Accessibility Statement

At the University of Birmingham, we want to ensure that as many people as possible can use our website, and we are working to improve our digital services.

This accessibility statement covers this website [https://mimsy.bham.ac.uk] as catalogue of the University's Online Cultural Collections. We aim to achieve the recommended government standard for web accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA). We also test with users of varied needs and on different assistive devices.

As a user with accessible needs, 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 know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible. We are working on these parts of the site and are committed to producing an accessible site for all users. Those parts with accessibility problems are as follows:

• The colour contrast on some page elements is insufficient to be easily discernible for all users
• Alternative text is not always applied consistently throughout the site
• The line height or spacing of text cannot be modified by the user
• Most pages scroll in both directions when viewed on a mobile device

We will update the statement when issues are fixed or when we expect them to be fixed.

What to do if you can’t access parts of this website
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please email accessibility@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

In your message please include the following:

• the web address (URL) of the content
• your email address and name
• the format you need

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 days.

Enforcement procedure
If you are unhappy with the response you have received from the University about your accessibility-related issue, you can make a complaint to the University by emailing accessibility-complaint@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

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
The University of Birmingham 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

• Some images don’t have a suitable text alternative, so the information in them isn’t available to people using a screen reader.
  This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 ‘A’ success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
  This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 ‘AA’ success criterion 1.4.5 (images of text).
  We are reviewing the use of this web application and are aiming to have a new accessible site for Q1 2022.
  
• Colour palette: Colour contrast is insufficient on some elements across the site and colour use on some elements (e.g. links) were inconsistent.
  This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 ‘AA’ success criterion 1.4.3 (contrast (minimum)).
  We are reviewing the use of this web application and are aiming to have a new accessible site for Q1 2022.
  
• Many pages scroll in both directions on small screens.
  This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 'AA' success criterion 1.4.10
  We are reviewing the use of this web application and are aiming to have a new accessible site for Q1 2022.
  

Disproportionate burden
Interactive Forms
Some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard. For example, because some form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag.

Our forms are built through third party software. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships).

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues with interactive tools and transactions. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We are reviewing the use of this web application and are aiming to have a new accessible site for Q1 2022..

What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We are working on releasing an updated, accessible web application that addresses these issues.

Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 15 October 2021.