Accessibility developments drive Taylor & Francis Online towards WCAG 2.1 level AA
Magnification and screen reading functionality can now be accessed on Taylor & Francis Online.
Taylor & Francis Group has today updated its Accessibility Statement to confirm major steps towards achieving level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG). WCAG standards are set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a globally adopted standard ensuring websites are useful to all. The guidelines are widely accepted as the gold standard for digital accessibility.
At least one billion people – 15% of the world’s population – have a recognized disability, according to the World Health Organization[i]. The World Health Organization reports that with an ageing global population and a rise in noncommunicable diseases, more than 2 billion people will need at least 1 assistive product by 2030.
Taylor & Francis Online has made accessibility a priority to ensure that its digital products can be easily used by all, regardless of ability or any assistive technology in use. Recent developments to Taylor & Francis Online have focused on improving access for as many forms of disability as possible. These have been implemented in line with the Four Principles of Accessibility put forward by WCAG 2.1: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust.
New developments ensure the website works seamlessly for those using popular screen readers, as well as the introduction of integrated website functionality improving access for those without adaptive technology. This includes the recently launched text-to-speech Readspeaker function, live online content delivered in EPUB format through eReader, and screen resizing options for use on mobile devices. Content is navigable via the keyboard, without the need to use the mouse, and pages have a “go to top” link to make it easier to navigate through the site. Images and graphics have text descriptions, and navigation links are consistent across pages to make it easy to understand the layout of the entire website.
“We are committed to improving the digital experience for all Taylor & Francis Online users”, comments Paul Tuten, Chief Product & Technology Officer. “We are proud of the great strides made towards improving the accessibility of the platform, and we will continue to update our practices to ensure that accessibility is a priority which is fully embedded in all our processes.”
[1] World Health Organization Report on Disability
https://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report/en/
**ENDS**
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About Taylor & Francis Group
Taylor & Francis Group partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide to bring knowledge to life. As one of the world’s leading publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works our content spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Science, Technology and Medicine.
From our network of offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi and Cape Town, Taylor & Francis staff provide local expertise and support to our editors, societies and authors and tailored, efficient customer service to our library colleagues.