London Metropolitan University Library Services - LibGuides Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to London Metropolitan University LibGuides.  Content on LibGuides is produced by London Metropolitan University Library and hosted on a platform supplied by Springshare- Springshare Accessibility Statement. 

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to: 

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings 
• zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen 
• navigate most of the website using a keyboard  
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software 
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver) 

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. 

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

How accessible this website is

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

• when zoomed in, the chat icon and ‘back to top’ icon obscures some of the page content
• when using a keyboard to move through a page, you are not always able to tell where you are
• heading levels have been skipped on some pages
• links opening in a new window do not always notify users 
• some PDF documents are not fully accessible with issues including no titles, no headings, tables without headers and text with insufficient contrast and images without alt-text
• a limited number Word documents are not fully accessible due to missing headings and tables without headers
• some links to external Word and PDF documents don’t indicate to the user that they are opening Word/PDF documents
• a limited number of older videos embedded in the site don’t have captions, some videos have automatically generated captions
• some images do not have good alternative text or are missing alternative text 
• there are some instances where an image of text has been used
• a limited number of interactive items may not be accessible using keyboard navigation or to screen readers

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact library@londonmet.ac.uk 

Enforcement procedure

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 your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

London Metropolitan University is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, 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

• when zoomed in, the chat icon and ‘back to top’ icon obscures some of the page content (WCAG 2.1 - 1.4.10)
• when using a keyboard to move through a page, you are not always able to tell where you are (WCAG 2.1 – 2.4.7)
• heading levels have been skipped on some pages (WCAG 2.1 - 1.3.1)
• links opening in a new window do not always notify users (WCAG 2.1 - 3.3.2)
• some PDF documents are not fully accessible with issues including no titles, no headings, tables without headers and text with insufficient contrast and images without alt-text (WCAG 2.1 – 2.4.2, 1.3.1, 1.4.6, 1.1.1 )
• a limited number Word documents are not fully accessible due to missing headings and tables without headers (WCAG 2.1 –1.3.1)
• some links to external Word and PDF documents don’t indicate to the user that they are opening Word/PDF documents (WCAG 2.1 3.2.2)
• a limited number of older videos embedded in the site don’t have captions, some videos have automatically generated captions (WCAG 2.1 - 1.2.2)
• some images do not have good alternative text or are missing alternative text (WCAG 2.1 - 1.1.1)
• there are some instances where an image of text has been used (WCAG 2.1 - 1.4.5)
• a limited number of interactive items may not be accessible using keyboard navigation or to screen readers (WCAG 2.1 - 2.1.1)

Disproportionate burden

N/A

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents
The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. 

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We have formed an Online Content Group who will oversee the accessibility of our online content within Library Services and Special Collections.
We are reviewing and updating our content to ensure it is accessible and will prioritise the areas of non-compliance.

We have an editorial guidelines site for anyone who edits LibGuides content which includes accessibility guidance throughout, including a checklist.  

Support and training on creating accessible content is available to all staff.

Where there are issues with the platform, we will work with Springshare to find a solution.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 16 October 2024. It was last reviewed 16 October 2024.

This website was last tested on 8 October 2024.  The test was carried out manually and using the WAVE Accessibility Evaluation tool.   A sample of 18 guides were tested.