Testing Phase
Thank you for testing our new website! Many areas are still under construction.
Use the arrow button in the lower left corner to return to the current LVA website.
Provide your feedback on the new website.
Digital Accessibility Policy
The Library of Virginia (LVA) is committed to making the library's digital content accessible to all users. Please use the Digital Accessibility Complaint Form to report any issues experienced on the Library of Virginia websites. If you wish to share other accessibility concerns, please email the library's accessibility compliance officer, Vanessa Anderson, vanessa.anderson@lva.virginia.gov.
Accessibility Commitment
The Library of Virginia is committed to making all of its digital content accessible to individuals with disabilities by meeting or exceeding the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended in 1998.
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. To help support the WAI, this site follows the W3C guidelines for web accessibility.
At a minimum, LVA's digital content meets Section 508 and at least Level A Conformance to WCAG 1.0. On January 18, 2017, the U.S. Access Board published a final rule as the new standard for website accessibility. The rule requires adherence to the new accessibility standards twelve months from its date of publication. LVA is working towards WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliance.
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. |
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
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has compiled a useful collection of information about how to address these and other barriers, see VDOE Accessibility Tools & Resources.
Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates
Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) are documents that evaluate how accessible a particular information and communication technology (ICT) is 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 web sites, including Find It Virginia.
View the chart of Accessibility Statements and VPATs from products or software used on Library of Virginia websites.