Accessibility

Here are some tips on how you can use this site more easily if you're struggling to use a mouse or read the text.

1. Make text larger
Use your browser to set the text size. This is generally done via the browser's View menu.

2. Use keyboard shortcuts to get to specific pages
The following keyboard shortcuts will help you browse around the site:

Alt + O + Enter: Home
Alt + L + Enter: Library
Alt + P + Enter: People
Alt + E + Enter: Events
Alt + A + Enter: About
Alt + I + Enter: Links
Alt + M + Enter: Email subscription
Alt + G + Enter: Login
Alt + C + Enter: Contact us
Alt + S + Enter: Sitemap
Alt + B + Enter: Accessibility (this page)
Alt + T + Enter: Site policies

3. Navigate using your keyboard
You can use your keyboard to help you move around the page.

Tab: Move forwards through links.
Shift + Tab: Move backwards through links.
Page Up / Page Down: Move up and down the page.
Home: Jump to the top of the page.
Alt + left arrow: Back a page.
Alt + right arrow: Forwards a page.

4. Jump back to the top of the page
You can use the "back to top" link near the bottom of each page to jump back up to the top.

5. Use an alternative to a mouse.
If you have difficulties using a mouse, you might prefer to use tools such as "MouseKeys". This is built into Windows and allows you to use the number pad on your keyboard to move the pointer.

MouseKeys can be turned on with the shortcut key combination Left Shift + Left Alt + Num Lock. If this doesn't work, you can do it via Accessibility options within Control Panel:

Start -> Settings -> Control Panel (or Start -> Control Panel in Windows XP).
Click the Mouse tab (or press Ctrl + Tab until it is at the front), and turn on MouseKeys.

Alternative input devices are also available.

6. Bookmark your favourite pages
Press Ctrl + D (in most browsers) to add the page which you are viewing to your Bookmarks. This will allow you to find your favourite pages again quickly.

7. Use the sitemap
The sitemap lists all the pages of the site, so you can use this to find pages which interest you.

8. Search for a page
If you're looking for some specific information, you can use the search facility to find the page you want.

9. Find out where you are in the site
There are two ways you can find this out:

Section colour-coding: each of the main sections of the site has its own colour theme, as seen in the main navigation bar (the multi-coloured bar near the top of each page).
Use the breadcrumb. This is found underneath the coloured navigation bar, marked with "You are here".

10. Use a speech browser
You might find it easier to have the website read out. W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium) have more information about alternative web browsing.

11. Think we can do something better? Tell us!
Give us feedback on how you find using the site. If you find something difficult to see or use, we might be able to help!