Accessibility Statement - About Us

Scope

The British Library is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

The British Library operates a number of websites, subsites, and online services (“Sites”).

This accessibility statement supplements our main Accessibility Statement, and applies to the following Site:

How accessible this website is

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

  • Some images do not have alternate text
  • Some Aria references are broken
  • Text and links do not have sufficient contrast against background
  • Browser resize does not function correctly
  • Dropdown menus, side menus, and quick chat are not accessible via keyboard tab
  • Multiple form labels are associated with the same input field
  • Some form labels are orphaned
  • Some form labels are missing

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, 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

  • Some images do not have alternate text, meaning that users of assistive technologies or with visual impairment may not be able to understand the content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).

  • Some Aria references are broken, meaning that users of assistive technologies may not be able to navigate the content or adapt it to their needs. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships). 

  • The colour of both text and links does not provide sufficient contrast against the background colour, meaning that users with moderate visual impairment who do not use assistive technologies may not be able to discern the content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast Minimum). 

  • Browser Resize does not function correctly at 200% and above, meaning that users with moderate visual impairment who do not use assistive technologies may not be able to access the content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 (Resize Text).

  • Reflow does not function correctly at 400%, meaning that users with moderate visual impairment who do not use assistive technologies may not be able to access the conent. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow).

  • Header dropdown menus and sidebar menus are not accessible using the keyboard, meaning that users of alternative input devices may not be able to access them. On pages where it is available, quick chat functionality can also not be initiated via keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).

  • The site's internal search functionality has multiple form labels associated with a single input field, meaning that users of assistive technologies or with cognitive impairments may not be able to discern the functionality of the fields. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).
  • Some pages have orphaned form labels, meaning that users of assistive technologies may not be presented with content in a logical order, or may be led to expect content that is not present. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).
  • Some form labels are missing, meaning that users of assistive technologies or with cognitive impairments may not be able to discern the functionality of the fields. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).

We plan to resolve these issues by entirely replacing this site before December 2026.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested on 26 April 2021. An audit of the site was carried out by the Central Digital & Data Office using Axe.