General Accessibility Statement - Public Knowledge Project

The Public Knowledge Project (PKP) is committed to ensuring that its software and websites are accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. Our target conformance level is WCAG 2.1 AA, with active progress toward WCAG 2.2 AA.

OJS, OMP, and OPS have been evaluated against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which serves as the technical standard referenced by Section 508 (Revised), ADA Title II, and EN 301 549. While many criteria are fully supported, several remain partially supported with tracked remediation efforts underway. Institutions should consult the published VPAT below to assess conformance relative to their specific regulatory obligations.

Accessibility Conformance Report (VPAT)

The Accessibility Conformance Report for OJS/OMP/OPS is available in three formats.

HTML version: recommended format for most users, offering the most accessible experience for screen readers and keyboard navigation.
PDF version: provided for downloading, printing, or attaching to procurement documents.
YAML file: available for technical reviewers who wish to inspect the structured data in the OpenACR editor (opens in a new window or tab). OpenACR is a format maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration – GSA (opens in a new window or tab).

All formats are generated from the same source to ensure consistency.

Component	Documents
OJS/OMP/OPS: Editorial View	Editorial View VPAT (HTML) Editorial View VPAT (PDF) Editorial View VPAT (YAML)
Default Theme	Theme Accessibility Addendum (HTML)

Current Status

At this time, our website has not undergone a complete third-party accessibility audit. However, we are actively working toward full conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA for our online presence. It includes this website, PKP Docs, Forum, PKP School, and any other platform that PKP hosts and maintains.

While the website has not yet been formally verified end-to-end, we have begun a phased accessibility evaluation process of our platforms. This documentation represents completed portions of this effort, and we will expand coverage as additional audits are conducted.

PKP has completed an independent accessibility audit of its three platforms: Open Journal Systems (OJS), Open Monograph Press (OMP), and Open Preprint Systems (OPS). The audit covered both Reader and Editorial View. The audit was conducted by Access Changes Everything (ACE) and completed in March 2026.

The audit found that while the platforms perform well overall, there are areas that do not yet fully meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. These findings have been translated into published Accessibility Conformance Report (VPAT) that document the current conformance level for each WCAG success criterion, including criteria rated “Partially Supports” with linked GitHub issues for tracking and remediation.

Remediation of identified barriers is planned to begin in Q3 2026. The VPAT will be updated to reflect resolved issues. This document is maintained as a living document and is reviewed regularly as fixes are implemented and new releases are issued.

Accessibility Conformance Documentation

PKP’s accessibility documentation is organized in layers to clearly communicate the scope and maturity of our conformance efforts:

1. Platform-Level Accessibility Conformance Report (VPAT)

PKP publishes a VPAT covering the Editorial View(Dashboard) of its three platforms (OJS, OMP, OPS), evaluated against WCAG 2.1 AA (with additional consideration of WCAG 2.2 AA and accessibility best practices beyond the standard).

Editorial View VPAT

The OJS/OMP/OPS Editorial View Accessibility Conformance Report documents the current conformance state of the editorial and administrative interfaces across all three platforms.

The report covers:

Software/back-end components: editorial workflows, administrative interfaces, submission management, review workflows, press/journal management tools, and system-level behaviors

Where barriers were identified, the report marks the criterion as “Partially Supports” and includes remarks describing the specific issue, the affected platforms, and links to tracked GitHub issues.

Audit methodology included:

Evaluation against WCAG 2.2 Level AA as the primary standard, with additional consideration of WCAG 2.1 AAA, WCAG 2.2 AAA, and emerging WCAG 3.0 drafts
Automated and manual testing across desktop (Firefox, Chrome, Edge) and mobile (Safari on iOS) environments
Testing by paid auditors with lived experience of disabilities, including blind, Deaf-Blind, low vision, cognitive, and anxiety-related disabilities, using assistive technologies such as JAWS, NVDA, Narrator, VoiceOver, and braille displays
Assessment that went beyond WCAG criteria to include general usability and accessibility best practices

2. Theme-Specific Addenda

OJS/OMP/OPS separate core application logic from presentation themes. Because accessibility conformance can vary depending on the active theme, each theme will be documented in a dedicated addendum that supplements the Editorial View VPAT without modifying its conclusions.

The OJS/OMP/OPS Default Theme Accessibility Conformance Report documents the current conformance state of the Default Theme across all three platforms. Default Theme is currently the only theme available for all three platforms. Any other theme relates to OJS only.

Default Theme / Theme Addendum A: The Default Theme is the primary theme evaluated in the current Reader View VPAT. Its front-end templates, navigation components, visual presentation, and interaction patterns are assessed within the VPAT’s web component ratings.

(Additional theme addenda for Pragma, Immersion, Classic, Health Sciences, and Bootstrap themes will be published after planned evaluations be completed.)

Scope and Exclusions

The documentation referenced above applies to publicly accessible web pages and core platform interfaces, including both reader-facing pages and editorial/administrative interfaces. Compliance does not currently extend to:

Content and documents published by a journal, including by its authors and editors. The accessibility compliance of published content remains the responsibility of each journal.
Web pages generated by OJS plugins that add to, extend, or modify core pages (including third-party plugins, child themes, and customized themes).
Any other non-publicly accessible web pages not covered by the audit scope.

Remediation Roadmap

Remediation of identified barriers is scheduled to begin in Q3 2026. The remediation effort will follow the priority structure established in the ACE audit:

Priority items — Barriers with moderate to severe impact on users with disabilities, including magnification/responsive design failures, skip link functionality, heading hierarchy, colour contrast, and form error handling
Secondary priority items — Barriers with minimal to moderate impact, including keyboard/focus visibility, ARIA labelling improvements, and page title uniqueness

Progress will be tracked through the GitHub issues linked in the VPAT, and the conformance reports will be updated as issues are resolved.

To learn more about ongoing work and accessibility improvements scheduled for future releases, please visit PKP’s accessibility roadmap on GitHub.

Feedback and Contact

We welcome feedback on the accessibility of our software and website. If you encounter an accessibility barrier or need accommodations, please report them to us.

Visit our support page to access assistance with PKP software. If you would like to report an accessibility issue, please use our Accessibility report form. For all other inquiries, please use our contact form.

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