Web accessibility statement
This statement applies to content published on:
Subject guides (LibGuides by Springshare)
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) 2.2.
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.
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.
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 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 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
- Some headings (including table headings) have been formatted or sequenced in a way which could present issues for some users. Properly ordered headings that do not skip levels convey the semantic structure of the page, making it easier to navigate and understand when using assistive technologies. (WCAG: 1.3.1)
- Some form elements and instances of embedded content are not labelled in a way which makes their purpose clear to all users. In some areas, the form control does not have a name exposed to assistive technologies. The result is that some users will not be able to identify the purpose of the form control. (WCAG: 4.1.2)
- On some pages, the underlying code contains mark-up errors and duplications in element tags. This could cause assistive technology to be unable to generate a satisfactory model of the page and therefore cause issues for some users. (WCAG: 4.1.1)
- It is not currently possible to bypass blocks of content that are repeated on multiple web pages. This can present issues for people with some disabilities as they attempt to reach the main content of the web page(s) quickly and easily. (WCAG: 2.4.1)
- 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.
Third party-content
Our site uses, and / or links to third-party content which the University does not design or control and therefore accessibility standards may vary.
This site is built upon a third-party platform, ‘LibGuides’ by Springshare. Springshare have conducted their own accessibility testing process (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template), the results of which can be found in this document:
How we tested this website
This statement was prepared on 16 November 2020. It was last reviewed on 21 October 2024.
This website was last tested on 13 November 2020. The test was carried out by The University of Manchester Library. The scan report highlights any content that is not compliant with WCAG 2.2.
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.