Assessment Report | LEAP

Assessment Information
eResource Title	Vendor	Overall Grade
CatExpress	OCLC	B+

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Sometimes	The images on this website are a mix of functional buttons and decorative logos. The majority of them are placed in corners of the screen but are prominent and easy to find for a sighted user.

Functional images embedded in the background

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there functional images embedded in the background?	Sometimes	There are links at the top right of each page (like a header) that get cut off when zoomed into the page or the browser window is resized. There is a horizontal scroll bar but it does not reveal these links when utilized, only the main content of the page can be seen when scrolling.

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	There aren't a lot of icons used on this website, only arrows for 'next page' and the like, but they are appropriately placed.

Alt Text

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Sometimes	All images on this site are functional buttons or logos. For the most part they do have alt text, being exactly the same thing as what the button says, but when viewing records there are some functional buttons that do not have alt text: Edit Record, MARC Display, View Label, and Save to Catalog.
Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always
Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always

Content Scaling

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When zoomed in at 200%, is text intact, readable, and not cut off?	Always
Are images clear and unpixelated at 200%?	Sometimes	The text on the functional buttons is still readable but definitely becomes pixelated/fuzzy, as well as the buttons themselves. They aren't that 'sharp' to begin with, their resolution is very low.
Is horizontal scrolling minimized at 200%?	Always

Colour and Contrast

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do text and images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1?	Always

Colour

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do colour coded graphs have text equivalents?	Not Applicable
Are blocks of content separated from one another using visual separation (such as whitespace or borders)?	Always
Are text alternatives provided where colour is used to indicate an action?	Not Applicable

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

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
Using your mouse to test links, are links and buttons far enough apart for users to accurately activate?	Always
Using any method to test links, are all links and buttons functional (i.e., not dead)?	Always
Are links or buttons accessible via keyboard navigation?	Always

Dynamic content

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can users pause carousel movement?	Not Applicable
Is all functionality, including navigating between carousel items, operable by keyboard?	Not Applicable

Liquid layout

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is the order of the text preserved at all screen resolutions, without overlap?	Always
Do images avoid overlapping at all screen resolutions?	Always
Is the overall reading experience preserved at all screen resolutions?	Always

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?	Always	Fields are labeled (or are drop-down menus) but it's not an intuitive design. Tips are provided on the page but training is required to learn how to properly use this resource.
Do user input fields contain labels in addition to overall instructions mentioned above?	Sometimes	There is no placeholder text. As an experienced user, I know what to do with this database but it could be confusing for others
Are descriptions for fields and boxes easy to understand?	Sometimes	Training is required to understand how to use this database
Are labels placed above the user input fields and clearly associated with each field?	Never	Labels are to the side of the input fields, not above.
Are text cues for coloured form control labels available?	Not Applicable
Are other visual indicators provided consistently, such as an asterisk for required form fields?	Never	There are no visual indicators, even on the login page

Error Prevention

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are user input fields either reversible, checked, or confirmed? One of the three is acceptable.	Always	Fields are reversible by use of the 'back'/previous page option

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?	Sometimes	If all fields are left blank in the search, a dialog box will appear. If any field has been filled in for a search and the database cannot find results, it stays on the search page and provides a message saying 'no records found'
Do alert messages clearly indicate the field in which the error has occurred and a description of the error and the fix?	Never
Is the user able to easily access the user input field to correct the error?	Always
Is the user able to resubmit the form and re-validate their submission?	Always
Do error reports follow a logical reading and navigation order?	Not Applicable

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

Functionality of Interactive Elements

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are icons such as to save, download, or print consistent across the site?	Always
Is alternative text clear and consistent for each icon type?	Always
Are actions consistently labelled across the site? For example, the “search” button is always labeled “search”.	Always
Are icons that have adjacent links consistent?	Not Applicable
Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text alone?	Always

Consistent Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the eresource have a consistent layout and navigation across all pages?	Always
Are search fields located in the same places throughout the website?	Always
Do other features occur in the same place throughout the website?	Always
Are links, buttons, images, and other components that are used repeatedly throughout a website labeled consistently?	Always

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	The Documentation button opens a new tab for the CatExpress website. Logging into the database causes a new window to open, it's a session monitor and does not need to be interacted with when using this database.
Does the database avoid launching pop-up windows automatically when the database is loaded?	Never	When logging in, a session monitor window opens but doesn't interfere with database use
Where pop-ups occur, are users able to postpone or suppress any pop-ups?	Always
Does the database avoid launching pages in a new browser window with the usual browser controls missing?	Always

Headers

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is page content subdivided hierarchically into appropriate headings and tagged appropriately?	Never	None of the pages have heading structures
Are headings concise and clear, and accurately reflect the content under that heading?	Not Applicable	None of the pages have heading structures

Menus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do database page menus have a reasonable number of navigation items and drop-down options?	Sometimes	There are a lot of options in the search function drop-down menus
Does the main navigation and drop-downs contain a reasonable number of menu items?	Sometimes	I wouldn't say there are too many, but there are a lot of items to choose from in the search function. However, each are helpful parts of searching this database
Can all menus and submenus be accessed with screen readers and via keyboard navigation?	Always

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
Is there an "update now" button that requests a refresh of content rather than automatically updating the content?	Not Applicable
Does the database avoid automatic redirection?	Always

Change of Context: Focus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the form refrain from submitting automatically when a component receives focus?	Always
Does the database avoid launching new windows when a component receives focus?	Always
Does the database avoid change of focus when a component receives focus?	Always
Are you able to tab through a page using keyboard navigation without the keyboard focus moving away from the control?	Always

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

Keyboard Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements?	Always
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page?	Not Applicable
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above?	Always
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible?	Always
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected?	Always
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields?	Always

Skip Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)?	Never
Are skip links visible or invisible?	Not Applicable
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page?	Not Applicable
Are skip links labelled properly?	Not Applicable
Are skip links accessible via keyboard?	Not Applicable
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content?	Not Applicable
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page?	Not Applicable

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows?	Not Applicable

Frames

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another?	Not Applicable
Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame?	Not Applicable
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next?	Not Applicable

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?	Not Applicable	This database does not have or use PDFs
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?	Not Applicable
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?	Not Applicable

Tagged PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alternative descriptions provided?	Not Applicable
Is primary language specified?	Not Applicable
Is reliable character encoding provided?	Not Applicable
Are all page elements tagged?	Not Applicable
Are list and table structure correct?	Not Applicable

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?	Not Applicable
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?	Not Applicable
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document?	Not Applicable

Magnification

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read?	Not Applicable

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Not Applicable

Alternative Description

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Not Applicable
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Not Applicable
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Not Applicable

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?	Not Applicable
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?	Not Applicable

Additional Navigational Aids

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?	Not Applicable
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?	Not Applicable

Video Captions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are videos captioned?	Not Applicable	This database does not have or use videos
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?	Not Applicable
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?	Not Applicable
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?	Not Applicable
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?	Not Applicable
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?	Not Applicable
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?	Not Applicable

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
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents?	Not Applicable

Audio Accessibility

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?	Not Applicable
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?	Not Applicable

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