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The National Library of Wales (also referred to in this document as ’us’, ‘we’, ‘our’, ‘the Library’) is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for all.

This statement covers all our websites.


Our accessibility commitment

The National Library of Wales is committed to improving accessibility across all our websites, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) describe how to make our websites as accessible as possible. The guidelines have 3 levels of accessibility (A, AA and AAA).

We're working towards meeting and maintaining Level AA standards for all our websites. We aim for AAA where possible.


What we've been doing

Testing

We have tested each of our websites, identifying issues to resolve.

We used 2 tools, usage dependent on type of site:

  • Total Validator Pro
  • Deque Axe

Most of our sites are at least partially AA compliant, however some sites have significant issues, including Level A issues. We are aiming for AAA compliance.

Technical infrastructure changes

Significant technical consolidation work now offers a consistent experience to users across some of our most popular websites (eg Welsh Newspapers, Welsh Journals etc).

The headers and footers of most of our websites are now AA compliant. We are continually improving our branding, for example improving the readability of text, and ensuring link text (or title attribute) is unambiguous.

Content changes

Significant work has been undertaken to refine the content of the Library's main website (www.library.wales) and our Library blog (blog.library.wales). This work includes ensuring alt text for images, ensuring link text is instructive, clear formatting of content etc)


How accessible are our websites?

There are parts of our websites that are not fully accessible.

Parts of our sites that are not fully accessible include: 

  • Not all videos currently have captions, or a text alternative 
  • Audio files mostly do not have a text alternative 
  • Forms may not be uniformly easy to use with just a keyboard
  • There is often no visual indicator for keyboard users
  • Some ‘pop-up’ windows cannot be closed with just a keyboard
  • Some images may lack alternative text / have unhelpful text
  • We should be using title and role attributes 
  • PDF and other documents aren't accessible

Main Website:

We launched our new website in October 2022. The site has been developed to WCAG 2.1 AAA standard.

There is one known issue:

  1. Cookie Control
    It's not possible to access this functionality by keyboard alone.

Next steps

Work on specific websites

In addition to the general themes discussed in ‘How accessible are our websites?’, the following is a list of issues we need to improve upon as a priority:

  • 1.1.1: Non-text content (text alternative)
    Some images don't have alt text. This means we don't meet WCAG 2.1 Level A success criterion
  • 1.3.1: Info and relationships
    Some tables don't have summaries or captions. This means we don’t meet WCAG 2.1 Level A success criterion
  • 2.4.1: Bypass blocks*
    Some sites do not have the ability to skip straight to main content, or to navigation. This means we don’t meet WCAG 2.1 Level A success criterion
  • 4.1.1: Duplicate Ids*
    On some Library-branded pages, we use the same ID to access main and mobile (small) navigation. This means we don't meet WCAG 2.1 Level A success criterion
  • 2.4.4: Link Purpose
    Some descriptive link text may be unclear for screen readers, e.g. ‘Library logo’. This means we don't meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criterion.
  • 2.4.6: Headings and Labels
    Some pages use multiple headings levels or skip heading levels. This means we don't meet WCAG 2.1 AA success criterion
  • 2.4.7: Focus visible
    Some elements are not highlighted on focus or have focus states with insufficient contrast. This means we don't meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criterion

Testing

An outside specialist firm will be retained to assist with ongoing work, and to run final compliance testing using the following:

  • Screen readers
  • Automated and Manual reviews
  • Testing by specialists who require assistive technologies

Training

We will update our internal guidelines to ensure electronically published content meets Level AA standards.


What you can expect

When our ongoing work is completed, you should expect to be able to do things such as:

  • Skip directly to content
  • Easily skip to navigation and Accessibility Statement
  • Navigate using only a keyboard
  • Navigate by heading or section
  • Magnify the content to at least 200% with no effect on text flow
  • Use our websites as fully as possible using screen reader software

What content is currently exempt from changes?

This list explains what we don’t currently plan to fix.

Disproportionate burden:

  • Downloadable files

Many of our sites have downloadable files, PDFs for example. Updating outdated documents is a disproportionate burden. Any documents that are replaced will be compliant

Outside of the scope of accessibility regulations:

  • Pre-recorded time-based media, such as YouTube videos, published before 23 September 2020 are exempt
  • PDFs and other documents published before 23 September 2018 are exempt 
  • Live video or audio streams do not require captions
  • We will try and ensure any use of online maps are as accessible as possible, however this is not required by accessibility regulations 

Contacting us or making a complaint

We welcome feedback or comments which help us improve the accessibility of our websites.

The list of issues in this statement is not exhaustive, so you're welcome to conatct our Enquiries Service to discuss any specific problems or requirements.

Likewise, if you'd like to make a complaint, you're welcome to contact our Enquiries Service.


Enforcement

If you are unhappy with how we’ve responded to your complaint, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.


Faceted Search sites

Sites Affected

The sites listed below display search results which allow you to refine your search using filters; often referred to as “facets”.

These sites have known issues, ranging from WCAG Level A failures to “Best Practice” (advisory) notices.  Our priority is to bring these busy sites up to WCAG AA standard. Our longer-term goal is to exceed AA criteria.

Site

WCAG 2.1 Compliant

Serious Issues

Chwilio Archifau Cymru / Archives Wales Search

A (Partial); AA (Partial)

Some elements have insufficient colour contrast; Lack of accessible form names/labels; Incorrect/missing ARIA roles for forms

Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig / Dictionary of Welsh Biography

A (Partial); AA (Partial)

Some elements have insufficient colour contrast; Lack of accessible form names/labels

Search Results

Site

WCAG 2.1 Compliant

Serious Issues

Chwilio Archifau Cymru / Archives Wales Search

A (Partial); AA (Partial)

Some buttons lack discernible text; Some links lack discernible text; Insufficient colour contrast on filter values; Lack of accessible form names/labels

Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig / Dictionary of Welsh Biography

A (Partial); AA (Partial)

Incorrect / missing ARIA roles for forms; IDs are not unique (“Display Options” menu); Some buttons lack discernible text; List item does not have a parent list element, or element role (“list”)


Third Party Accessibility Compliance

The Library uses some third party systems to deliver functionality and services. We do our best to ensure our implementations are accessibility compliant. However we cannot at this time guarantee WCAG2.1 AA compliance as, in most cases, we are reliant on the third party achieving compliance. Not all third parties are obliged to publish their own statements.

Third Party systems

The list below summarises third party systems.

Name

Role

Link to Accessibility Statement/Plan

Notes

AtoM

Archive Catalogue

N/A

Largely compliant but with colour contrast issues. Work ongoing

Cookie Control

Tracking & Analytics (GDPR Compliance)

N/A

High compliance, ongoing work

PayPal

Online payments

Accessibility Summary

High compliance, ongoing work

Primo

Resource Catalogue

Accessiblity Statment

AA compliant with minor issues

Lib Answers

Support

Accessibility Statement

High compliance, ongoing work

Shopify

Online shop

Accessibility Statement

High compliance, ongoing work

TicketSource

Event booking

N/A

Issues with in-page navigation and colour-contrast

Tiki-Toki

Llafur100 embedded timeline

N/A

Major accessibility issues. Work ongoing to find an alternative solution. An accessible version of the content is available on request.

Transpay

Online payments

N/A

No documentation available

Universal Viewer

Digital resource display

Accessibility Statement

Some issues using keyboard, in-page navigation, and motion animations

Wordpress

Blogging

Accessibility Plan

AA compliant with minor issues

Social Media and YouTube

We are not responsible for functionality as we did not pay or develop this ourselves. However Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube all have ongoing accessibility compliance programs.

Archived Websites

Websites which are not updated and are not needed for live services are exempt from accessibility regulations.

Maps

Maps are currently exempt from regulations unless they convey required information, in which case we can provide this information in an accessible format on request.

How to contact us

If you require an accessible version of content, have any suggestion or complaints, you're welcome to contact our Enquiries Service.


Last Update

This statement was last updated on 12 September 2023.