Latest accessibility updates
Enhancements for AM digital collections and Quartex customer sites
Check here for the latest updates
23 February, 2026
Accessibility improvements to East India Company
We're excited to share multiple enhancements made to East India Company to coincide with the launch of module 8.
The heading structure has been consolidated, creating a clear, logical hierarchy to help screen readers navigate content more efficiently. Duplicate document titles have been made unique for ease of identification and in-text links improved, providing greater context. As well as higher-quality image alt text, further enhancements include the removal of text overlay on images and of instructions based on sensory aspects such as colour. These changes remove confusion and render the contextual content within East India Company more accessible to more users.
8 January, 2026
Latest enhancements to Quartex CMS
In line with criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships (A), we’ve added new title customisation options in the CMS. For the home page, and other static pages, you can now add a heading (H1) to your page and customise the title. The heading will have default styling and add consistency across the site. This change means that pages are more accessible and discoverable for everyone, especially those using assistive technologies such as screen readers.
We’ve recently added a new feature to make it easier to reorder content blocks in the CMS. Previously, users would need to move content blocks individually, which could mean a lot of time for a page with a lot of content. Now, users can use the order feature to reorder all content blocks at once. As well as providing better usability, this provides a much better experience for users using assistive technologies, or keyboard only users.
2 January, 2026
Unique metadata title updates to AM collections
We're pleased to share that from January 2026, we will be updating duplicate document metadata titles across collections to ensure they are unique. Duplicated titles can be confusing to users of screen readers and other assistive technologies, making it difficult to browse and navigate effectively and understand content. This will initially be applied to recently published collections and new publications, with corresponding MARC records updated to match.
18 December, 2025
Meet the team broadening access to AM resources
Accessibility is at the heart of AM’s mission to broaden access to primary sources. Our User Experience (UX) team contributes to this mission through thoughtful, inclusive design and cross-team collaboration, as Elena Panarese, User Experience Designer, explains in this blog.
4 November, 2025
Latest collections to receive accessibility improvements
We're delighted to announce accessibility updates to two further AM collections during November.
China, America and the Pacific and China: Trade, Politics and Culture, 1793-1980 will both include improved alt text across the sites and more descriptive in-text links to better guide users. Duplicate document titles have been made unique for ease of navigation. And handwritten text recognition (HTR) and optical character recognition (OCR) have been applied to all eligible documents, further enhancing access and discovery. Additionally, the latter collection's introductory video now includes closed captions, making this important contextual tool available to more users of this incredible resource.
7 August, 2025
Latest enhancements to published collections
We are continuing our commitment to our published collections with enhancements to Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975, by adding audio description tracks to all video footage in the collection. This exciting range of sources showcasing everyday life, cultural moments, and global events from the Huntley Film Archives will be updated in August 2025.
25 June, 2025
Quartex VPAT score increases by 17%
Over the last month, we’ve been working hard to evaluate the accessibility issues within the Quartex platform, in an effort to make meaningful changes. In a recently completed sprint dedicated to making accessibility improvements, we have resolved ten different accessibility issues. These fixes are now live!
These ten resolved issues have resulted in seven different accessibility criteria improving from ‘partially supported’ to ‘supported’ for the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT). This has taken the VPAT score from 50% fully supported criteria up to 67% fully supported criteria, an increase of 17%.
You can find a full list of the accessibility improvements made in the updated VPAT.
25 June, 2025
Accessibility improvements to AV collections
We're pleased to share a significant accessibility update for our primary source audio-visual collections. As of June 2025, British Newsreels, 1911-1930 and Victorians on Film now include closed captions, time-coded transcripts and full audio description tracks, making over 175 hours of archival footage from the British Film Institute accessible to all users. This enhancement opens up a wealth of historical context, commentary, and detail for all researchers, and particularly supports inclusive teaching and learning practices in film, media, and history programmes.
8 May 2025
Enhancing research and discoverability
The migration of East India Company to Quartex brings 95% accurate handwritten text recognition (HTR) to enhance this vital resource. As Bee Cassim, Senior Product Manager explains, this technology improves discoverability, search accuracy, and accessibility, enabling efficient transcription and navigation across millions of historical documents for diverse user needs.