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Per SiteImprove, WCAG 2.1 makes up “the core of the Web Accessibility Directive”, and the EU guidelines refer to WCAG 2.1 standards. This assessment is also shared by David Gibson at Accessibility.Works, who says that “the very same Web Accessibility Compliance Standards (WCAG) commonly used in the US and internationally are also used as the gauge for EAA compliance.” The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights points to WCAG AA in its discussion of legal accessibility standards.
SiteImprove recommends that sites meet WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA standards and have a public, updated web accessibility statement which explains “accessible content standards and they must provide users with a link to provide feedback.”
What does Samvera need to do to make Hyrax compliant with the EU Guidelines?
The 2024 Hyrax 5.x accessibility audit compares Hyrax to WCAG A and AA. To ensure compliance with EU standards, all of the tickets tagged accessibility-concern or accessibility-blocker that are associated with this audit must be completed and included in a release.
The EU guidelines also require a public, updated web accessibility statement and feedback link. Hyrax does not currently have an accessibility statement and we should consider creating one so that our demo sites can be compliant. It is possible that this is a need across Samvera products, and therefore we recommend that the Samvera Web Accessibility Interest Group take the lead on the creation and regular review of a statement, once the group is formally chartered.
Works Consulted
Are there legal accessibility standards in place for websites providing public information?
European Accessibility Act Compliance Requirements: The Next GDPR
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