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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:

  • Not all links have correct or accessible labels to facilitate navigation.
  • The contrast in colours used for text and background is sometimes weak.
  • There are occasional missing or duplicate attributes in the way parts of the some pages are described.
  • 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.

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 May 2024.

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. On the Advanced Search page, in the "Refine your search" and "Content type" panels, check lists are not appropriately labelled and identified as groups. The "Exclude this item" close button for each link under "Content type" and "Any type" is missing a required label to identify it as part of a list. 
  • Success criterion 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (Level AA). From and to publication input fields in Advanced Search need extra labelling. There is no labelling for Options in the date widget when opened by clicking on "date". 
  • Success criterion 1.4.4 Resize Text. Pages do not support zooming to required levels, including the "Help/hamburger". 
  • Success criterion 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast. In the search results, the online indicator for book cover has a low contrast ration (Availability dot).
  • Success criterion 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus. When the search box is in focus and has text, suggestion list (when available) is displayed underneath. The user is not notified of this list. It is only available visually. 
  • Success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard. The user is unable to reach any control in the right-hand panel. Searching within search results not possible with keyboard controls. 
  • Success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks. The user cannot skip facets displayed with search results. The user cannot skip search results if the intent is to access controls past the results. 
  • Success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) In the search results, "Did you mean" <suggested term> link purpose is not sufficient. 
  • Success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels. The count for saved items is not labelled. A non-visual option is not available for the citation path "You are here, You started here". On "Saved Searches" <number> control, the number is not labelled. "Search Options" dialog heading is not identified as one. 
  • Success criterion 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum). The search facets sort control is below minimum size. This issue will be raised with our system provider to find a solution.
  • 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 3.3.3 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. The Options dialogue is not communicated to the user when opened. 
  • Success criterion 4.1.3 Status Messages. The user is unaware when search results return zero results. 

 

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.

The system provider are making available their roadmap in spring 2024 for fixes to achieve full compliance with WCAG 2.2 levels A and AA.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 28 Aug 2024.

This website was last tested against WCAG 2.2 in May 2024 by the 3rd party system provider. The test was carried out by ProQuest, using a number of industry-standard tools and manual checks.

An internal test will be conducted within 1 year from the one completed by the 3rd party supplier of the system against WCAG 2.2 and the accessibility statement updated accordingly.

Feedback and contact information

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

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: lib-webadmin@bradford.ac.uk

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).