Accessibility statement (website)

Scottish Book Trust is an independent national charity with a mission to ensure people living in Scotland have equal access to books. Everyone should have the opportunity to improve their life chances through books and the fundamental skills of reading and writing. We are committed to making our website and other digital products accessible to as many people as possible.

Measures to support accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to https://www.scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window). This website was built to WCAG 2.1 AA standard by our digital agency, Primate, and is run by Scottish Book Trust. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• Change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• Zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• Listen to most of the website using a screen reader

AbilityNet(this link will open in a new window) has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We are continually working to improve the accessibility of this website through our content curation, creation, upload and management processes. However, we know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

• Most older PDF and Microsoft Office documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• Captions are not available on older video content
• The design of our focus indicator does not have sufficient colour contrast with all website elements
• There are some website locations where the focus indicator temporarily disappears, and keyboard navigation gets stuck
• Select areas of the website, including forms, some carousels and the cookie consent banner, are difficult to navigate using keyboard navigation only and screen reader technology
• Dynamic content that changes based on user input, including in forms, interacting with filters and carousels, is not evident for screen reader users
• Our custom-built online forms require some development work for general accessibility improvements
• We use embeds for platforms including Soundcloud, YouTube, and third-party form builders (Microsoft Forms, Google Forms, SurveyMonkey) and cannot guarantee the accessibility of these players and forms
• Page title tags are not always unique
• Labels and instructions are not always provided when content requires user input
• Multilanguage content is not optimised for screen reader or other accessible technologies

The above list is not extensive but provides some of the most common examples of accessibility issues on the Scottish Book Trust website. Please continue reading to learn technical information about this website's accessibility, or email digital@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window) to request a copy of our accessibility report.

Feedback and contact information

We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or need information on this website in a different format, contact us at digital@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window) or by calling 0131 524 0160.

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting our office

Unfortunately, our office at Sandeman House is not wheelchair accessible at this time. However, there may be something we can do to accommodate persons with certain mobility impairments. Please note, Sandeman House does not currently have an induction loop. If you have any questions regarding access to the building or gardens, please don't hesitate to get in touch with Meg Elphee on 0131 524 0173 or email Meg.Elphee@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Scottish Book Trust is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018(this link will open in a new window).

Compliance status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1(this link will open in a new window) AA standard due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

• Some older Microsoft Office and PDF documents on our website are not fully accessible to screen reader software. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content. In 2021–22 we created and implemented accessible document templates supported by organisation-wide training. All new Microsoft Office and PDF documents uploaded to our website are created using our accessible templates.
• Some of our online forms are not fully accessible to screen reader software. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. Where possible, we use custom-built HTML web forms for our programme applications. However, we also rely on Word document forms and third-party tools such as SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and Microsoft forms. In 2022, we audited our existing custom-built forms and invested in development work to create a reusable form builder on our website. This means we will be less reliant on third-party tools. The audit also identified more specific accessibility and user experience issues which we are working to resolve. We continue to ensure that alternative methods of completing forms remain available while we investigate new solutions and finalise development work.
• The focus indicator is not visible in certain website sections. This means that users who rely on keyboard navigation or who have visual impairments may be prevented from navigating and operating certain sections of the website and participating in our programmes. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible. In 2023, we implemented a solution that covered most of our website, and are continuing to identify and fix impacted areas as a high priority, including forms and our video player controls.
• Our cookie consent banner is currently keyboard inaccessible. We use a third-party platform, CookieYes, to power our cookie consent banner. Fixing this keyboard navigation issue is within CookieYes’ pipeline for future developments. If the accessibility issue remains unresolved, we will investigate an accessible alternative. Our website will only enable analytics tracking when a user actively accepts cookies, so if no action is taken then no tracking will occur. We want to ensure all users have the option to accept, decline and customise their cookie preferences and are investigating a solution with high priority. 
• Select areas of the website are difficult to navigate using keyboard navigation only and screen reader technology. Areas affected include but are not limited to forms, the cookie consent banner, and some carousels. This fails WCAG success criteria 2.4.3 Focus Order and 2.4.7 Focus Visible. We have raised individual issues within our accessibility report and are working with our digital agency to fix them. 
• Dynamic content that changes based on user input is not evident for screen reader users. This fails WCAG success criteria 2.4.3 Focus Order and 3.2.2 On Input and means individuals who are blind or have low vision may have difficulty knowing when a visual context change has occurred. This issue impacts areas such as forms, filtered pages and carousels.
• We use Soundcloud embeds for audio content on the website. As SoundCloud is a third-party platform, we cannot guarantee the accessibility of the audio player and are aware that the embed has some issues, including but not limited to: focus indicator visibility; screen reader announcements; missing iframe titles; difficulty selecting controls for assistive technology users. This fails multiple WCAG success criteria. Scottish Book Trust is currently investigating Soundcloud's accessibility and whether we have the ability to make necessary improvements or will need to consider an alternative audio player solution.  
• Page title tags are not always unique. This makes it difficult for assistive technology users to identify their current location and the topic or purpose of a given webpage, failing WCAG success criterion 2.4.2 Page Titled. We are addressing this issue as part of ongoing Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) work and will update this statement once page title tags have been updated.
• Labels and instructions are not always provided when content requires user input. This issue affects search bars and filters on the homepage and our live literature author directory and means users may not be aware what input data is expected. This fails WCAG success criterion 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions.
• Multilanguage content is not optimised for screen reader or other accessible technologies. Our website’s language is set to British English but also contains content in Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Punjabi, Mandarin and Polish. This fails WCAG success criterion 3.1.1 Language of Page and means accessible technology will not interact correctly with the content.

Disproportionate burden

• Some pre-recorded videos published after 23 September 2020 do not have captions. The absence of captions prevents deaf and hearing impaired people from accessing video content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded). Scottish Book Trust has since updated its content upload process so that all pre-recorded videos are uploaded with captions. Due to current resources, we cannot guarantee all pre-recorded videos on the website have captions but we will ensure all future content is captioned. We encourage users to get in touch if there is a specific video they need captions for and we will accommodate such requests as quickly as possible.

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

• Some of our digital versions of print documents are not fully accessible. We provide digital versions of some of our print resources (e.g. posters, badges etc.) for users to download, print and use at home. Some of these documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software as they are designed for physical rather than digital use. For new content, we will clearly signpost when documents are intended for physical use and any limitations for screen reader users. We will always aim to prepare digital versions of print resources in line with digital and print accessibility guidelines.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 22/09/21. It was last reviewed on 06/11/23.

This website was last tested on 21/06/23. 

Our digital team carried out testing internally against WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. We used this accessibility testing approach to decide on a sample of pages to test.

Please email digital@scottishbooktrust.com(this link will open in a new window) if you wish to read the full accessibility test report.