Summon accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to the Summon Discovery Service based on its frontpage at https://bradford.summon.serialssolutions.com/ and pages within this sub-domain.

Summon is an online academic search engine developed by Serials Solutions, ProQuest and Ex Libris. 

The items that can be located by using Summon - such as eBooks and eJournal articles - are accessed on external websites and are not covered by this accessibility statement. In addition, the authentication tools in place to access the above mentioned content are also out of scope.

---

University of Bradford is committed to making its Summon Discovery Service accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This 3rd party supplied service is run by the University of Bradford library. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this service. For example, that means you should be able to:

• Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard.
• Go directly to main content areas on the page using skip links.
• Easily read text on the page due to high colour contrast.
• Listen to most of the website using a screen reader.
• Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software.
• Zoom in up to 400% using browser tools without text spilling off screen.

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

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

How accessible this website is

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

• While the main workflow on this website is keyboard accessible, there are some areas that are difficult or impossible to navigate with a keyboard.
• Some repetitive areas on the page are not skippable using skip links.
• Labels are missing for controls in a small number of cases.
• Most of the text can be magnified up to 200% without loss of functionality. At a zoom level of 400%, some content may spill off the screen or overlap.
• Some interface elements lack clear programmatic labels, roles, or values, which may hinder assistive technologies from accurately interpreting their function.
• Not all links or controls provide enough information to screen readers to understand their purpose out of context, and some notifications may not be read out to the user automatically.

Aspects of these issues derive from use of the third party Summon system. The Library is liaising with ProQuest as the vendors of Summon to address the issues identified as the Library has no access to the code base of the service. ProQuest also make available a VPAT report for Summon.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Bradford Library is committed to making its website accessible and we work with our 3rd party system supplier to achieve this, 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 2.2 standard, due to the non-compliances listed below, as tested by the system vendor in February 2026.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

• Success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. A set of form controls lacks a programmatic association with a group label; In combo boxes, originally selected option loses indication when navigating via arrows, breaking the relationship between "selected value" and the option list; Opening combo boxes or typing in an edit field and interacting may trigger announcing of the entire page content instead of just the active control/options; Excluded-count status is not updated to reflect the true number, so the relationship between control and its state is not accurately exposed; Screen reader does not announce the calendar or the focused date selection; The "Excluded" buttons' names/states do not reflect their relationship to the corresponding term, obscuring the association between control, target, and state.
• Success criterion 1.4.1 Use of Color. Focus indication relies solely on colour, and contrast between focused state and background; and the link has insufficient colour contrast with the surrounding text.
• Success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum). Small number of content does not have contrast between foreground and background colours that meets WCAG 2 AA minimum contrast ratio thresholds.
• Success criterion 1.4.4 Resize Text. The <meta name="viewport"> configuration restricts zoom/text scaling; and when filters/more panels expand, they obscure main content, leading to hidden text and reduced operability at increased text sizes.
• Success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow. When the page is adjusted to an equivalent width of 320 pixels and content reflows to fit within the viewport, some content or functionality becomes unavailable, so people with low vision who increase size of text and other content using the browser zoom will not be able to access all the page's content and/or functionality.
• Success criterion 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast. Focus outline does not have a 3:1 colour contrast ratio with the background colours for a number of controls; and the modal close button ("X") does not have a 3:1 colour contrast ratio with the background colours.
• Success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard. Several actionable elements are not keyboard accessible throughout the web application; Some of the Tooltip content is not accessible via keyboard; When a user activates the following links (e.g. Feedback, Help), a modal pops up. If the user tries to close the modals using the close button, modal closes and reopens again; With a screen reader turned on, activating "Permanent Link" sometimes triggers a different nearby link instead of opening the permanent link. When using the screen reader's Record Actions, actionable elements behave unpredictably. Keyboard activation does not consistently trigger the intended control.
• Success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks. Bypass mechanisms are not consistently available or operable. On the homepage, a skip link is not present. On the Search Results and Saved Items pages, a "Skip to main content" link exists but is not visible when focused and, in some cases, is not actionable. No skip link is provided to bypass repetitive regions such as the Filter section on the Search Results page, requiring users to tab through numerous controls.
• Success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order. Focus is not returned to the invoking control after dismissing menus, combo box, or modals, causing loss of context and breaking expected keyboard navigation order; Focus does not move logically into the newly displayed calendar day grid, making the widget difficult to discover; Activating "Collapse Filters" moves focus to the first search result - Shift+Tab navigates through unrelated actions before returning to "Expand Filters"; Selectinga sort option from "Sorted by Relevance" moves focus to pagination. Pressing Esc closes the menu and moves focus to the Search field instead of the Sort button; When closing menus/modals using Esc, focus moves to the Search field on Search Result; Pagination navigation loads new results but focus remains on pagination instead of moving to updated results on Search Result; in Discipline Filter, pressing Enter on Load more loads additional filters but focus remains on the Load more button on Search Result Filter; Selected filters appear in a "Selected" section with Remove ("x") and Clear all, but users must Shift+Tab extensively to reach them.
• Success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) Links opening in new windows lack cues; Multiple links with identical text lead to different destinations without clear context; Several buttons do not convey their specific purpose or associated content.
• Success criterion 2.4.7 Focus visible. Focus on the Graphic link is hardly visible; There is no visible focus on the main navigation links, and the "Back to top" link; Keyboard focus indicator overlaps and obscures the text of interactive elements on some instances.
• Success criterion 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum). Expanding multiple menus leaves prior menus open and overlapping, causing the focused item to subsequent menus to be partially/fully obscured; Search autocomplete remains open after focus moves away, covering main content and obscuring the newly focused element.
• Success criterion 3.1.2 Language of Parts. The content (e.g. searched titles) may include text that is different from the primary language of the platform. The site is not coded to identify changes to language in this type of content. 
• Success criterion 3.3.1 Error Identification. Error messages for invalid dates in "Publication date range from/to" are not announced automatically to screen reader users, and the same generic error text is used for both fields.
• Success criterion 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions. Linked card section uses icon-only placeholder links with no visible text or accessible name; Language Selection button announces only the current language and not its purpose; Some of the form fields have no visible labels, making purpose unclear; Filter and options include/exclude status is announced but without contextual labelling, causing ambiguity.
• Success criterion 3.3.3 Error Suggestion. The Advanced Search form does not provide an error suggestion for some the known formats (e.g. ISSN, ISBN). 
• Success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value. Several Button Missing Accessible names - screen reader announces it generically as "button"; Submenu control exposes and inaccurate accessible name and lacks meaningful programmatic label on the main search bar; "Sorted by" menu button does not update its programmatic value after the user selects a new option; Selected filters are announced only as the value plus "button" with no indication they are removable; Screen readers announce unintended characters for dropdowns and some links; When typing into the search input, autocomplete suggestions appear visually - screen reader users are not notified that suggestions are available, how many suggestions are present, or how to navigate and select them using the keyboard; several pages have some automated scan related issues.
• Success criterion 4.1.3 Status Messages. Activating "Add row" causes the entire Search Options modal to be re-announced instead of providing a brief status message; Removing a selected filter does not trigger any status message - screen reader users receive no confirmation that the filter was removed; "Nothing Matches <term>" message is visually displayed but not programmatically announced; Changing items in the Quick Look panel updates visual content but provides no announcement - users receive no indication that the displayed result has changed.

 

What we are doing to improve accessibility

The above sections detail our work in progress to improve accessibility in collaboration with the 3rd party system provider in accordance with:

• Level A and AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2)
• Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared in March 2026.

This website was last tested against WCAG 2.2 in February 2026 by the 3rd party system provider. The test was carried out by ProQuest, using a number of industry-standard tools and manual checks.

This accessibility statement will be reviewed annually and updated where appropriate.

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).