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Accessibility Statement

 

KCC Spydus Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to Kent Libraries Online Public Access Catalogue (Spydus), run by Kent County Council.

 

The content on this website is designed for everyone to find, read, and understand. It is compatible with assistive technologies and developed to meet the accessibility standards outlined in this statement.

 

View the site your way

There are a number of customisation options for your browser and device that could help you use this website and other websites more effectively. 

 

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

 

Feedback and contact information

Please contact us if you have an accessibility query including:

  • If you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website
  • If you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement
  • If you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made.

When you contact us there is a process in place that will acknowledge your contact, tell you who is dealing with it and give you a timescale by which you can expect a reply.

 

Alternative formats

If you need information in an alternative format, such as braille or a language other than English:

An English-speaker will take details of what you need and arrange a translation or interpreting service for you. You may need an English-speaking friend or a family member to help you with this.

 

We may not be able to meet your requirements immediately, but we will try to provide an interpreter (or translation service) to help you as quickly as possible.

 

Complaints process

Once you have reported a problem with our website or asked for an alternative format, but you are not happy with our response, you can use our complaints process to register your difficulty. This helps us improve our systems.

 

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

Kent County Council is committed to making this 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

We formally test the accessibility of key user journeys that represent the breadth of content across our website on a regular basis against WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

 

If you find something that does not work that we missed, remember to contact us.

 

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

 

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

This section covers issues that we need to fix and are working to do so.

 

1) Keyboard Access

You cannot access the savedlist icon (bottom right-hand corner) via a keyboard alone and there is no focus indicator present for the save book icon when viewing any book in Full Display view (WCAG 2.1: 2.1.1, 2.4.7).

When a user has received a message, there is no focus indicator for the 'Delete', 'Close' or 'Confirm' buttons (only for the '×' button) and can cause confusion as to where the user's focus currently is (WCAG 2.1: 2.4.7).

When in 'Full Book Display' mode, all social media icons are presented without associated labels, are missing alternative text descriptions and rely solely on visual characteristics, e.g. logos (WCAG 2.1: 1.1.1, 1.3.1, 1.3.3).

We are working to fix the above keyboard access issues by February 2023.

 

2) Interactive Content

 

Buttons throughout the system are missing associated labels (e.g. search button in the header, the SaveLists button, etc.) and are therefore not understood by assistive technologies easily (WCAG: 1.1.1, 1.3.1, 1.3.3, 2.4.6).

Throughout the system, not all links are clear due to ambiguous link text (e.g. full URLs used, "Join Online", "Click Here", etc.) and links are missing underline text unless focused on via mouse (WCAG 2.1: 1.4.1, 2.4.4).

In the social media iFrames, there are missing aria child roles which are required. There are also keyboard traps present which are difficult for users to exit and avoid when using a keyboard (WCAG 2.1: 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 4.1.2).

The drop-down list for the 'Library Catalogue' and the login form inputs for the Library Account do not have associated labels, making this difficult for assistive technologies to use/interact with (WCAG 2.1: 1.3.1, 3.3.2).

The 'Show All' button for the reading lists are displayed with insufficient link text as the user would need to scan surrounding text to work out the button's functionality. The 'Show All' button is also repeated multiple times throughout the same page (WCAG 2.1: 2.4.4).

We are working to fix the above interactive content issues by February 2023.

3) Website Design

The colour contrast ratio of all text elements and links throughout the system does not meet the required colour contrast requirements, with a ratio of 2.79:1 (grey text) and 4.25:1 (red text for links) - both against the white background (WCAG 2.1: 1.4.3).

The colour contrast ratio for non-text elements throughout the system does not meet the colour contrast requirements, with a ratio of 2.27:1 (grey search bar) and there is no visible focus indicator for the drop-down menu for 'Library catalogue' (WCAG 2.1: 1.4.11, 2.4.7).

We are working to fix the above website design issues by February 2023.

4) Web Languages

When CSS styling is removed from the page, empty buttons are displayed without clear purpose that is not normally displayed (WCAG 2.1: 1.3.2).

The quick links displayed at the beginning of the Privacy Statement do not have any functionality, using non-existent element IDs (WCAG 2.1: 4.1.1, 4.1.2).

We are working to fix the above web language issues by February 2023.

5) Images, Video and Media

Images of text are presented throughout the system, with the alternative text not always describing the image accurately (WCAG 2.1: 1.1.1, 1.4.5).

The drop-down list for the 'Rating' input field contains visual star icons which decides what rating out of 5 stars the individual book deserves (WCAG 2.1: 1.1.1, 1.3.1, 1.3.3).

We are working to fix the above image, video and media issues by February 2023.

6) Form

The buttons for filtering results for the books search result do not have a clear purpose and are presented as "And" / "Not" (WCAG 2.1: 2.4.6).

We are working to fix the above form issue by February 2023.

 

 

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable.

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

Not applicable.

 

Third-Party content

Our website contains third-party content. We do not have control over and are not responsible for the accessibility of this content, but we make best endeavours to work with the 3rd party to improve its accessibility. This may include:

  • Links to non-KCC websites
  • Content/functionality on our website
  • Content hosted on other websites, such as social media sites.

Some of our 3rd party partners publish their own accessibility statements; these are contained within their websites.

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

 

This statement was prepared on 3rd March 2022. It was last reviewed on 3rd March 2022.

This website was last tested on 18th February 2022. The test was carried out by Kent County Council (KCC).