The Library: About Us: Libraries and Learning Innovation Accessibility Statement

Libraries and Learning Innovation Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statement for systems and websites managed by Libraries and Learning Innovation (LLI) at Leeds Beckett University

LLI uses a number of systems and websites to deliver its service to students and staff of the University. We want as many people as possible to use these and we work with platform owners and content creators to ensure this.

The table below:

lists these systems and websites
links to individual accessibility statements or notes on accessibility
provides additional information about compliance

Name and provider of system / site	Link to Accessibility Statement / information on accessibility	Additional information
Library Website and associated functions (FAQs / Room Bookings / Tutorials / Chat) (Springshare)	Training materials on accessibility available behind admin log-in	Chat window used overnight will be retired during 2019 and replaced with alternative system (Sept 2019). This is progressing. planned for Spring 2020 (Feb 2020). We have manually audited a sample of our Library website pages and identified a number of areas of non-compliance which we are beginning to address (Feb 2020). We have created guidelines for providing ALT-Text for images and this is currently being used to ensure new FAQs are accessible (Feb 2020).
MyBeckett (Blackboard)	Accessibility in Blackboard Learn	We have created a guide for academic colleagues on designing accessible content for students using MyBeckett (Feb 2020).
Skills for Learning (In-house)	Skills for Learning Accessibility Statement	Website being rebuilt during 2019/20 (Sept 2019).
Reading Lists (Talis)	Talis Web Accessibility Statement	Liaising with supplier re linking to this from within the system (Sept 2019). Each reading list now has a link to the Statement from within the system toolbar (Feb 2020). We have created alternative format reading lists (Sept 2019). 61 students were registered and 154 reading lists shared in semesters one (Feb 2020).
Discover (Ebsco)	Ebsco Accessibility Information
Catalogue (Sirsi Dynix)	US based supplier. Provides a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template dated October 2014 behind admin log-in	The supplier states that the next upgrade to this system (the Enterprise version) will provide increased accessibility (Sept 2019). We are currently updating the email messages we send from our existing system and are checking these with a screen reader to ensure they are accessible (Feb 2020).
PebblePad (PebblePad)	PebblePad Accessibility Overview	Portfolio system with content mainly uploaded by students (Sept 2019).
Turnitin (Turnitn)	Turnitin Commitment to Accessibility	We have identified an issue with the Turnitin Feedback Studio for students who use screen readers or voice over to have web content read aloud. We are liaising with our the supplier who does provide some information on their website and updating our guidance with practical solutions (Feb 2020).
Repository (Eprints)	Eprints Accessibility Statement
Research Information System (Symplectic)		We use the most recent version of this software which states that it has added new accessibility features but does not elaborate (Sept 2019).
Ebook Collections - various suppliers		LLI was a lead partner on the ebook accessibility project and continues to work closely with suppliers (Sept 2019). We are beginning work to add publisher Accessibility Statements to the information on our Ebook Collections web page (Feb 2020).
Ejournal Collections - various suppliers		LLI uses preferred licensing guidelines when purchasing electronic resources which includes key accessibility measures (Sept 2019). We feed back to suppliers where their platform or content isn't accessible (Sept 2019). We are liaising with JISC Collections who are contacting key publishers on behalf of individual institutions to obtain Accessibility Statements. We are also working with other institutions in the Northern Collaboration group to coordinate contacting other publishers for the same information. Once Statements are available we will provide access to them from within our Database and Journal A-Z list (Feb 2020).
Digitised readings created under the CLA licence	CLA Accessibility Policy	Policy doesn't cover content uploaded - will be queried with CLA (Sept 2019). The CLA intend to provide guidelines for customers in providing accessible documents (Feb 2020). We have supplied examples of our requirements to scanner suppliers to test the results in terms of accessibility as part of our procurement process for a new scanner (Feb 2020).
E-theses		Electronic formats of PhD theses supplied by third party (students). Retrospective will not have considered accessibility; guidance will be provided for new submissions (Sept 2019). Information is now included in our E-theses and copyright guide (Feb 2020).
Teach learn staff web pages (Sitecore)	Sitecore Accessibility Information	Content on main university website (Sept 2019). Sample pages are currently being audited for accessibility and accessibility of all University website content held in Sitecore will be a key part of the website 2020 project, for which the University has a content strategy (Feb 2020).
Library blog (Sitecore)	Sitecore Accessibility Information	Content on main university website (Sept 2019). Accessibility of all University website content held in Sitecore will be a key part of the website 2020 project, for which the University has a content strategy (Feb 2020).
Social media applications (Various)		Try to upload accessible content where possible but platforms are provided by commercial organisations (Sept 2019). We have identified further improvements to ensure our content and posts are as accessible as possible and training is currently being planned (Feb 2020).

LLI has identified a staffing resource to undertake audits of our systems and websites during 2019-20 and to produce individual Statements for each one.

We will review this Statement at least once per year.

Examples of how many of our systems and websites are accessible:

making text as simple as possible to understand.
writing good link text.
structuring content.
providing alt-text for images.
providing subtitles for videos.
zoom without the text spilling off the screen.
navigate most of the website using just a keyboard.
listen to most of the website using a screen reader.
change colours, contrast levels and fonts.

We know some parts of our websites and systems are not fully accessible:

some images do not have a text alternative
externally produced or older videos and animations may not have subtitles
you cannot change the colours, font or text sizes
you can’t modify the line height or spacing of text
some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
we have not tested navigation of the sites by speech recognition

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

The Library’s software page provides information on assistive software which may help in using our systems and websites.

If you need information on the content of our systems and websites in a different format (for example accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille) please Contact Us.

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our systems and websites. If you find any problems or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact h.loughran@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Libraries and Learning Innovation, Leeds Beckett University, is committed to making its systems and websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. We believe that:

These systems and websites are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. (Please note this is a sample of non-compliances from our systems and websites. We will confirm and update this Statement when we have conducted our audits.)

Some of the ways in which our systems and websites are not yet compliant with the Regulations are:

Some images in our FAQs do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. We plan to add text alternatives for all images by September 2020. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.
Some videos and animations on our Skills for Learning website do not have accessible versions. We are updating this website for launch in September 2020 and will ensure all video content is accessible.
We have not tested our systems and websites with speech recognition software. As part of our audit process we will test our systems and websites.
Scans created for our digitised readings service are not always fully accessible. We are hoping to purchase a new scanner and improved software for future outputs.
Blocks of links and other interactive elements in our Library website can’t be bypassed by keyboard users
The Turnitin Feedback Studio uses an image-based document viewer which is inaccessible to screen readers. A text based view is available.

We will provide a full list of the ways in which our systems and websites are non-compliant when we have conducted our audits.

We will be testing our systems and websites during 2019/20. We will identify the tools and methodologies to do this by October 2019.

February 2020 Update: We have identified the tools and methodologies by which we are testing our Library Website in the first instance and work has begun on a sample of pages to help us assess the volume of work involved. Lessons learned will be carried forward into the testing of other systems and websites. We continue to liaise with the University to identify centralised support for this work and collaborate with suppliers of our systems as they work on accessibility.

We have created a roadmap to improve accessibility:

Assign member of staff responsible for undertaking audits of our systems and websites by September 2019. A part-time member of staff has been identified and began work in October 2019. We are also exploring additional support for this work (Feb 2020).
Identify tools and methodology for audits by October 2019. Identified by January 2020.
Audit systems and websites by March 2020. We are sampling web pages as part of the first system to be audited (the Library website). The outcomes of this work show that we will be unable to meet the original plan of March 2020 – we will work to identify more effectively the full resource needed to complete this work (Feb 2020).
Produce Accessibility Statements for each of our systems and websites by July 2020. We will produce Statements as quickly as we can and continue to work with providers to link to their Statements where that is appropriate. In the meantime we will use this overarching Statement to document our progress (Feb 2020).
Identify actions to be undertaken by ourselves or in conjunction with our providers by July 2020. As above it is unlikely that we will meet this deadline for all our systems and websites but we will identify a list of actions and begin work to address these as quickly as possible. We are currently working on a list of actions to ensure the Library website is compliant (Feb 2020).
Monitor progress towards full compliance by September 2020

This statement was prepared on 20 September 2019. It was last updated on 13 February 2020.

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