Accessibility Statement - Projects

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
  • Text and links do not have sufficient contrast against background
  • Browser zoom functionality is disabled
  • Some pages have Javascript Jump Menus
  • Adjacent links go to the same URL
  • Headings are skipped
  • Multiple form labels are associated with the same input field
  • Some form labels are orphaned or empty
  • Video content published before 23 September 2020 is not required to be audio transcribed or subtitled.

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: 

Content not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

  • Pre-recorded time-based media published before 23rd September 2020 is exempt from the Regulations under Reg 3(2)(b). This content might fail any of the WCAG 2.1 AA Success Criteria related to the provision of a transcript, subtitles, or audio description.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • Some images are missing alternate text, meaning that users of assistive technologies may not be provided with necessary content or context. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-Text Content). 

  • 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).

  • Broswer zoom functionality is disabled, 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 1.4.4 (Resize Text).

  • Javascript Jump Menus may trigger on focus change when using keyboard navigation, meaning that keyboard users may struggle to navigate the menus and pages without being forced from the page they are reading. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).

  • Adjacent links go to the same URL, meaning that users of assistive technologies or with cognitive impairments may be disoriented by multiple options to accomplish the same effect. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose in Context). 

  • Some pages skip or omit Headings, meaning that users of assistive technologies may not receive the content in logical order. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).

  • 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 or missing 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 criterion3 .3.2 (Labels or Instructions).

We plan to resolve these issues by replacing this site in its entirety by December 2026.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested on 18 August 2020. A full review of the site was carried out by the British Library using Wave and Google Measure.