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Accessibility Statement for BrowZine

Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018

This accessibility statement applies to:  https://browzine.com/libraries/665/

This website is run by the Library and University Collections division within Information Services Group (ISG) at The University of Edinburgh. This is a third party piece of software. BrowZine is supplied by Third Iron and they have some information on accessibility:   

BrowZine Web & LibKey Accessibility : Third Iron Support

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

  • Using browser settings change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 500% 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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, and NVDA)
  • interact with the website without encountering any time limits
  • interact with the wesbite without encountering any flashing, moving or scrolling text.

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

Customising the website

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:

AbilityNet - My Computer My Way

With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:

Additional information on how to customise our website appearance

If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:

Information on SensusAccess

How accessible this website is

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

  • Speech-to-text assistive software (for example, Dragon NaturallySpeaking) is not necessarily compatible with all browser configurations when using this website;
  • It could be clearer to keyboard users where they have navigated too on a page
  • There is no skip main content link
  • Touch targets are not always 9mm by 9mm apart
  • New browser tabs open without the user being alerted 
  • Some parts of the website are not fully compatible with mobile accessibility functionality.

Feedback and contact information

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

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact:

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

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 please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:

Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)

The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:

Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website

Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language

British Sign Language service

Contact Scotland BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

Contact Scotland BSL service details

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

The full guidelines are available at:

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard

Non accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations

The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria:

Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution, or significant improvement, will be in place for those items within our control by May 2023.  At this stage we believe all issues are out with our control and we have liaised with the supplier to let them know of our findings and ask when they can be resolved.

Disproportionate burden

We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix. Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations We are not currently claiming that there is any content outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will continue to address the accessibility issues highlighted, either through delivery of a solution or suitable workaround. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place for those items within our control by May 2023. At this stage we believe all issues are out with our control and we have liaised with the supplier to let them know of our findings and ask when they can be resolved.

The supplier (Third Iron) has responded as follows:

“We aim to ensure BrowZine and LibKey meet international accessibility standards, including the Americans with Disability Act and the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), standard 2.1AA. Our software development will compare your findings to these guidelines and, for those items in need of improvement, we will implement changes by August 1, 2023”

Whilst we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues, or where we are unable, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 14th November 2022. It was last reviewed on 15th November 2022.

This website was tested by the ISG Disability Information team during April and May 2022, using the Internet Explorer (19041.1052), Mozilla Firefox (78.11.0esr), Microsoft Edge (91.0.864.59) and Google Chrome (91.0.4471.124) browsers. Internet Explorer is still commonly used by disabled people, due to its accessibility features and compatibility with assistive technology, as shown in a UK government survey:

UK Government Assistive Technology Browser Survey.

However, a more recent world-wide usage level survey suggests the other browsers are used more widely. In particular, when using a combination of different screen readers and browsers, Chrome has increased in popularity, and is now the favoured one in overall use:

WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey 2021.

We tested:

  • Spellcheck functionality;
  • Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
  • Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour et. cetera);
  • Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
  • Data validation;
  • Warning of links opening in a new tab or window;
  • Information conveyed in colour or sound only;
  • Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
  • Operability if JavaScript is disabled;
  • Use with screen reading software (for example, JAWS);
  • Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifer, ZoomText, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
  • Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
  • Time limits;
  • Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS).
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