Digital Accessibility Policy

Digital Accessibility Commitment

The Library of Virginia is committed to making all of its digital content accessible to individuals with disabilities. We will meet all federal and state accessibility guidelines for new web content. We will continue to work toward accessibility for all legacy digital content. 

Digital Accessibility Guidelines

Through its Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) promotes a high degree of web access for people with disabilities. In coordination with organizations around the world, WAI pursues web accessibility through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development. The WAI publishes updated web accessibility guidelines frequently, which LVA strives to meet. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities. It guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else. The ADA Title II new rule, which applies to state and local governments, was finalized by the Department of Justice in 2024, establishing a new technical standard –the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) Version 2.1 AA. 

In addition to Title II guidelines, the Library of Virginia follows Virginia’s Information Technology Access Act, updated in 2025 via Virginia House Bill 2541. Outlined in Title 2.2, Chapter 35 of the Code of Virginia, this act ensures accessibility to information and communication technologies (ICT) provided by state agencies for individuals with disabilities, so that they may fully participate in life in the Commonwealth. Annual reporting is required on accessibility compliance and fiscal impact for state agencies. 

The Library of Virginia will provide transparency into our ongoing accessibility work as informed by the Information Technology Access Act and ADA Title II. Both the Virginia House Bill 2541 and ADA Title II new rule carried compliance deadlines of April 24, 2026. 

The Library of Virginia updated our entire website in 2025-26, with increased accessibility as a primary goal. All new content will meet the WCAG 2.1 AA standard. Third-party vendors are required to have an Accessibility Conformance Report, which are made available on the LVA website. Legacy content is still being migrated as part of the website redesign process. During migration, we are evaluating content for accessibility, determining if an exception applies, and remediating if necessary. Several Title II exceptions may apply to legacy Library of Virginia content (see American Library Association’s Balancing ADA Title II Exceptions and Patron Needs). However, we will continue working towards accessibility as a goal, to meet and exceed WCAG 2.1 AA. Our progress will be shared in the annual report submitted as part of HB2541. For digital accessibility questions or concerns, please use the Digital Accessibility Complaint Form. 

Disability Categories

W3C identifies five main categories of disabilities that may cause users to it find it difficult to access digital content:

Name	Description
Auditory	These may range from mild to severe hearing impairments in one or both ears.
Cognitive, learning, and neurological	These may include autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, memory impairments, etc.
Physical	These may include arthritis, reduced dexterity, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's, etc.
Speech	These may include apraxia of speech, stuttering, muteness, etc.
Visual	These may include color-blindness and low-vision or substantial, uncorrectable loss of vision in both eyes.

Digital Accessibility Barriers

The following are common barriers that prevent people with disabilities from accessing content on websites (for additional accessibility barriers, see Diverse Abilities and Barriers from W3C):

• Images missing alternative text for vision-impaired users
• Content that must be navigated with a mouse and does not support full keyboard navigation
• Text or images with insufficient contrast between foreground and background colors
• Uncaptioned or inaccurately captioned videos
• Inaccessible documents
• Inconsistent, unpredictable, and overly complicated site and page navigation
• Websites that only offer contact via phone

Recite Me Toolbar

Online visitors are now able to access a wide range of accessibility and language support tools to customize their digital experience using Recite Me, a cloud-based assistive technology. The new accessibility toolbar offers many customizations for users viewing the Library of Virginia website who may have disabilities, visual impairments, or learning difficulties, or who speak a different language. 

The toolbar offers translation to over 100 languages with 65 Text to Speech (TTS) voices for the 14 million people in the U.S. who have visual impairment. It also offers translation of PDFs and webpages, ensuring inclusive access to digital content across formats. 

Reading aids include a ruler, screen mask, magnifier, page summarizer and a dictionary to assist those with learning differences or limited literacy. Styling and customization options such as a Dyslexia-friendly font will assist those with neurodivergence.

To explore the Recite Me toolbar, click the blue universal access symbol launch button on the lower left of the screen on any new Library of Virginia webpage. 

Accessibility Conformance Reports

Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs) are issued by vendors to document the accessibility of a new program, software, or other information and communication technology (ICT) according to the federal Section 508 Standards. The Library licenses products and other software from third-party vendors that is made accessible via Library of Virginia websites, including Find It Virginia.

View the chart of Accessibility Statements and ACRs from products or software used on Library of Virginia websites.

LVA Digital Accessibility Complaint Form