you require one of our non-accessible documents published since September 2018 before it is repaired, contact us using the feedback form.

Any new PDFs or other documents we publish will meet the required accessibility standards.

 

Images and Video

When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images and video meets accessibility standards.

 

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable.

 

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

We are required to comply with the web accessibility regulations from 23 September 2020.

However, some of our content is exempt from the accessibility regulations:

  • any pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020
  • heritage collections
  • PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 - unless required for the use of a service, for example a form
  • maps
  • third party content that is not within our control, for example, embedded video players like Vimeo or YouTube, and embedded Bing Maps (used on the Library location pages)
  • third party domains hosting Libraries NI services

If you have any problems using this website, tell us using the feedback facility via the contact us link.

PDFs and other documents

Many documents are non-accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.

 

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

 

Any new PDFs or other documents we publish will meet the required accessibility standards.

 

How we tested this website

We have used a mixture of tools and checks to test the website including Wave Web Aim and a number of different browsers and client devices.

 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Maintaining an accessible site is an ongoing process and Libraries NI is continually working to offer an accessible and user friendly experience.

 

We plan to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area above.