Accessibility Statement

Accessibility is a core value of Deep Blue Documents.

As part of the ongoing development of Deep Blue Documents, we work to make the platform and its content inclusive, accessible, and usable for all readers.

Last updated September 2, 2025

Deep Blue Documents makes every reasonable effort to be available to all users, especially those with disabilities, allocating significant time and resources towards ensuring Deep Blue Documents users have equal access. We approach this with three guiding principles:

  • Be responsive to requests for remediation or reported accessibility issues. We aim to respond to requests within five (5) business days.
  • Be proactive by identifying and working on known platform issues and remediation of content for most likely to be used and essential functions of the platform.
  • Be transparent as to what we are planning and doing to support accessibility requirements for the platform and its content.

Need Help?

If you need to be provided with an accessible version of a Work, please Contact Us.

If you would like to report an issue, share general comments, suggestions, or other ideas about accessibility, please Contact Us.

Conformance Status and VPAT®s

Deep Blue Documents aims to meet the latest WCAG 2 AA Standards (currently WCAG 2.2 AA) in two ways:

Deep Blue Documents’ conformance status is assessed through a combination of self-evaluation, user testing, and user feedback.

Compatibility with Assistive Technology

Deep Blue Documents partially conforms to WCAG 2.2 AA due to certain known issues. These issues are documented and prioritized for remediation in upcoming development cycles.

Known Issues

  • Occasional unordered heading levels can reduce navigation clarity.
  • Some Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) attributes and form labels are missing or incomplete, causing ambiguous or missing descriptions for interactive elements; this may be related to the framework used.
  • Drag-and-drop reordering lacks keyboard accessibility, affecting users of VoiceOver and NVDA.

Screen Reader Compatibility

Deep Blue Documents should be compatible with most major screen readers. Features were tested fully with Voiceover in Safari with supplemental testing with NVDA in Firefox.

The site is also compatible with:

  • basic operating system (OS) screen magnifiers and contrast settings
  • accessibility browser extensions, such as Read Aloud (text to speech), Zoom Text Only (magnifier), and High Contrast for Chrome
  • speech recognition software
  • OS speech packages

For users of Voiceover or NVDA:

  • Deep Blue Documents generally supports NVDA with Firefox and Voiceover with Safari.
  • Some ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) labels are missing or incomplete, which may cause ambiguous or missing descriptions for certain interactive elements. ARIA attributes enhance the accessibility of web content and applications for users with disabilities, especially those using assistive technologies.
  • Occasional unordered heading levels can make navigation less intuitive.
  • Drag-and-drop reordering is not accessible via keyboard and thus difficult for Voiceover/NVDA users to use.

For users of Microsoft Edge Read Aloud:

  • The platform does not include built-in audio content, so Read Aloud functionality depends on OS/browser features.
  • No known conflicts, but content with unordered headings may be read in a confusing order.

For users of Dragon NaturallySpeaking:

  • Speech recognition input is not integrated into the platform, so Dragon NaturallySpeaking is not directly supported.
  • Users can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking for dictation in text fields where standard keyboard input is accepted.

Keyboard Navigation and Shortcuts

  • Standard keyboard navigation is mostly supported, including tabbing through links, buttons, and form elements.
  • Focus indicators are visible.
  • Drag-and-drop features for metadata reordering lack keyboard alternatives, limiting accessibility for keyboard-only users.

Additional Notes

  • Color contrast meets AA standards. Breadcrumb labels do not meet AAA contrast standards but are AA compliant.
  • Text resizing and zooming function properly via browser and OS controls up to 200%.
  • Timing restrictions for login sessions include user warnings and extend options but cannot be completely removed due to security concerns.
  • Future improvements will focus on ARIA labeling consistency and heading structure.

Accessibility Features

  • Keyboard Navigation: Supports full keyboard navigation including tabbing, focus management, and activation of most controls. Some complex interactions, such as drag-and-drop metadata reordering, currently lack keyboard alternatives.
  • ARIA Implementation: Uses WAI-ARIA roles and properties to enhance accessibility, though some labels and relationships require improvement.
  • Visual Contrast: Meets WCAG 2.2 AA color contrast standards across the platform. Breadcrumb labels meet AA but not AAA contrast standards.
  • Text Scaling: Allows text resizing up to 200% without loss of content or functionality via standard browser and operating system controls.
  • Focus Indicators: Visible focus outlines are present to assist keyboard users in tracking their navigation position.
  • Session Timing: Users are warned before session timeouts and can extend sessions, balancing security and accessibility needs.
  • Non-Text Content: Logos and images include appropriate alternative text or labels; the platform avoids using images of text for essential content.
  • Content Navigation: Includes multiple navigation methods such as breadcrumb trails, tabbed navigation, and consistent page structures to support ease of use.
  • Error Prevention and Messaging: Provides suggestions and confirmation prompts to help users avoid input errors, with ongoing work to enhance clarity in specific input fields.
  • Mobile Compatibility: Supports content orientation flexibility.

Accessibility Roadmap

Our accessibility roadmap is currently in development, and we are committed to continuously improving the Deep Blue Documents platform to better support all users. We will provide regular updates as enhancements are implemented. If you have any questions, please Contact Us.

Resources for Accessible Content Creation

We provide resources to help depositors produce accessible content. For more information, please see our Creating Accessible Works page.