Accessibility statement for Essex libraries

 

This accessibility statement applies to the Essex libraries website located at libraries.essex.gov.uk.

 

This website is run by Essex County Council and has been developed by Sirsi Dynix please read the platforms accessibility statement.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

 

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using only 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, NVDA and VoiceOver)

 

We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand and removing, where possible, any abbreviations or acronyms.

 

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

 

How accessible this website is

 

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

 

  • some elements have no focus styles meaning they are not highlighted for keyboard only users
  • not all content is included in landmarks making it difficult for users of assistive technologies to navigate between sections on the page
  • the sequence of content is not always logical
  • the text will sometimes overflow the page or elements when zooming in
  • some text does not meet the minimum contrast ratio
  • some information is repeated using assistive technologies
  • some elements use the wrong HTML mark-up
  • some inputs are missing labels

 

Feedback and contact information

 

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

 

 

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 are not meeting your accessibility requirements, please contact Essex Libraries by emailing information.enquiry@essex.gov.uk with details of the page, the issue and as many details as possible, regarding the problem you are referring to.

 

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, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

 

Essex County Council is committed to making its website 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 version 2.1 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

 

The location of the keyboard is not visually obvious, so keyboard only users will not know where they are on a webpage. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 (Focus Visible).

 

We plan to add focus styles to all interactive elements by Day Month 2023.

 

There are some parts of this website that are not included in landmarks, so users of assistive technologies may find it difficult to navigate through the website. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships).

 

We plan to add all landmarks by Day Month 2023.

 

The focus order of the page is not logical, users will miss important website information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).

 

We plan to improve the focus order of the page by Day Month 2023.

 

You cannot zoom in to 400% without some content being lost or overthrowing, this could mean users miss out important content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow).

 

We plan to improve the responsiveness and reflow of the website by Day Month 2023.

 

Some items do not meet the minimum requirements for contrast making it difficult for users with visual impairments to see. This fails success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)).

 

We plan to improve the contrast ratios to meet the minimum requirements by Day Month 2023.

 

Some items do not use the correct html elements making it confusing for users of assistive technologies as to the purpose of the item. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1(Info and Relationships).

 

We plan to change the incorrect elements to the correct ones by Day Month 2023.

 

Some inputs are missing labels making it difficult for users to understand the purpose of the input. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2(Labels or instructions).

 

We plan to add the correct labels by Day Month 2023.

 

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

 

PDFs and other documents

 

Most of our older PDFs and downloadable documents do not meet accessibility standards.

However, we plan to ensure that moving forward all PDFs meet WCAG 2.1 Accessibility standards.

 

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.

 

For documents that are essential to providing our services, such as:

 

  • Information on how users can access our service
  • Forms published in word documents and PDFs

we are developing a strategy to ensure that they are made accessible.

 

The strategy prioritizes PDFs that are opened/used regularly or have information that is a statutory requirement.

We are developing training guidance to assist creators in producing documents that meet the accessibility standards.

 

Our plans are to ensure that all essential PDFs meet accessibility regulations by Day Month 2023.

 

Live Video

 

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

 

This statement was prepared on 01 March 2023. It was last reviewed on Day Month 2023.

 

This website was last tested on 28 February 2023. The test was carried out by Essex County Council.