Accessibility

Our Commitment

Memory House exists to preserve stories for future generations — and that means making those stories accessible to as many people as possible. We are continuously working to improve the accessibility of our website, particularly for elders, seniors, and individuals using screen readers, keyboard navigation, or other assistive technologies.

Accessibility Standards

We strive to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. This includes providing text alternatives for non-text content, ensuring sufficient colour contrast, supporting keyboard navigation, and making content understandable and predictable.

What We've Implemented

• Keyboard navigation: All interactive elements (menus, links, buttons, forms) can be accessed and operated using the keyboard alone.
• Screen reader support: Pages use semantic HTML with appropriate ARIA labels for navigation, landmarks, and interactive controls.
• Image descriptions: Stories and installations include alt text for photographs. Where a specific image description is not yet available, a meaningful fallback label is provided.
• Readable typography: We use high-contrast colour combinations and body text sizes of at least 16px for readability.
• Reduced motion: We respect the prefers-reduced-motion system setting, disabling animations and transitions for visitors who request it.
• Focus indicators: Keyboard focus is always visible with a clear outline on the active element.
• Form accessibility: All form fields have associated labels, required fields are marked, and error messages are descriptive.
• Transcripts: Audio and video stories include written transcripts where available.

Known Limitations

We are aware of the following accessibility limitations and are working to address them:

• Interactive map: The story map uses a third-party mapping library that may not be fully accessible with all screen readers. Visitors who cannot use the map can browse all stories through the Story Archive, which is fully accessible.
• Video and audio players: Some older media may not have captions or transcripts yet. We are working to add transcripts for all audio and video content.
• Third-party content: Some stories may link to external websites (e.g., YouTube videos, news articles) that we do not control and that may not meet the same accessibility standards.
• Colour contrast in decorative elements: Some decorative gradients and background elements may not meet full contrast ratios, though all text content does.

Assistive Technology Compatibility

The site has been tested with common screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver) and keyboard-only navigation. If you use a specific assistive technology and encounter issues, please let us know — your feedback helps us improve.

Ongoing Improvements

Accessibility is an ongoing effort, not a one-time checklist. We review the site regularly, respond to user feedback, and prioritize fixes that affect the most visitors. If you encounter a barrier, please report it and we will work to resolve it.

Contact Us

If you experience any difficulty using Memory House, or if you have suggestions for improvement, please contact us or email hello@memoryhouse.org. We take accessibility feedback seriously and will respond promptly.