Last updated on 25th November 2019

• Does the Churchill Archive meet accessibility standards?
• How has the Churchill Archive been tested for accessibility?
• Can I resize the text to make it easier to read? 
• Can I navigate the site using the keyboard only?
• Does the site support screen readers?
• Do the images include alt text and descriptions?
• Has the site been tested for color contrast and color-blindness?
• How do I contact Bloomsbury to get further help with accessibility? 

Bloomsbury Digital Resources is committed to ensuring equal access for all users of our resources, regardless of technology or ability. For all our resources, we aim for compliance with Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/).

Our sites are all built using code compliant with W3C standards for HTML and CSS. The site displays correctly in current browsers and using standards-compliant HTML/CSS code means that any future browsers should also display it correctly. Where possible content is displayed as HTML full text which can easily be resized or read with assistive technology, with mark-up that allows screen readers and keyboard-only users to navigate easily and intuitively.

We’re working hard to achieve our goal of Level AA accessibility, but our testing has identified a number of areas that still need improving, and these are listed below under ‘Areas for Improvement’ within each section. We will update this statement as we roll out improvements in these areas. 

All of our sites have been developed to work well with keyboard-only operation, screen readers and other assistive software, and have been tested for color contrast compliance and correct rendering with browser controls zoomed to 200%. Our sites have all been tested by specialist accessibility testers at QA InfoTech, who use a pair-testing methodology using combinations of sighted and non-sighted testers, and have been found to support Level AA with the exceptions noted below.

Yes, all text content in the articles and catalogue is presented as HTML so it is resizable and reflowable. The site has been tested with 200% browser zoom to ensure that text still renders correctly and legibly, without losing any of the site’s functionality or navigation.

Archive documents are presented as facsimile images that are viewed in an image browser. This allows zooming, scanning and full screen view for ease of reading. 

Yes, the site has been tested thoroughly to assess how sight-impaired or mobility-impaired users would access the content, and most of the site’s functionality is fully accessible via keyboard. The focus order moves correctly in most cases, and there are no ‘keyboard traps’ in the site.

Areas for improvement: 

• A ‘Skip to Main Content’ link needs to be added.
• Browse Catalogue: keyboard users are unable to access the ‘Details’ links for catalogue numbers.
• The pages of the homepage carousel cannot be navigated using tabs, and there is no way to pause/stop the carousel.
• Tab focus does not move to Accordion links on Explore Topic page.
• Tab focus does not move to filter links under Filter and Sort heading on Search results page.

Yes, the site has been manually tested throughout using JAWS 18, NVDA 2018, Apple VoiceOver and Android Talkback.

On the main content pages such as book chapters, all content is correctly tagged to allow screen reader users to navigate the content and understand its structure. Screen reader users are able to follow text in the correct reading order throughout. 

Areas for improvement: 

• The primary content of the Churchill Archive is facsimile images of historical documents, primarily typewritten or handwritten text. There is detailed cataloguing information provided, including text descriptions and quotations from the documents, but only a small minority of the images have full transcripts. Screen reader users and can therefore not access the full information included in the images, and other visually impaired users may have difficulty accessing the content.
• On submitting invalid entries in forms, there is no automatic error notification, although there is a workaround (users can navigate the page manually to read error messages). Also, screen reader users are not notified on submitting the ‘Clear’ button.
• Screen reader reads all carousel slides on page without selecting them on Homepage.
• Page titles throughout the site should be more descriptive.
•  Meaningful heading is not provided in the beginning of Home/Search Results page for screen reader user which describes the actual purpose of the page.
• Improvements required to tagging of headings and tables on Classification Explorer, Catalogue Browser and In-Depth Guides pagee.
• Screen reader does not read ‘close’ buttons on Download popup.
• Screen reader focus does not shift to popup on selecting Download, Share, Print and Contrast links on Image Browser page.
• Screen reader focus does not shift to popup window on selecting Share and Details link associated with Catalogue Series Name on Catalogue page.
• Global search field requires a text label.
• ‘From’ and ‘To’ Date edit fields are not labelled properly on Search results page.
• On the Image Browser page, the screen reader reads Previous/Next buttons incorrectly.
• Screen reader reads the tabs available on Image Browser page as links and does not read their selected state.

The historical documents in Churchill Archive are accompanied by textual descriptions, often including quotations from the documents, and a small minority of the images have full transcripts. Most images featured elsewhere in the site have alternative text.

Areas for improvement:

• Alternative text is not provided for archive documents, nor for the graphical links on the Collection Highlights page, nor for the logo in the site header.

To ensure accessibility for low-vision or colorblind users, we aim to ensure that the color contrast ratio for all interactive elements meets the WCAG standard minimum of 4.5:1. We also aim never to use color as the only source of information: whenever color is used to convey meaning this is also conveyed using text equivalents and HTML tags.

• Current state of selected filter link on Explore by People page is shown via color only and not read by screen reader.
• Validation errors are shown via color only on Registration form.
• Headings on the Teaching and Research page use a pale gray color, which does not meet the standard ratio of 4.5:1
• Some icons and logos disappear in high contrast mode: the Churchill Archive logo, the search icon and the triangular ‘expand’ icons on the Explore by Topic / Classification Explorer page.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require assistance, or have any queries or feedback relating to accessibility. Use the Contact Us form, and select 'Access or Technical Problem' from the Inquiry drop-down.

If required, we will be happy to provide a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) which gives further details of this site's compliance with both the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.