Accessibility of SLU University Library’s digital services

Last changed: 26 June 2023

The SLU University Library wants everyone to be able to use the library’s digital services. Here we describe how our digital services complies with the accessibility regulations, known accessibility issues, and how you can report problems.

We are aware that our digital services currently aren’t fully compliant with the regulations, but we are continuously working to improve the accessibility. A number of the services the library offers are delivered via third party systems and we are not always able to control, or completely control, the user interface. In these cases we report issues to the supplier and upgrade the service when improvements have been made. Information about specific services is found below.

What you can do if you are unable to use our digital services

Contact the library if you need content from us that is not accessible to you.

Enforcement procedure

The Agency for Digital Government is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint about web accessibility or your request to make content accessible, you can submit a complaint to them. 

Issues with our digital services

The website and the underlying systems are partially compliant with the Swedish accessibility regulations. For details about accessibility in each service, see below.

The SLU University Library’s website

The website https://www.slu.se/bibliotek/ is a part of the university’s external website, which has a joint accessibility statement.

The SLU publication database

The system behind the SLU publication database is provided by Converis by Clarivate. The search interface is developed by the library. 

Non accessible content

Converis is partially compliant with the accessibility regulations but is continuously working to fix known accessibility issues in the system’s interface, code, and functionality.

The search interface is to a large extent compliant with the accessibility regulations and we are continuously working to fix known accessibility issues in the system’s interface, code, and functionality.

The latest assessment of Converis was made 21 September 2022. The latest assessment of the search interface was made 31 March 2023. 

Disproportionate burden

Some of the content in the publication database consists of PDF documents (full text versions of research results). These are produced and uploaded by different parties within the university. To control and adjust all of these to comply with the accessibility regulations is currently not a manageable task. For that reason, the SLU University Library invokes an exemption for disproportionate burden in accordance with § 12 in the accessibility regulations.

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

The content described below is not fully accessible, but is exempt in accordance with § 9 in the accessibility regulations.

Older pdf documents (published before 23 September 2018) are exempt from the accessibility regulations, “unless such content is needed for active administrative processes relating to the tasks performed by the public sector body concerned”. In the publication database there are a lot of older pdf documents that are exempt.

Epsilon repository for student projects

The repository is built on the open-source software EPrints (version 3.3.16).

Non accessible content

The Epsilon repository for student projects is partially compliant with the accessibility regulations but is continuously working to fix known accessibility issues in the system’s interface, code, and functionality. We are planning to upgrade to EPrints version 3.4.2 where a number of known accessibility issues have been fixed.

The latest assessment was made 15 November 2020.

Disproportionate burden

Some of the content in the repository consists of PDF documents (full text versions of student projects). These are produced and uploaded by different parties within the university. To control and adjust all of these to comply with the accessibility regulations is currently not a manageable task. For that reason, the SLU University Library invokes an exemption for disproportionate burden in accordance with § 12 in the accessibility regulations.

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

The content described below is not fully accessible, but is exempt in accordance with § 9 in the accessibility regulations.

Older pdf documents (published before 23 September 2018) are exempt from the accessibility regulations, “unless such content is needed for active administrative processes relating to the tasks performed by the public sector body concerned”. In the repository there are a lot of older pdf documents that are exempt.

The library search and loan system

The library search and loan system Primo VE is provided by Ex Libris. The company is continuously working to fix known accessibility issues in the system’s interface and functionality.

More about Ex Libris accessibility

Non-accessible content

The search and loan system is partially compliant with the accessibility regulations.

Known issues:

  • In some cases, errors in the page code prevent screen readers and other assistive technologies to correctly to present all elements, and in the correct order.

  • When navigating only with the keyboard, it is not always apparent which component that currently has the input focus.

  • Some images are coded incorrectly, which prevent screen readers and other assistive technologies to present them correctly.

  • Some headings have poor contrast which make them hard to read for people with visual disabilities.

The latest assessment was made 10 August 2023.

Disproportionate burden

The SLU University Library invokes an exemption for disproportionate burden for adapting content in the search and loan system in accordance with § 12 in the accessibility regulations. We invoke the exemption based on the following:

  • The data describing the publications available via the library’s search tool comes from several different systems where language is mixed both in and between the records. Functionality for translating the data in a consistent manner is lacking in the system. This results in language not being treated uniformly when using screen readers or other tools. To control and adjust the data in accordance with the accessibility regulations is not a manageable task.

  • When a publication is available electronically the user is linked to other platforms and systems for downloading in PDF or other format. The publications are produced and made available by the publishers or suppliers that licenses content to the library. As a subscriber, it is not a manageable task to control and adjust the publications in accordance with the accessibility regulations.

The library FAQ, contact form, and chat

The FAQ, contact form, and chat are a part of the service LibAnswers provided by Springshare, and are partially compliant with the accessibility regulations.

Non accessible content

  • In some places in the FAQ, the contrast between text and background is not high enough.
  • In the contact form and in some places in the FAQ, Swedish and English are mixed on the same page, which results in for example screen readers not rendering the content accurately.
  • Screen focus sometimes skips the chat box, which can result in difficulties navigating the webpage using the Tab key.

The latest assessment was made 10 February 2023.

How we tested our digital services

We have performed a self-assessment (internal testing) of https://www.slu.se/en/subweb/library/ and our digital services.

Date of the latest assessment is provided for each system in the list above. 

Reporting accessibility problems with the digitals services

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our digital services. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or if we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, please contact the library.