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Accessibility Statement

Main Catalogue (search.nls.uk)

This accessibility statement applies to the National Library of Scotland's main catalogue (search.nls.uk).

This website is run by the National Library of Scotland. 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 using browser or device settings
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or 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.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We have made significant improvements to the catalogue to make it as accessible as possible, however we know that some parts of the website are not fully accessible:

  • most videos do not have captions or subtitles
  • some videos and audio recordings do not have a transcript
  • labels on some form fields can be difficult to understand
  • some documents available in portable document format (PDF) are not compliant with assistive technologies

Find out more in the section of this statement entitled 'Technical information about this website's accessibility'.

Feedback and contact information

If you find an accessibility issue with the main catalogue, please contact us via enquiries@nls.uk or call 0131 623 3700.

If you need this accessibility information in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording, or braille, please contact enquiries@nls.uk or call 0131 623 3700. We'll consider your request and get back to you in a maximum of 10 days.

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 are not happy with our response to your complaint, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

The National Library of Scotland is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This catalogue is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA standard.

Non-accessible content

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

Preparation of this Statement

This statement was prepared on 10th June 2025. It was last reviewed on 10th June 2025.

The main catalogue was last tested on 3rd December 2024 against the WCAG 2.1 standard. The testing was carried out by Nexer Digital.

Electronic Legal Deposit Player

This accessibility statement applies to the Electronic Legal Deposit Player.

This service is an interim solution for accessing electronic legal deposit content collected prior to October 2023. It is the same interim solution for all of the Legal Deposit Libraries (National Library of Scotland, British Library, Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Library, National Library of Wales, and Trinity College Dublin).

Compliance status

This player is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA standard.

Non-accessible content

The actual content is supplied by publishers, and the Legal Deposit Libraries have no control over how accessible the content is. The accessibility regulations do not require us to manage these kinds of content, but if you have a problem with any of the content hosted on this player, please contact us at enquiries@nls.uk or call us on 0131 623 3700, and we will try to help.

Non-compliance with the Accessibility Regulations

  • Background and foreground colours do not have sufficient contrast.
  • Some elements do not have machine-readable titles.
  • Screen readers may not identify non-English language text.
  • Not all headings are sequentially labelled, which may cause skipping when using some assistive technologies.
  • Navigation by keyboard only is limited, and some shortcut options are not functional.
  • List of Options in the settings cannot be accessed by screen readers.

Other usability issues not covered by WCAG 2.2

When first opening a document, the Terms and Conditions page is displayed, but can only be read by assistive software if the mouse is on the notice. Visually impaired users have no way to know that they are not on the terms and conditions notice.

The following buttons may be discoverable by assistive software but do not work:

  • Full Screen button
  • Home button
  • Bookmark button
  • Search function within the EPub viewer
  • Printing button

Printing EPub content is only available via a member of staff.

Reporting problems with the Electronic Legal Deposit Player

If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us via enquiries@nls.uk or call 0131 623 3700.

If you need this accessibility information in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording, or braille, please contact enquiries@nls.uk or call 0131 623 3700. We'll consider your request and get back to you in a maximum of 10 days.

Preparation of this Accessibility Statement

This statement was prepared on 27th February 2025. It was last reviewed on 27th February 2025.

This player was last tested on 20th February 2025 against the WCAG 2.2 standard. The test was carried out by Stu Collett at the British Library and staff at the Bodleian Library. The testing included manual testing and testing using NVDA assistive technology.

Testing was completed against WCAG 2.1 as the latest version of WCAG at the time of testing. Following the regulations update on 26/10/22 requiring testing against WCAG 2.2 after release, this website will next be tested against the WCAG 2.2 standards in June 2025.