Assessment Report | LEAP

Assessment Information
eResource Title	Vendor	Overall Grade
ASME Digital Collection	American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)	B

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Always		No Images

Functional images embedded in the background

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there functional images embedded in the background?	Never		No Images

Presence of Icons

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there icons where appropriate, such as icons to indicate PDF Full Text, Download, Folder, Citation, etc?	Always		No Images

Alt Text

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Sometimes	There is usually alt text. When alt text is missing, there is usually adjacent text that explains the image. In some cases, there is both, and the Wave tool has tagged the alt text as being redundant.	No Images
Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always	When icons have hyperlinks, they contain alt text. Icons often are not hyperlinked, and when they are, the text next to them always seems to link to the same page.	No Images
Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always	There is either alt text, or an appropriate textual alternative. Sometimes there is both.	No Images

Content Scaling

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When zoomed in at 200%, is text intact, readable, and not cut off?	Always		No Images
Are images clear and unpixelated at 200%?	Always		No Images
Is horizontal scrolling minimized at 200%?	Always		No Images

Colour and Contrast

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do text and images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1?	Always	I checked several pages and found no contrast errors.	No Images

Colour

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do colour coded graphs have text equivalents?	Sometimes	In a review of a couple of journal articles on the site, I found that usually the charts do NOT have a text equivalent, although I did find some that did. Text equivalencies appear to be the exception, not the rule.	No Images
Are blocks of content separated from one another using visual separation (such as whitespace or borders)?	Always		No Images
Are text alternatives provided where colour is used to indicate an action?	Not Applicable	The database doesn't appear to use colour to indicate an action.	No Images

Text to speech

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is there a choice embedded within the database that offers text to speech or read aloud options?	Never		No Images

Clustered Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Using your mouse, is the clickable area around links and buttons large enough for users to see and activate easily?	Always	All the links were easy to click and navigate through.	No Images
Using your mouse to test links, are links and buttons far enough apart for users to accurately activate?	Always	Although some links look close together, I had no difficulties clicking through on any of them without clicking the wrong link.	No Images
Using any method to test links, are all links and buttons functional (i.e., not dead)?	Always		No Images
Are links or buttons accessible via keyboard navigation?	Always		No Images

Dynamic content

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can users pause carousel movement?	Not Applicable	There are no carousels or scrolling images in this database.	No Images
Is all functionality, including navigating between carousel items, operable by keyboard?	Not Applicable		No Images

Liquid layout

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is the order of the text preserved at all screen resolutions, without overlap?	Always		No Images
Do images avoid overlapping at all screen resolutions?	Always		No Images
Is the overall reading experience preserved at all screen resolutions?	Always	The only difference is that with some of the smaller screen sizes, there is more scrolling.	No Images

Labels and Instructions for Interactive Elements

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are user input fields accompanied by clear instructions on what the user needs to do to successfully complete the form?	Never	There are form labels in almost every case that prompt the user as to which information to submit in each field, but no instructions beyond that.	No Images
Do user input fields contain labels in addition to overall instructions mentioned above?	Sometimes	Most user input fields are clear and obvious. However, there is a field in the Contact Us form that requires the user to submit a Captcha in order to submit the form. The Captcha - a four digit number, in dark colours against a grey mottled background, is not that easy to read, gets flagged by the WAVE tool for being low-contrast, and has no form label telling you what to do. I had to assume that this was a necessary step before submitting a form, and tried to submit without putting the number in and the from wouldn't submit.	Captcha.jpg
Are descriptions for fields and boxes easy to understand?	Sometimes	Except in the case of the Captcha noted above.	No Images
Are labels placed above the user input fields and clearly associated with each field?	Sometimes	Almost always, except in the example listed above. In that case, the Captcha image is listed above the Input Field with no other explanation.	No Images
Are text cues for coloured form control labels available?	Not Applicable	There are no coloured form labels.	No Images
Are other visual indicators provided consistently, such as an asterisk for required form fields?	Sometimes	Again, not in the case of the Captcha image.	No Images

Error Prevention

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are user input fields either reversible, checked, or confirmed? One of the three is acceptable.	Always	Reversible, with some confirmation.	No Images

Error Reports

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alert messages clearly visible to the user, either at the top of the form field, inline, or through a dialog box?	Always		No Images
Do alert messages clearly indicate the field in which the error has occurred and a description of the error and the fix?	Always		No Images
Is the user able to easily access the user input field to correct the error?	Always		No Images
Is the user able to resubmit the form and re-validate their submission?	Always		No Images
Do error reports follow a logical reading and navigation order?	Always		No Images

Search function spell-check

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When a user spells a word incorrectly, does the search function offer spelling suggestions or synonyms?	Never		No Images

Functionality of Interactive Elements

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are icons such as to save, download, or print consistent across the site?	Always		No Images
Is alternative text clear and consistent for each icon type?	Not Applicable	I can't determine if there is alternative text for the icons, but each icon has a text equivalent adjacent to it.	No Images
Are actions consistently labelled across the site? For example, the “search” button is always labeled “search”.	Always		No Images
Are icons that have adjacent links consistent?	Always		No Images
Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text alone?	Always		No Images

Consistent Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the eresource have a consistent layout and navigation across all pages?	Always		No Images
Are search fields located in the same places throughout the website?	Always		No Images
Do other features occur in the same place throughout the website?	Always		No Images
Are links, buttons, images, and other components that are used repeatedly throughout a website labeled consistently?	Always		No Images

Pop-up windows/Interruptions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the electronic resource avoid the use of pop-up windows which open automatically in a new tab if a user clicks on a button?	Sometimes	When clicking through journal articles or ebooks, the window stays in the same window, but several options - pdf, Permissions, information about Open Access on the Journals page, etc. will open up in a new tab.	No Images
Does the database avoid launching pop-up windows automatically when the database is loaded?	Always		No Images
Where pop-ups occur, are users able to postpone or suppress any pop-ups?	Never		No Images
Does the database avoid launching pages in a new browser window with the usual browser controls missing?	Always		No Images

Headers

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is page content subdivided hierarchically into appropriate headings and tagged appropriately?	Sometimes	Several pages seem to skip the Header 2 level.	No Images
Are headings concise and clear, and accurately reflect the content under that heading?	Always		No Images

Menus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do database page menus have a reasonable number of navigation items and drop-down options?	Always		No Images
Does the main navigation and drop-downs contain a reasonable number of menu items?	Always		No Images
Can all menus and submenus be accessed with screen readers and via keyboard navigation?	Always		No Images

Change of context

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the “results” page or item record view avoid opening in a new tab without a warning?	Always		No Images
Is there an "update now" button that requests a refresh of content rather than automatically updating the content?	Never		No Images
Does the database avoid automatic redirection?	Sometimes	When clicking through journal articles or ebooks, the window stays in the same window, but several options - pdf, Permissions, information about Open Access on the Journals page, etc. will open up in a new tab.	No Images

Change of Context: Focus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the form refrain from submitting automatically when a component receives focus?	Always		No Images
Does the database avoid launching new windows when a component receives focus?	Always		No Images
Does the database avoid change of focus when a component receives focus?	Always		No Images
Are you able to tab through a page using keyboard navigation without the keyboard focus moving away from the control?	Always		No Images

Navigation Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text, or from the link text together with its surrounding context?	Always		No Images

Keyboard Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements?	Sometimes		No Images
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page?	Not Applicable		No Images
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above?	Always		No Images
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible?	Always		No Images
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected?	Always		No Images
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields?	Always		No Images

Skip Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)?	Always	I used Google Chrome. NOTE if using keyboard navigation with a screen reader (I used NVDA), the skip link will not appear and you will not be able to access it.	No Images
Are skip links visible or invisible?	Sometimes	The skip link is invisible, but it appears once you begin using keyboard navigation on a form. NOTE if using keyboard navigation with a screen reader (I used NVDA), the skip link will not appear and you will not be able to access it.	No Images
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page?	Always	Right at the top of the page. NOTE if using keyboard navigation with a screen reader (I used NVDA), the skip link will not appear and you will not be able to access it.	No Images
Are skip links labelled properly?	Always	There is only one skip link on each page, Skip to main content. NOTE if using keyboard navigation with a screen reader (I used NVDA), the skip link will not appear and you will not be able to access it.	No Images
Are skip links accessible via keyboard?	Always		No Images
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content?	Always		No Images
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page?	Always	NOTE if using keyboard navigation with a screen reader (I used NVDA), the skip link will not appear and you will not be able to access it.	No Images

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows?	Always		No Images

Frames

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another?	Always		No Images
Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame?	Never		No Images
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next?	Never	I don't know if there's a quick way to move between one frame and another. The only way I could find was to tab through the entire list in the left-hand frame, and then move to the next frame. I tried different recommended keyboard navigation tricks to move between frames, but it simply moved me between tabs on my browser, or open applications on my workstation, rather than between frames on the page.	No Images

Key Findings

Weaknesses

PDFs are not searchable and not tagged

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?	Never		No Images
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?	Never		No Images
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?	Always		No Images

Tagged PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alternative descriptions provided?	Never		No Images
Is primary language specified?	Never		No Images
Is reliable character encoding provided?	Sometimes	In a sample of five pdf documents, three passed and two failed. Two of the three that passed are older documents (1956, 1962 and 2022 as opposed to 2020 and 2021 in the two that didn't), so age doesn't seem to be an indicator of whether a pdf will have this or not.	No Images
Are all page elements tagged?	Never		No Images
Are list and table structure correct?	Never		No Images

Structure: Reading Order

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the Read Out Loud function read the PDF in a logical way, preserving the order of the text and various sections?	Sometimes	Usually it does, but there was a table with formulas where it would read the top line of the formula, then the reference numbers at the end of the line, before reading the bottom line of the formula. One ebook that I sampled was unreadable, each page just coming up as "blank page." This was the only instance of this I found.	No Images
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?	Sometimes	Usually, but one ebook that I sampled was unreadable, each page just coming up as "blank page." This was the only instance of this I found.	No Images
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document?	Always		No Images

Magnification

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read?	Always		No Images

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Always		No Images

Alternative Description

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never	There are not many informative images, but I found some that acted as title pages on ebooks, and these either didn't read, or read as "blank page."	No Images
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never	There are not many images that function as text, but I found some that acted as title pages on ebooks, and these either didn't read, or read as "blank page."	No Images
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never		No Images

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?	Always	The tables are read row by row, but you can't seem to tab through them. Sometimes, the read aloud functions runs the information in the rows too closely together, or puts the beginning of the second row in the same sentence with the end of the row before it. Also, in at least one table, the read aloud function skipped the first two categories in a row.	No Images
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?	Never		No Images

Additional Navigational Aids

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?	Sometimes	In all four journal articles, it did. I had a fourth document that was the introduciton to an ebook, and that didn't, but it might be because it's part of a larger work.	No Images
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?	Always		No Images

Video Captions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are videos captioned?	Not Applicable	There are no videos in this database.	No Images
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?	Not Applicable		No Images
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?	Not Applicable		No Images
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?	Not Applicable		No Images
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?	Not Applicable		No Images
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?	Not Applicable		No Images
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?	Not Applicable		No Images

Described Video

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do videos include described video, or if not, is there a text equivalent of the video provided on the same page or via a link?	Not Applicable	There are no videos in this database.	No Images
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents?	Not Applicable	There are no videos in this database.	No Images

Audio Accessibility

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?	Not Applicable	There are no audio files in this database.	No Images
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?	Not Applicable	There are no audio files in this database.	No Images

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