Accessibility statement for School of Physics and Astronomy Image Archive (SOPA)
Website accessibility statement in line with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
This accessibility statement applies to:
https://sopacollection.ph.ed.ac.uk/
This website is run by the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to:
· Access the site without a cognitive function test
· Change the majority of colours and contrast level
· Magnify the site to 500%
· Experience no time limits to accessing content
· Experience no flashing, scrolling or moving content
· Interact with site content without the need for dragging movements
· Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
· Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, TalkBack and VoiceOver)
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. However, some of our content is technical, and we use technical terms where there is no easier wording we could use without changing what the text means.
Customising the website
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:
AbilityNet - My Computer My Way
With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:
Additional information on how to customise our website appearance
If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
· Some colours on our pages (particularly buttons, menus and tables) do not meet current colour contrast recommendations
· The site is not fully compatible with browser customisation, which means some user control and functionality is lost
· There is no reflow to 400% magnification so users have to scroll horizontally as well as vertically
· Some non-text items have missing alt text descriptions
· Not all the controls on video content are focusable
· Videos do not display on Android mobile devices
· Not all audio-visual content has transcripts, human-corrected captions or audio descriptions
· Some links are not formatted correctly as meaningful hypertext
· Some information is conveyed by colour alone
· Some links open in a new tab or window without warning
· There is no ‘Skip to main content’ button
· There are missing headings and labels which affects navigation with screen reading software
· It can be hard to tell where you have navigated to using the keyboard
· The contact email link does not appear in a consistent position or on every page
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:
· Use the IS Helpline online contact form IS Helpline contact form
· Email Information.systems@ed.ac.uk
· Call +44 (0)131 651 5151
· British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
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, please contact:
· Use the IS Helpline online contact form IS Helpline contact form
· Email Information.systems@ed.ac.uk
· Call +44 (0)131 651 5151
· British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:
Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)
The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:
Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website
Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language
British Sign Language service
Contact Scotland BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates from 8.00am to 12.00am, 7 days a week.
Contact Scotland BSL service details.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance Status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
The full guidelines are available at:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Noncompliance
with the accessibility regulations
The following items do not comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria:
· Not all non-text items have alternative text
· Not all video content has a transcript, human-corrected captions or audio description
o 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)
o 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)
o 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)
· Some actionable hyperlinks are shown by colour only
· There may not be sufficient contrast between font and background colour, especially on buttons, menus and tables
· Not all text can be scaled effectively up to 200% without distortion
· When the browser zoom is used to scale content to 400%, it does not reflow
· There is no ‘Skip to main content’ option to avoid sections such as headers or navigation links that are repeated on multiple pages
· Not all links are formatted correctly as meaningful hypertext
o 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)
· There are missing headings and labels which can hinder finding and navigating content
· The keyboard focus indicator is not always clearly discernible due to poor colour contrast and weight
· Some links open in a new tab or window without warning
· The contact email link does not appear on every page in the same place
We aim to improve our websites accessibility on a regular and continuous basis. See the section below ('What we're doing to improve accessibility') on how we are improving our site accessibility.
We are working towards solving these problems and expect several improvements by September 2024. The site is fully within our control.
Disproportionate burden
We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
At this time we believe no content is outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to address and make adequate improvements to the accessibility issues highlighted. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place by September 2024.
While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 19th March 2024. It was last reviewed on 25th March 2024.
The website was last tested on 11th March 2024. The testing was carried out by The University Library and University Collections Digital Library team at the University of Edinburgh using both automated and manual methods. The site was tested on a PC, primarily using Microsoft Edge alongside Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.
Recent world-wide usage levels survey for different screen readers and browsers shows that Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are increasing in popularity and Google Chrome is now the favoured browser for screen readers:
WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey
The aforementioned three browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.
We ran automated testing using WAVE WebAIM and then manual testing that included:
- Spell check functionality;
- Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
- Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, etc);
- Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
- Data validation;
- Warning of links opening in new tab or window;
- Information conveyed in colour or sound only;
- Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
- Use with screen reading software (for example JAWS);
- Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon Naturally Speaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
- Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
- Time limits;
- Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS).
- Any drag functionality and alternatives
- Consistent help function
- No need to re enter data already submitted
- Any cognitive tests
Change Log
Since our first evaluation and statement, which was based on automated testing only, we have undertaken extensive manual testing. This includes utilising a range of assistive technology to ensure we have a clearer picture of the accessibility issues and how best to resolve them.