Accessibility
Accessibility Statement for Our History Website
Website accessibility statement in line with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
Our History is a website hosted by the University of Edinburgh Library on behalf of the University of Edinburgh. It holds collection information and images from our collections about the history of the University.
We want as many people as possible to be able to use our website. For example, this means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- experience no time limits to content
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- magnify up to 200%
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.
AbilityNet - My computer my way
With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website to make it easier to read and navigate.
Additional information on how to customise our website appearance
If you are a member of the University staff or a student you can use the free Sensus Access accessible document conversion service.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- For all non- text content such as images and icons there may not be text descriptions
- The colours on are pages may not meet current colour contrast recommendations
- The pages may not be fully compatible with screen readers e.g. a screen reader may not be able to determine what the content is and how it relates to other content
- All our web pages may not have a title that clearly describes their purpose
- The default language of each page may not be identified
- User interface elements may not be compatible with assistive technology
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille please contact the website team by contacting us:
By using the IS Helpline online contact form
Or phoning
+44 (0)131 651 5151
Or email
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re 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 let us know by contacting:
By using the IS Helpline online contact form
Or phoning
+44 (0)131 651 5151
Or email
We’ll 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
British Sign Language Scotland 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 from 8am to 12 midnight, 7 days a week.
British Sign Language Scotland service details
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites 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 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below
The full guidelines are available at
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria
Not all non-text items may have text alternatives
1.1.1 - Non-text Content
There may not be sufficient colour contrast between font and background colours especially where the text size is very small.
1.4.3 -Contrast (Minimum)
Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation may not be programmatically determined or are available in text.
3.1 Info and Relationships
Web pages may not have titles that describe topic or purpose.
2.4.2 Page Titled
The default human language of each Web page may not be programmatically determined.
3.1.1 Language of Page
Some input elements do not have a name available to an accessibility API.
4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Unless specified otherwise, wherever possible a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place by March 2021 where the issues are within our control. Disproportionate burden
We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix. Content that is not within the Scope of the Accessibility Regulations
At this time we are not claiming that any content is out with the scope of the regulations. What we're doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to work with our in house developers and the external host supplier to address these issues and deliver a solution or suitable workaround and correct issues directly where they are under our control. This site is hosted within the University and developed by open source MediaWiki.
We will continue to monitor accessibility and will carry out further accessibility testing if significant changes are made to the user interface or if a service user raises an issue. To plan to resolve the issues that are within our control by December 2021. We plan to manual review the accessibility of the site and make improvements and update this statement before December 2021. Whilst we are resolving issues or where we are unable to resolve an issue we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to ensure no user is placed at a disadvantage. Information Services and accessibility
Information Services (IS) has further information on accessibility including assistive technology, creating accessible documents, and services IS provides for disabled users.
Assistive technology, creating accessible documents, and services IS provides for disabled users Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 7th August 2020. It was last reviewed on 9th September 2020.
This website was last tested on 7th August 2020. The test was carried out by The University Library and University Collections Digital Library team using the automated LittleForest tool. The website is scheduled for manual testing by December 2021.
We did not use sample pages for testing - all pages were run through LittleForest.
Little Forrest claims it tests the following WCAG criteria either partially or wholly
WCAG 2.1
A
1.1.1
Non-text Content
WCAG 2.1
A
1.2.1
Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)
WCAG 2.1
A
1.2.2
Captions (Prerecorded)
WCAG 2.1
A
1.2.3
Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
WCAG 2.1
A
1.3.1
Info and Relationships
WCAG 2.1
A
1.3.2
Meaningful Sequence
WCAG 2.1
A
1.3.3
Sensory Characteristics
WCAG 2.1
A
1.4.1
Use of Color
WCAG 2.1
A
1.4.2
Audio Control
WCAG 2.1
A
2.1.1
Keyboard
WCAG 2.1
A
2.1.2
No Keyboard Trap
WCAG 2.1
A
2.2.1
Timing Adjustable
WCAG 2.1
A
2.2.2
Pause, Stop, Hide
WCAG 2.1
A
2.3.1
Three Flashes or Below Threshold
WCAG 2.1
A
2.4.1
Bypass Blocks
WCAG 2.1
A
2.4.2
Page Titled
WCAG 2.1
A
2.4.3
Focus Order
WCAG 2.1
A
2.4.4
Link Purpose (In Context)
WCAG 2.1
A
3.1.1
Language of Page
WCAG 2.1
A
3.2.1
On Focus
WCAG 2.1
A
3.2.2
On Input
WCAG 2.1
A
3.3.1
Error Identification
WCAG 2.1
A
3.3.2
Labels or Instructions
WCAG 2.1
A
4.4.1
Parsing
WCAG 2.0
A
4.4.2
Name, Role, Value
WCAG 2.1
AA
1.2.4
Captions (Live)
WCAG 2.1
AA
1.2.5
Audio Description (Prerecorded)
WCAG 2.1
AA
1.4.3
Contrast (Minimum)
WCAG 2.1
AA
1.4.4
Resize Text
WCAG 2.1
AA
1.4.5
Images of Text
WCAG 2.1
AA
2.4.5
Multiple Ways
WCAG 2.1
AA
2.4.6
Headings and Labels
WCAG 2.1
AA
2.4.7
Focus Visible
WCAG 2.1
AA
3.1.2
Language of Parts
WCAG 2.1
AA
3.2.3
Consistent Navigation
WCAG 2.1
AA
3.2.4
Consistent Identification
WCAG 2.1
AA
3.3.3
Error Suggestion
WCAG 2.1
AA
3.3.4
Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data)
WCAG 2.1
AAA
1.2.6
Sign Language (Prerecorded)
WCAG 2.1
AAA
1.2.7
Extended Audio Description (Prerecorded)
WCAG 2.1
AAA
1.2.8
Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
WCAG 2.1
AAA
1.2.9
Audio-only (Live)
WCAG 2.1
AAA
1.4.6
Contrast (Enhanced)
WCAG 2.1
AAA
1.4.7
Low or No Background Audio
WCAG 2.1
AAA
1.4.8
Visual Presentation
WCAG 2.1
AAA
1.4.9
Images of Text (No Exception)
WCAG 2.1
AAA
2.1.3
Keyboard (No Exception)
WCAG 2.1
AAA
2.2.3
No Timing
WCAG 2.1
AAA
2.2.4
Interruptions
WCAG 2.1
AAA
2.2.5
Re-authenticating
WCAG 2.1
AAA
2.3.2
Three Flashes
WCAG 2.1
AAA
2.4.8
Location
WCAG 2.1
AAA
2.4.9
Link Purpose (Link Only)
WCAG 2.1
AAA
2.4.10
Section Headings
WCAG 2.1
AAA
3.1.3
Unusual Words
WCAG 2.1
AAA
3.1.4
Abbreviations
WCAG 2.1
AAA
3.1.5
Reading
WCAG 2.1
AAA
3.1.6
Pronunciation
WCAG 2.1
AAA
3.2.5
Change on Request
WCAG 2.1
AAA
3.3.5
Help
WCAG 2.1
AAA
3.3.6
Error Prevention (All)
WCAG 2.1
AA
1.3.4
Orientation
WCAG 2.1
AA
1.3.5
Identify Input Purpose