Web accessibility statement
This statement applies to content published on:
The University of Manchester Library website
Other websites that also belong to The University of Manchester and use manchester.ac.uk sub-domains are managed locally and will publish separate statements with information relevant to them. These include websites of our academic Schools and research institutes, among others.
We want as many people as possible to be able to use our website and we are continually working towards improving its accessibility. We follow general principles of usability and universal design, and endeavour to meet level 2 (AA) of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.
This website will allow you to:
- zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard or speech recognition tools
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader
- view essential audio-visual information (captions or transcriptions are provided in most cases)
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:
- some sections cannot be navigated with just a keyboard (megamenus)
- some older PDF documents may not be fully accessible to screen reader software
- some videos may not have captions or audio descriptions
Please see the Technical Information section below for more detailed information on known accessibility issues.
Making changes to your device
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Also, the University’s Disability Advisory and Support Service (DASS) website offers up-to-date information for prospective students and staff with specific learning difficulties, disabilities, sensory impairments, mental health difficulties and medical conditions.
This website uses an accessibility widget from UserWay. It can be accessed at the lower right corner of each web page. The UserWay Accessibility Widget offers a broad selection of functions that users can mix and match to meet their individual accessibility needs. Userway enables users to:
- Navigate using keyboard only
- Read the web page aloud
- Modify the contrast
- Highlight links
- Adjust text size
- Adjust text spacing
- Pause animations
- Adjust fonts
- Adjust cursor presentation
- Review page structure
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
Please contact us via the ‘Library Help’ pages if you require information on this website in a different format, have an accessibility query (including about content not within the scope of the accessibility regulation), identify any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements:
Please provide the web address (URL) of the page(s) in which you find the problem, a description of the issue and your name. We will consider your request and get back to you within ten working days.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to a complaint about accessibility please let us know. If you remain unsatisfied, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
We are committed to making our website accessible, in accordance with the accessibility regulations. This website is partially compliant with the WCAG 2.1 AA standard, due to the instances of non-compliance and exceptions listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Issues with navigation and images:
- Some images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. (WCAG: 1.1.1).
- Megamenus are not accessible using a keyboard so people using a screen reader may find navigating our website difficult. (WCAG: 2.1.1)
Issues with video and audio:
- Not all audios or videos with audio have captions or transcriptions. We aim to offer an alternate version of all videos and audios published on or after September 2020. However, older videos and audios may not have an alternate version. (WCAG: 1.2.2)
- Some videos without audio that ideally should have audio descriptions do not have this (WCAG: 1.2.5).
We are working to develop transcripts or other alternative versions of all our videos and audios published on or after September 2020.
Issues with Methodist Archives Collection catalogue viewer:
- Colour contrast may not be sufficient which could make these pages difficult to read for some users with visual impairments. (WCAG: 1.4.3).
- Some links are not labelled in a way that makes their purpose clear for all users. (WCAG: 2.4.4)
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Some non-essential PDF documents that were published before 23 September 2018 may not be fully accessible. All subsequent PDF documents will comply with accessibility regulations.
Maps
Our website has online maps which are unlikely to be fully accessible because of the assistive technologies used in their development. An alternative format is provided in most circumstances. For example, links to PDF files are added in our maps and travel page.
Third party-content
Our site uses third-party content which may not be fully accessible. This includes content we publish on social media channels such as Twitter or You Tube, or documents hosted on the digital platform Issuu. We are responsible for ensuring the accessibility of the content we produce, however we have no control over the accessibility of these platforms.
Live video
Our live videos don’t have captions.
How we tested this website
This statement was prepared on 7 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 22 September 2020.
This website was last tested on 22 September 2020. The test was carried out by The University of Manchester Library. The scan report highlights any content that is not compliant with WCAG 2.1.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We have an ongoing programme of work to address any accessibility issues that are highlighted by our weekly scans. We are continually working on our content and site structure and finding ways to make the site more intuitive and easier to navigate. We are developing guidelines on how to create accessible content to help those colleagues working on our websites.