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Accessibility at Library and Archives Canada

Library and Archives Canada is constantly working to make our services easily accessible for people with disabilities. We have put forward every effort to follow World Wide Web accessibility standards as well as HTML specification 4.01.

We recognize that there is more to be done and we are working towards full compliance with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines. If you have any suggestions for improving the accessibility features of our website, please contact web@lac-bac.gc.ca.

For additional information about accessibility at Library and Archives Canada, please visit:

Is Library and Archives Canada accessible to people with disabilities?

Library and Archives Canada has already implemented many important accessibility features on its website:

• We have provided descriptions of photographs that contribute to the content of the Web page. *
• Our website does not utilize Cascading Style Sheets for page layout due to lack of browser support. Instead, tables are used for page layout, however, content makes sense when the page is linearized. (Some older content does not meet this requirement).
• Where tables are used for the presentation of data, table cells are associated with headers to facilitate navigation with screen readers. *
• All hyperlinks to documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) will include the word "PDF" within the hyperlink description.
• For users unable to view PDF documents, a second text-accessible version is available whenever possible. *
• A link marked "Skip Navigation" is provided at the start of each large group of links. This will allow users to skip over a navigation bar to the next item (another group of links or the page contents).
• This site makes use of stylesheets that allow for flexible resizing of fonts to meet user requirements. If font sizes are too small users can increase the default font size used in their Web browser software (for example, in Internet Explorer font sizes can be changed in the View Menu under "Text Size"). This feature may not work correctly in all Web browsers. *
• For users who do not use a mouse, it is possible to tab through all of the links on any page from top to bottom, using the carriage return button to select a link.
• For users who cannot differentiate between colours, Library and Archives Canada strives to apply a 70% contrast between foreground and background colors for all text and all design elements. Some older content does not meet this requirement.
• The same link phrases and headings are used on all Web pages for ease of navigation.
• The creation of new windows and pop-ups is kept to a minimum. This provides consistency and reduces disorientation. *

*The Library and Archives Canada website is the result of the integration of the former National Archives of Canada and National Library of Canada sites. Due to the difference in technical approaches on these two sites, you will find that this accessibility feature has not been applied in all areas. Over time, we will be working to bring all pages within the Library and Archives Canada site to a consistent standard.