In order to make it easier for people with disabilities to use the repositories in DABAR, the SRCE team upgraded the repository's interface in accordance with digital accessibility standards. With these improvements, the contents of all repositories have become more accessible to people with visual, auditory, motor or cognitive disabilities. Instructions for creating accessible digital documents have been written for repository editors and authors. The aforementioned changes and instructions will make it easier for repository owners to fulfil the obligations prescribed by the Act for Accessibility of Websites and Software Solutions for Mobile Devices of Public Sector Bodies of the Republic of Croatia.
Interface Refinement
Special widget was created and added to the interface, which allows users to easily change the font size without losing the surrounding text and adjust the appropriate contrast in relation to the background colour of the page. With widget users can turn on the underlining of links and change the font type to a font suitable for people with dyslexia.
On the repositories and DABAR website, a suitable text description has been added to all images and graphs using the Alternative text attribute. HTML forms are designed so that they enable logical movement within the application, and the
webpages are made responsive. A visual focus indicator is used to direct the user's attention and allow the screen reader to determine focus.
The display of multimedia content has also been adjusted, to the video content information has been added that the video may contain flashing elements, which can cause disturbances for people with sensory integration and other neurological disorders. Repository owners can add appropriate subtitles, text descriptions and/or transcripts to audio and video content.
Accessible Documents
Instructions for creating and verifying accessibility of documents have been developed for repository managers and authors, which guide users to edit and create documents in line with digital accessibility standards. Handbook explains how users can check the accessibility of existing PDF documents and how to create a PDF document from a Microsoft Office document.
The Act on Accessibility of Websites and Software Solutions
Public sector bodies are obliged to ensure the accessibility of their websites in accordance with the Act on Accessibility of Websites and Software Solutions for Mobile Devices of Public Sector Bodies of the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette 17/19) of September 23, 2019, which transposes into national legislation the Directive ( EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and the Council on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies.
The mentioned interface refinements have made the repositories in DABAR compliant with digital accessibility standards, but it is the responsibility of the repository owner to ensure that the content they store are also accessible. For any suggestions about improvement in both the repository interface and instructions, please contact the DABAR team.
