Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig/An Seotal is committed to making its output as accessible as possible to all audiences (including those with visual, hearing, cognitive or motor impairments), to fulfil its educational mandate and to meet its requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act. We will continually test our web sites with a number of browsers, screen readers, accessibility and HTML validators, and other web tools. The results of such reviews are incorporated into improvements for our sites.

On completion, The An Seotal project website will include features designed to improve accessibility for users with disabilities. The developers are required to comply with various standards such as Priority 2 W3C (Web accessibility) and all HTML and CSS will be validated to ensure compliance with W3C standards. (W3C - The World Wide Web Consortium develops interoperable technologies including specifications, guidelines, software, and tools to lead the Web to its full potential. It also provides a variety of validation tools to ensure standardisation of website production.

Site Features

Additionally, we plan to incorporate the following features onto every page:

• A text-only facility and sitemap are available will be available on the majority of pages
• Images on the site contain 'alt tags', which contain simple descriptions of the images to aid users who listen to the content of the site by using a screen reader
• Invisible 'jump to content' links at the top of each page enable people using text-to-voice browsers to bypass the navigation bar and go directly to the main content each time a page is accessed
• Text links are formatted to be as self-evident as they can possibly be
• The site's style sheets are designed to allow users to resize the text of the site in browsers that support this feature (generally available under the View menu)
• Links to external sites open without pop-up windows. Note: An Seotal is not responsible for the content or accessibility of these referenced sites
• Layout is accomplished mainly with CSS* but the site is also designed to display well if CSS is not supported
• Form controls are properly grouped and labelled

*The site implements cascading style sheets (CSS). Certain early versions of Netscape (4.x and earlier) and Internet Explorer (3.x and earlier) do not fully support this feature, so elements such as links may display differently. If you are experiencing this, you may wish to disable style sheets. You can do this through your browser. In Explorer (5.50), choose Tools, Internet Options, General Tab, Accessibility, and check the 'Format documents using my style sheet' feature. In Netscape (4.75), choose Edit, Preferences, Advanced, and turn off the 'enable style sheets' feature. We recommend that you upgrade to the latest versions of browsers to make full use of the technologies available.

If you have difficulty viewing any page using assistive technology, please use our online enquiry form so that we can make the information available to you. Please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the format in which you would like to receive the material, the web address of the requested material, and your contact information.

Some of the links on our web site may point to forms and publications in Adobe Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF) or Microsoft® formats. Both companies offer tools and information to increase the accessibility of documents.
(http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/ and http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/FX100647101033.aspx)

Related information

The Scottish Accessible Information Forum (SAIF - http://www.saifscotland.org.uk/ ) is an organisation funded by the Scottish Executive to promote accessible information for disabled people. They have produced a range of guidance materials including the SAIF Standards for Disability Information and Advice Provision in Scotland. A downloadable copy of their business bulletin is available on their website.

Feedback

If you have any questions or comments or need to contact us in connection with this policy, please use our online enquiry form.