Accessibility statement for the Collections system

This statement applies to content published on the https://collections.st-andrews.ac.uk domain, run by the University of St Andrews. It does not apply to content on any other university domain or subdomain.

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
zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
navigate most of the website using just 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.

You can also explore some of our recommendations for tools that can make your online experience better.

How accessible this website is

Collections has some inaccessible content. The additional "Universal Viewer" software used within Collections is not fully compliant.

Some areas of inaccessibility include:

Most older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software.
Cultural heritage images of text do not have alternative text, or transcription. These are exempt under the legislation.
The facet selector has poor colour contrast when the link has focus.

Universal Viewer has the following areas of inaccessibility:

Some images may not have alternative text.
Some input fields may be missing a description.
Some headings may be empty tags.
Some labels may be empty.
Some links are only identifiable by colour.
Colour contrast might not be sufficient in certain circumstances.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

Email: itservicedesk@st-andrews.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 3333

We will get back to you as soon as possible.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact IT Service Desk:

Email: itservicedesk@st-andrews.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 3333

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We have induction loops in main lecture venues, and we have portable loops that may be set up if requested in advance. We also have a Roger pen to assist visitors who use hearing aids.

We can provide a text relay service for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment who are contacting us by phone.

British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via the online BSL Video Relay Interpreting service from Contact Scotland BSL. We will also try to arrange a BSL interpreter for visitors who need that support, but this should be requested in advance as availability is limited.

Find out how to contact the University.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of St Andrews 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 (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content - Collections

Poor contrast on facet selector

When a heading within the facet selector is in focus, the contrast may be poor (Success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)).

We will release a new version of the digital pattern library (DPL) addressing this issue.

Non-accessible content - Universal viewer

Some images may not have alternative text

Some images don’t have a text alternative, so the information in them isn’t available to people using a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).