Accessibility

How is this site built for accessibility?

This site is built for accessibility: it builds for keyboard, screen reader, zoom, and reduced motion users in these ways:

• Every page is plain HTML that works without JavaScript, except search and the Forward Board.
• Every slider works by keyboard: arrow keys move it, Page Up and Page Down move it further, Home and End go to either end. Each one announces where it sits in words.
• Menus work by keyboard: Tab moves through them, the down arrow enters a menu, and Escape closes it and returns focus.
• Focus is always visible. A skip link jumps past the menu.
• Text and interface colors are checked for contrast in every site theme.
• Images carry text alternatives that describe what they show; decorative drawings are hidden from screen readers when they add nothing.
• The timeline is a dated list, readable in order by any device.
• Pages respect reduced motion settings, and nothing plays on its own.
• Text resizes to 200 percent without loss of content.

What are the known accessibility limits?

The known limits on this site come from old source material. Some archival images are scans of old printed material with fine detail. Their alternative text and captions describe them, but the scans themselves cannot be made fully legible at small sizes. The downloadable paper is a PDF; the same text is on its web page, which is the more accessible version.

How do I report an accessibility barrier?

To report an accessibility barrier, use the corrections page. If something on this site does not work for you, tell us on the corrections page. Describe the page and what happened. We treat accessibility barriers as errors.