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CRL Digital Collections

Summary

Accessiblü conducted a high-level accessibility evaluation of the CRL Digital Collections platform to assess its usability for individuals with disabilities. The review was conducted using the JAWS screen reader on Windows 11 with Google Chrome, keyboard-only navigation, and manual inspection for conformance to select WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria.

Key Findings

The CRL Digital Collections platform presents significant accessibility challenges that create substantial barriers for users with disabilities. During our testing, we encountered numerous critical issues that prevented users from effectively navigating the site, conducting searches, filtering results, and accessing digital resources. These issues severely impact the ability of screen reader users and keyboard-only users to use the platform effectively.

The evaluation revealed issues including missing skip navigation links, improper semantic structure, unlabeled interactive elements, missing ARIA states and properties, inaccessible dynamic content updates, poor focus management, and completely inaccessible document viewer functionality. Many core interface elements—including navigation menus, search filters, and the document viewing system—are either difficult or impossible for users with disabilities to operate independently.

Addressing these concerns would significantly improve the experience for persons with disabilities and users of assistive technology, allowing them to access the valuable research materials that CRL Digital Collections provides to the academic community.

Top 5 Issues

  1. Missing ARIA States and Inaccessible Form Controls

    1. Interactive components like checkboxes, toggle switches, and expandable menus do not properly communicate their states (checked/unchecked, expanded/collapsed) to screen readers. Many filter options are announced as static text or incorrectly identified as toggle buttons.
    2. Impact: Screen reader users cannot determine the current state of interface elements, making it impossible to understand filter selections or know if their actions produced the expected results.
    3. WCAG Success Criteria: 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A), 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A)

  2. Inaccessible Document Viewer and Page Navigation

    1. The embedded document viewer contains unlabeled graphics for page images, non-functional page navigation links, and lacks alternative text for scanned content. Users cannot navigate between pages or access document content.
    2. Impact: Screen reader users are completely unable to view or navigate the digitized materials, which represents the primary purpose of the platform.
    3. WCAG Success Criteria: 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A), 2.4.4 Link Purpose (A), 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A)

  3. Missing Live Regions and Dynamic Content Announcements

    1. When search filters are applied, year ranges are changed, or content updates dynamically, no announcements are made to screen readers. Focus often returns to the top of the page without notification.
    2. Impact: Users with disabilities have no way to know that content has changed, leading to confusion and making it nearly impossible to effectively use search and filtering functions.
    3. WCAG Success Criteria: 4.1.3 Status Messages (AA), 3.2.2 On Input (A)

  4. Tables Used for Layout

    1. Multiple tables are used throughout the interface purely for visual layout purposes rather than for presenting tabular data. These tables lack proper headers, scope attributes, and semantic structure.
    2. Impact: Screen reader users receive confusing announcements about table structures that don't actually exist, making page navigation and comprehension extremely difficult.
    3. WCAG Success Criteria: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A), 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (A)

  5. Missing Landmarks and Document Structure

    1. The platform lacks a main landmark region and has inconsistent heading hierarchy. Navigation elements are not properly identified, and skip navigation links are absent.
    2. Impact: Screen reader users cannot quickly navigate to main content or understand the page structure, requiring excessive time and effort to accomplish basic tasks.
    3. WCAG Success Criteria: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A), 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A), 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (AA)

Disabilities Impacted

Blind and Low-Vision Users

  • Issues: Missing alternative text for images, unlabeled form controls and interactive elements, missing ARIA states and properties, inaccessible navigation patterns, no skip links, tables used for layout, missing live region announcements, completely inaccessible document viewer, and unlabeled page thumbnails.
  • Impact: Screen reader users cannot effectively search, filter results, or access the digitized content. The platform fails to communicate dynamic changes, filter states, or document content, making the primary functionality of the digital collections completely inaccessible.

Users with Motor Disabilities

  • Issues: No skip navigation to bypass repetitive content, unpredictable focus management that returns focus to the page top, non-functional keyboard controls in the document viewer, and lack of keyboard access to certain interactive elements.
  • Impact: Keyboard-only users must tab through extensive content repeatedly and cannot effectively navigate documents. Focus loss after filter activation requires users to navigate back to their previous location, creating significant barriers to efficient use.

Neurodiverse Users

  • Issues: Inconsistent interface patterns, unpredictable behavior when activating controls, lack of feedback when actions are taken, confusing table announcements for layout elements, and missing status updates for search results.
  • Impact: Users with cognitive disabilities struggle to develop a mental model of how the interface works due to inconsistent patterns and behavior. The lack of clear feedback and status updates creates additional cognitive load, making the platform difficult or impossible to use independently.