Accessibility
Elsevier consistently and proactively endeavors to make our products fully accessible to all users, regardless of physical abilities.
Empower through knowledge
Our commitment to accessibility advances inclusion and diversity and furthers science and innovation. We work to create inclusive products and services to empower the communities we serve, including the research and health communities, as well as wider society. Evidence shows that creating an environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed is not only fair but leads to better, more impactful scientific research. We strive to be open and authentic in our approach to digital accessibility.
Elsevier is committed to providing accessible information. Our approach extends our RELX accessibility commitment(opens in new tab/window) and contributes to Elsevier Corporate Responsibility activity, which supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #10 - reduced inequalities(opens in new tab/window).
Elsevier's accessibility policy
Collaborate and educate around accessibility
We:
Employ a digital accessibility team who provide expert support to development teams and customers and enable collaboration with external partners
Equip new employees with accessibility awareness training and offer a structured training program to all employees
Continually test and incorporate product feedback, supported by an extensive collaboration network including industry experts and people with disabilities
Advance accessibility and disability knowledge by producing relevant books, journals, websites, events, and other products for the research and health communities
Convene an Executive Quarterly Accessibility and Inclusion Steering Group
Recognize individuals and product teams who uphold the Elsevier Accessibility Policy in their work
Share best practice and foster collaboration through an accessibility guild
Utilize industry standard tools
We:
Develop products to meet and exceed the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.1 level AA and future revisions
Create digital products and services that are:
Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presented to users in ways they can perceive — this means that users must be able to comprehend the information being depicted: It can't be invisible to all their senses
Operable: The interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform
Understandable: Users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface
Robust: As technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible and compatible with a range of assistive technologies
Utilize automated accessibility testing tools and manual testing methods while developing products
Incorporate accessibility into our Digital Brand Guidelines, underpinning our empathic design principle
Exceed compliance wherever possible which is detailed in our world class Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs)
Innovate new tools for simplifying accessibility such as the Elsevier Accessibility Checklist Tool(opens in new tab/window)
Embed accessibility in our business operations
We:
Drive product accessibility and usability through innovative use of new technologies, incorporating accessibility requirements from the start
Make it easy for customers and users to quickly and easily communicate with us about the accessibility and usability of our products and services
Work collaboratively with customers and the research community towards providing all content and services in an accessible electronic format
Promote accessibility with our suppliers through a questionnaire assessment program
Partner with external agencies, industry experts, users with disabilities and others to enhance and share our accessibility insights and capability
Set objectives and key results: we track product accessibility progress through analytics driven approach and continuously improve our approach through a company maturity model
For more information, please contact [email protected](opens in new tab/window).
Help & Support
To contact the Digital Accessibility Team to request a product VPAT or to help inform a more inclusive user experience please send an email to [email protected](opens in new tab/window)
If you are having an issue using a product because of user name and password issues or other non-accessibility issue, please use our Elsevier Support Center(opens in new tab/window)
If you require an accessible version of a specific Elsevier book or journal article please use the Elsevier Disability Request Form(opens in new tab/window) or shop our catalog of EPUB3 books(opens in new tab/window)
Elsevier.com accessibility site statement
Elsevier.com is committed to ensuring all users have a fully accessible and inclusive user experience. Elsevier.com was developed to meet and exceed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard. If you experience issues with the site or need an accommodation, please contact [email protected](opens in new tab/window) and we will get back to you within two (2) days.
Accessibility features of Elsevier.com include:
Pages are uniquely and descriptively titled
Keyboard friendly links and buttons
Obvious visible focus ring
Logical focus order of interactive elements
Visible Skip to Main content link
Use of proper semantic structure including landmarks, headings and lists
Responsive design can be used in small screen devices and magnified in the browser to 400%
High contrast text on background
Comprehensive site map
Breadcrumb trail provides information about the user's location within a set of web pages