Help

Web Accessibility at Library and Archives Canada

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is constantly improving its Web products and services to make them easily accessible to people with disabilities. New Web products and services conform to XHTML 1.0 as well as W3C Accessibility Guidelines www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505. LAC is working toward full compliance for all websites by the end of 2008. If you have difficulty accessing any part of our website, please email us at webservices@bac-lac.gc.ca.

For information about physical accessibility at LAC, please see the Visit Us-Accessibility page.

Accessibility Features

Library and Archives Canada has already implemented many important accessibility features on its website:

• A link called "Skip to Content" is provided at the start of each large group of links to enable visitors with assistive technologies to skip over all navigation.
• Visitors are able to configure visual elements to meet their accessibility needs by changing options in their browser (e.g., see Increasing Text Size).
• To simplify screen reader navigation, text is not presented in tables.
• Where data is presented in tables, table headers and a table summary describing the purpose of the table are provided for visitors with assistive technologies so that screen readers can correctly interpret both the table structure and the relationships between headings, columns, rows and data.
• Text rather than images is used to convey information where possible.
• To accommodate visitors using assistive technologies or with slow connections, text equivalents (alt texts) have been provided for non-textual elements. For hyperlinks to external websites, alternative text is provided should a link break.
• Where images are used to contribute to the content of a Web page, detailed descriptions of the images are provided where possible.
• Foreground and background colour combinations are used in accordance with W3C Accessibility Guidelines www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505 to provide sufficient contrast and colour difference when viewed by visitors with colour deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen.
• Blinking images are not used, and flickering content between 3 and 49 Hz is avoided to accommodate visitors prone to seizures, visitors with learning disabilities such as hyperactivity, and visitors who are easily distracted.
• Flash components are generally not used, but where used, the ability to bypass the Flash content is provided.
• Where content is offered in alternative formats (e.g., PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Flash, etc.), a link to the Help-Downloadable Formats and Web Tools is provided to facilitate download of freeware.
• To facilitate navigation, the website presents navigational elements consistently and does not use frames (independent sections on a single Web page).
• Popup windows are not used.

Increasing Text Size

To increase the text size when viewing LAC websites, you can change the settings in your Web browser. Follow the instructions below based on the browser you are using or select your browser's "Help" for details.

Internet Explorer

1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
2. Select "Text Size."
3. Select "Larger" or "Largest."

Mozilla Firefox

1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
2. Select "Text Size."
3. Select "Increase."
4. To increase the text size further, continue selecting "Increase."

Opera

1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
2. Select "Zoom."
3. From the menu, select the size of text you would like to view.
4. To increase the text size further, increase the percentage.

Netscape

1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
2. Select "Text Size."
3. From the menu, select the size of text you would like to view.