Readers for whom access to eLD material using designated PCs in the University Library or affiliated libraries would not meet their requirements, are advised in the first instance to contact the Libraries Accessibility Service (email: disability@lib.cam.ac.uk; tel. +44(0)1223 333064). It may be possible to provide copies of the eLD material for use on personal machines or with assistive technology.
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 for all of the Legal Deposit Libraries (British Library; Bodleian Libraries; Cambridge University Library; National Library of Scotland; National Library of Wales; Trinity College Dublin).
We want as many people as possible to be able access this content, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
However, we are aware that not all content viewed through this player is compliant as it is provided by a third party and we have to provide access to the content as it was originally supplied and published.
Compliance status:
(b) This application is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliance(s) and the exemptions listed below.
Non-accessible content:
(a) non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Some PDF documents are not compatible with screen readers because they lack essential accessibility features. As a result, they do not all provide the programmatic structure or semantic information required for screen readers to accurately interpret and convey the content to users with disabilities. This PDF application serves solely as a viewer for archived historical documents and does not modify or alter the original files. The documents are preserved in their original format as submitted to the archive, which means they may not include accessibility enhancements such as tagging or structural markup.
Some EPUB documents do not include alternative text descriptions for images. This limitation arises because the original publishers or authors did not incorporate accessibility markup during the EPUB creation process. Many of the archived EPUB files were produced before current accessibility standards and best practices were established. Consequently, they may not comply with modern requirements for inclusive access, particularly for users who depend on assistive technologies.
The application does not support the following text spacing requirements without loss of content or functionality:
These text spacing modifications are not supported across all document formats, which can lead to layout issues or loss of content in some publications. This limitation occurs because:
- PDF documents are rendered using their original formatting to maintain archival integrity
- EPUB files retain their publisher-defined CSS styling
- The application preserves documents exactly as they were originally published
This limitation applies specifically to the archived document content (PDFs, EPUBs, and other published materials). The application's interface elements, such as navigation menus and controls, are designed to accommodate standard accessibility requirements where technically feasible.
Consequently, users with low vision or dyslexia may find it difficult to read and navigate the content.
This limitation reflects the legal requirement under Legal Deposit legislation to preserve and provide access to documents in their original, unmodified format as submitted to the archive.
The application currently uses a static page title, "Library player", across all pages, regardless of the specific content or context. However, users can identify their location within a document from the optional metadata embedded in the publication which is accessible using assistive technologies. This functionality is not considered to be necessary for users to be able to navigate the content and is very complex to resolve in this interim player. This issue will be resolved in a future permanent electronic Legal Deposit player. If users do find they are disadvantaged because of this please do contact us and we will assist and reevaluate this decision.
Reporting Problems with this website:
If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Feedback and contact information’ section of this statement.
Feedback and Contact Information:
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille please contact email disability@lib.cam.ac.uk or call +44(0)1223 333064.
We'll consider your request and get back to you within 5 days.
Preparation of this accessibility statement:
This statement was prepared on 20 August 2025.
The statement was last reviewed on 8th September 2025.
The test was carried out by Resillion. A further audit of the application was carried out to the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
Feedback and contact information:
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’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).