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Accessibility statement for the SOLUS Library Web Application

This accessibility statement is applicable for all Library Web Apps built by SOLUS UK Ltd and supplied either directly, or via partners and distributors globally.

This accessibility statement applies to the SOLUS Library Web App, white labelled Library Web Apps built by SOLUS (also known as LUCi or LSP Discovery) and provided by partners or distributors, all of which are branded for the end customer Public or Academic Library Service.

This Library Web App enables users to search the Library catalogue, make reservations, borrow/loan items and renew them. In addition, it provides access to a large number of digital services offered by libraries.

This Library Web App is run by SOLUS UK Ltd, or by our partners and distributors. Please note, Library Web Apps are provided online for free by the end customer Library Service. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this Library Web Application. To enable this, we have ensured that the Library Web App is available in different colours and in high contrast with accessible fonts. Additionally, users can:

• Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
• Navigate all the Application using just a keyboard
• Navigate all the Application using speech recognition software
• Listen to all the Application using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and Voiceover)

Please note, whilst we have made the Application accessible, we cannot legislate for content added to the Library Web Application by the end user library service customer, of from third party content systems such as the Integrated Library System or eContent vendors.

We've also made the Application text as simple as possible to understand.

How accessible this web application is

We know that some parts of this Application are not fully accessible:

• The pop-up notifications are not focused automatically; therefore, the user must navigate through the app to close the pop-ups (if the time-out timer has not been set up).
• By default, the pop-up notifications will remain on the screen until the user closes them manually. However, there is a time-out preference that can be set up when the user logs in.
• If a dialogue box is present, the keyboard-only users may not be able to reach the pop-up notifications to close them.
• You cannot modify the colour of text or contrast - although standard elements conform to the WCAG 2.1 AAA contrast requirements
• You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
• Any PDF documents linked to from the mobile application may not be fully accessible to screen reader software
• Live video streams may not have captions
• Some of the webpages that are linked to from the web application may not be as accessible as the web application itself

Feedback and contact information

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

• Email info@sol.us
• Call +44 1355 813 600

We'll consider your request and get back to you in 72 hours.

Reporting accessibility problems with this Web Application

We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this Web Application. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we're not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact our support team via email at support@sol.us

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). (opens a new window)

Technical information about this mobile application's accessibility

SOLUS UK Ltd is committed to making its Library Web Application accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This Application is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Some images added by the library may not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).

Some external links added by the library and that will cause a new browser tab to open, may fail to warn the user about that.

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

PDFs and other documents

Some library information may be provided as a PDF which has been published prior to 23 September 2018.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they're not essential to providing their services.

Any new PDFs or Word documents they publish will meet accessibility standards.

Live video

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

SOLUS UK Ltd appointed the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) in the UK to undertake accessibility reviews and report on the Library Web Application in 2021.

We received the latest update to this report on 20th December 2022 and are currently reviewing this to take any steps required to rectify any issues reported on. We aim to be fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard by the end of January 2023. At this point we will then update this accessibility statement to define compliance and any issues mitigated. This applies to the web application only and not any external content linked to (for example web pages, video streams or PDFs).

UPDATE 18th April 2023 - the RNIB have provided an updated review of the platform. We'll provide an update shortly based on this review.

UPDATE 24th May 2023 - The application is set to be retested soon by the RNIB to see if the alterations and changes we have made to the app meet the WCAG 2.1 AA, once we have the new report in place, we will publish it here.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 01/08/2022. It was last updated on 24/05/2023.

This Application was last tested on 10/04/2022. The test was carried out by the RNIB and was an update to a review that covered the full user journey on the Library Web Application from the initial registration and log in, through the more complex elements as they relate to the user library account management functionality and accessing third party services. Once this report has been reviewed and changes implemen