The British Library: Testing for a Resilient Digital Future
The British Library, the national library of the United Kingdom, has centuries of history. It is one of the largest libraries in the world, with more than 200 million items on its shelves a living collection that grows daily. Open to all and free to use.
Following a violent cyber attack in October 2023, virtually all services were disrupted. The incident has been described as “one of the most serious cyber incidents in British history.” To this day, the British Library is still working to fully restore its digital services.
New IT landscape
The British Library is redesigning and developing its entire IT landscape. Together with Polteq as Premium Software Quality Partner and digital agency Q42 from Amsterdam, the website is being rebuilt in phases. The first phase will contain static content, after which more functionality will be added in later phases.
As in phase one, Polteq is emphasizing accessibility and sustainability in phase two. A Web Accessibility assessment is conducted based on WCAG 2.2 guidelines, and sustainability is reflected in a secure and scalable platform that supports further development.
A key difference in phase two is the expanded role of testers, who are now fully integrated into the development cycle during sprints. One tester coordinates sprint activities and shares expertise on the current platform, cross-browser testing, A11Y testing and communication with both the British Library and the development team. The second tester is responsible for performing cross-browser and regression testing.
Testing and the challenges
One of the challenges during testing is understanding the relationship between the British Library website and the Sanity CMS. Many tests are performed on and with the Sanity CMS, so testers must quickly learn the skills needed to work with it. Fortunately, there is plenty of support from the British Library and Q42-the lines of communication are short and questions are answered quickly.
The project team works according to the Agile methodology. All tickets are tracked in JIRA. During all stages of a ticket in JIRA, the tester (as well as other team members) reviews the ticket and -if necessary- provides comments. The tester also contributes to sharpening and establishing clear acceptance criteria.
All this helps to better understand tickets and makes testing easier. Later in the process, the ticket is ready for testing and is labeled “Testing,” which is the trigger for the testing team to start actual testing. After successful testing, the ticket is moved to “Acceptance.”
Premium Software Quality Partner
As a Premium Software Quality partner, Polteq realizes the obtaining quality (design/requirements), quality assurance (testing), maintain quality (monitoring) and improving quality (process/direction/assessment). For this, Polteq provides consultants, quality engineers, training and tooling to ensure the best quality for your organization.
During the first phase, the British Library was very impressed with Polteq’s testing expertise that the collaboration led to a direct agreement between the two parties. With more projects on the horizon, Polteq will remain active as a Premium Software Quality Partner.
Pride and Impact
For Polteq’s test experts and specialists, a project like the British Library offers a unique opportunity to apply their full range of skills and craftsmanship. Given the size and social impact of the library-and the critical importance of security-we are highly motivated to make this project a great success.
As a Premium Software Quality specialist, Polteq is particularly proud to contribute to the British Library. As a vital institution in British society, its digital services must remain secure, accessible and untouched.
Success factors for Polteq testers 
- Validated developed functionalities
- Regression testing on different browsers and devices
- A11Y testing and reporting – see compliance status below
- Clear documentation of new and updated features
- Coordinated design and execution of acceptance tests
The following services were used for this case:
Compliance status The British Library
This website is fully compliant with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
How we tested this website
This website was last tested on July 4, 2025. A full review of the site was carried out by Polteq Test Services, and a representative sample of the site was validated by the British Library using both Wave and Google Lighthouse.
