Accessibility Statement for Discover Our Archives
Website accessibility statement in line with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
Discover Our Archives is a website hosted by the University of Sheffield that provides access to finding aids for archives held by:
- The National Fairground and Circus Archive
- The University of Sheffield Library's Special Collections and Archives
- The University of Sheffield Archive
We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- magnify the text
- navigate to most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate to most of the website using speech recognition software
- use the system without timeout
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of Job Access with Speech (JAWS), NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) and VoiceOver)
We have also made the website text as straightforward as possible to understand.
Resources for adjusting your PC, Laptop or Phone
You can find useful guidance on adjusting your laptop or phone to suit your needs on these resources: MyComputerMyWay or Scope guidance on phone accessibility features.
If you are a student at the University of Sheffield, you can find out more information about the assistance the University Library can provide at: Inclusive Learning - Inclusive Learning - The University Library - The University of Sheffield
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- some parts may not be fully compatible with screen readers
- navigating by keyboard is not always the clearest to a user
- some colour contrasts do not meet recommended guidance
- It is not possible to automatically edit colour contrasts
- some non-text content does not have text alternatives
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format, please contact:
Email: lib-special@sheffield.ac.uk
Telephone: 0114 222 7231
We will consider your request and get back to you in 10 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 are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact:
Email: lib-special@sheffield.ac.uk
Telephone: 0114 222 7231
We will consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.
If you are not happy with how we reply to your enquiry then you can contact The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and
Support Service (EASS).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Sheffield 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.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
The full guidelines are available at:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard
Non-accessible content
Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations
The following items do not comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria:
- Not all non-text content presented to users has alternative text:
- There may not be sufficient colour contrast between font and background colours, especially where the text size is very small
- Information is conveyed as an image of text rather than as text itself, meaning it is likely to be incompatible with screen readers and other assistive technology
- Visual information to identify user interface components, such as keyboard focus, do not always have a sufficient contrast ratio
- Tooltips not always present for icons and images. Tooltips disappear when the cursor moves.
- It is not possible to use a keyboard to access all the content
- There is no specific help function section, including accessibility information
- Not fully compatible with screen readers
- It is not always clear to tell where you have navigated to when you are using a keyboard
We are committed to fix any issues within our control.
Disproportionate burden
We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.
What we are doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to work to address these issues and deliver a solution or suitable workaround. Where issues are under our control we will work to rectify them.
We will carry out further accessibility testing if significant changes are made to the user interface or if an accessibility issue is brought to our attention.
While we are in the process of resolving accessibility issues, or where we are unable to, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared in September 2021.
This website was tested by the University of Sheffield Library on a PC using Google Chrome 92.0.4515.159 (64-bit), Mozilla Firefox 91.0.2 (64-bit) and Microsoft Edge 93.0.961.38 (64-bit). We also used the automated WebAIM WAVE tool and tested a selection of pages throughout the site, including the home page and search results to ensure all the main features of the website were tested.
We tested:
- Scaling using different resolutions and reflow
- Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour)
- Keyboard navigation
- Warning of links opening in a new tab or window
- Information conveyed in colour or sound only
- Text alternatives for any non-text content
- Use with screen reading software (NVDA) and screen magnification software.