Contents
This accessibility statement applies to Primo, locally branded as FindIt@Bham, accessed via https://birmingham-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/ or https://findit.bham.ac.uk/.
Using this website
Primo is a third party system provided by Ex Libris to run the library search on behalf of the University of Birmingham. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- 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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
We've also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
Due to Primo being a third-party platform, some aspects of its accessibility are outside of the University of Birmingham’s immediate control.
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 aren't fully accessible:
- screenreaders may not capture all information visible to a sighted user..
- keyboard focus may be missing or difficult to see.
- some page elements do not reflow correctly and cover background content at high levels of zoom.
Feedback and contact information
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we're not meeting accessibility requirements, contact library@mail.libanswers.bham.ac.uk, for the attention of the Digital Library team.
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, or need any further help, please contact us.
We'll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.
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).
Technical information about this website's accessibility
The University of Birmingham is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance status
The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 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
The following problems have been detected during accessibility testing, and we are in the process of addressing them. Unless otherwise specified, these issues need to be fixed by our third-party supplier.
Grouped by WCAG 2.2 criteria:
1.1.1 Non-text Content
- WCAG level: A
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Search Results, Full Display
- Remarks and explanations: Most non-text content has text alternatives or a text alternate that serves an equivalent purpose. Exceptions: Text alternative for the active image missing.
1.3.1 Info and Relationships
- WCAG level: A
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Full Display, Person Page, Brief Results
- Remarks and explanations: issues include incorrect/absent heading semantics, missing required child elements for some roles, and block quotations lacking semantic markup.
1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence
- WCAG level: A
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Search Results
- Remarks and explanations: some visually hidden content is announced by screen readers (e.g., after selecting 'Select All' hidden page number is read).
1.4.1 Use of colour
- WCAG level: A
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Person Page (copyrights section)
- Remarks and explanations: colour alone used to identify links and link text contrast < 3:1 against surrounding text in some cases.
2.1.1 Keyboard
- WCAG level: A
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Full Display – View online – Digital Version Availability
- Remarks and explanations: a function cannot be performed with keyboard alone; potential conflicts with browser/AT shortcuts and gesture-only behaviours.
2.4.3 Focus Order
- WCAG level: A
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Search Results (hidden 'Save Query' button)
- Remarks and explanations: focus can move to hidden/empty elements after actions (e.g., Tab navigates to hidden control after 'Select All').
2.5.3 Label in Name
- WCAG level: A
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Person Page
- Remarks and explanations: accessible names of some interactive elements do not contain the visible label (e.g., 'See All Titles', 'See more in Wikipedia').
4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
- WCAG level: A
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Full Display; Person Page; Search Results; Resource Filters Bar
- Remarks and explanations: issues include incorrect use of role='application', missing/incorrect expanded/collapsed states, nested interactive elements, and pressed state not conveyed for some buttons (e.g., 'All' in Resource Filters Bar).
1.4.3 Contrast (minimum)
- WCAG level: AA
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Full Display – Info Card
- Remarks and explanations: Some text has contrast ratio < 4.5:1 with background, impacting readability for users with low vision/colourblindness.
1.4.4 Resize Text
- WCAG level: AA
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Full Display – Info Card
- Remarks and explanations: Some text has contrast ratio < 4.5:1 with background, impacting readability for users with low vision/colourblindness.
1.4.10 Reflow
- WCAG level: AA
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Remarks and explanations: at 200% zoom some content is lost, clipped, or obscured, limiting access for users who enlarge text.
1.4.11 Non-text Contrast
- WCAG level: AA
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Search Results; Full Display; Search section
- Remarks and explanations: indicators for states (e.g., checkbox/radio) and focus indicators sometimes lack 3:1 contrast with background.
1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus
- WCAG level: AA
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Remarks and explanations: Some hover/focus-triggered content (tooltips, dropdowns, popups) is not dismissible and can obscure original content.
2.4.6 Headings and Labels
- WCAG level: AA
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Full Display – Info Card
- Remarks and explanations: multiple buttons share identical programmatic labels but different functions (e.g., 'Show more'), causing screen reader confusion.
2.4.7 Focus Visible
- WCAG level: AA
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Pages/areas mentioned: Search Results – Resource Types Filter Bar
- Remarks and explanations: some interactive elements lack a visible focus indicator, hindering keyboard navigation awareness.
3.1.2 Language of Parts
- WCAG level: AA
- Conformance level: partially supports
- Remarks and explanations: Primo may not correctly identify language for certain record elements (e.g., title, abstract).
Disproportionate burden
At this time, we have not made any disproportionate burden claims.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
This section covers accessibility problems that fall outside the scope of the accessibility regulations.
Third-party content
Our websites contain third-party content. We do not have control over and are not responsible for the accessibility of this content, but we make best endeavours to work with the third-party to improve its accessibility.
The University purchases many resources which are available online, such as e-books, e-journals and databases. These can be found by searching FindIt@Bham. If a publisher produces information about how accessible their resource is, we will provide a link to it, alongside the licence conditions. Click on 'Show Licence' in the FindIt@Bham record to see this information.
What we're doing to improve accessibility
Our supplier publishes their own accessibility roadmap for Primo (the software which FindIt@Bham runs on) which shows how and when they plan to improve accessibility on this website.
The University of Birmingham is working with ExLibris to address any issues found.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 30 January 2020. It was last reviewed on 16 December 2025.
This website was last tested in between July and August 2024 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
The test was carried out by Deque Systems Inc. A combination of automated and manual testing techniques was employed for the accessibility assessment.
Read the full accessibility test report.
Further help
Further help can be obtained by contacting Libraries and Learning Resources.
January 2020 - December 2025.