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Albert S. Cook Library

Accessibility Information for E-Resources

This guide provides details about the accessibility of the databases and other electronic resources to which Cook Library subscribes.

Tools within e-book platforms

Some e-book platforms have built-in accessibility options, which may allow you to change the text size, background, and font color. These built-in options may otherwise be adapted for use with screen reading or read aloud software. Patrons can benefit from them regardless of whether they have a visual impairment or any special accessibility requirements. Listed below is an in-depth look at each of the biggest e-book providers with a brief information on the accessibility functionality and capabilities of each.

Ebook Central

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? No

Whole Book - Unavailable in  most cases. 24-hour downloads as secure PDFs or EPUB files.

Chapters - Limited chapter downloads as unsecured PDFs 

Full Text Search?  Yes You can search for keywords and phrases using the search box labeled "Search within book" in the left-hand side panel. Your results will appear below the search box. 
Read Aloud? Narration? No Ebook Central does not provide a build-in Read Aloud or Narration function. 
Magnification? Yes Users can zoom in up to 300% using the plus and minus buttons in the online reader interface. 
Text Reflow? No The text does not reflow when using the zoom function when reading online or in PDF format. However, the Ebook Central site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices. 
Text Font and Size?  Yes Users can change the Ebook Central website typeface and the font of e-book full text to OpenDyslexic in the User Profile menu. However, the e-book font size cannot be changed. 
Page and Background? No It is not possible to change the background color of the page on Ebook Central, however their style guides do specify that their use of colors meet minimum contrast specifications. 
Alt Text?  Yes Ebook Central does support alternative text if provides by the publishers. However, some e-books contain images without accessible descriptions and cannot be read by a screen reader. 
Screen Reader?  Yes Ebook Central pages contain hidden landmarks, description of state, and other code which can be detected by a screen reader and provide additional information. Everything is labeled according to its function, making navigation easier. 
Keyboard Navigation? Yes It is possible to navigate Ebook Central using only a keyboard. The tab, enter, and arrow keys allow you to navigate website menus, perform searches, read online (including book navigation), and download e-books. 
Unlimited Printing? No Users are permitted to print 10% of the text or one chapter at their discretion. 
Accessibility Statement Yes Accessibility Statement Ebook: Central 

EBSCOhost

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? No

Whole Book - Unavailable in  most cases. 24-hour downloads as secure PDFs or EPUB files.

Chapters - Limited chapter downloads as unsecured PDFs 

Full Text Search?  Yes You can search for keywords and phrases using the search box labeled "Search within book" in the left-hand side panel. Your results will appear below the search box. 
Read Aloud? Narration? No

EBSCOhost does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function. EBSCO recommend downloading key chapters and opening them with your preferred text-to-speech tool, or copying the text from the online reader into a text-to-speech tool.

Magnification? Yes The EBSCOhost online reader allows users to zoom content beyond 200%
Text Reflow? Yes EPUB content reflows within the online reader (meaning it adjusts to the screen size/zoom level). However, PDF content does not reflow. The EBSCOhost site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  No

EBSCO interfaces use web fonts that are known to work well for dyslexic users. However, it is not possible to change the font type or size within an EBSCO e-book.

Page and Background? No It is not possible to change the page/background color within EBSCOhost, however, EBSCO's company-wide design standards include requirements for minimum color contrast.
Alt Text?  Yes EBSCO rely on the publishers to provide tags and descriptive information for images. This means they cannot guarantee that images within e-books will have sufficient information for assistive technologies to interpret them.
Screen Reader?  Yes For e-books in EPUB format, any screen reader should work successfully. PDF e-books are compatible with screen readers using an ASCII text layer.
Keyboard Navigation? Yes It is possible to navigate EBSCO e-books using only a keyboard. EBSCO e-books contain a Skip to Main Content link at the top of the viewer page, allowing keyboard users to skip redundant navigation links.
Unlimited Printing? No Users are permitted to print 10% of the text or one chapter at their discretion. 
Accessibility Statement Yes EBSCO eBook Accessibility User Guide and FAQs

Emerald

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs. Whole-book downloads unavailable.

Full Text Search?  No It is only possible to search e-books in HTML/PDF/EPUB format using the search functionality within the browser/PDF Reader.
Read Aloud? Narration? No

Emerald does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function.

Magnification? Yes Text can be resized without assistive technology up to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality.
Text Reflow? Yes When viewing an e-book in HTML or EPUB format, the text will reflow. However, PDF content is not reflowable. The Emerald site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  Yes

It is not possible to change the font type or size for e-books in HTML or PDF format unless your web browser/PDF Reader is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page. However, you are usually able to choose from a selection of fonts when viewing e-books in EPUB format.

Page and Background? No It is not possible to change the page background color or tone for Emerald e-books in HTML format unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page. However, the site does provide sufficient color contrast. It is possible to change the background color of e-books in EPUB format.
Alt Text?  Yes Most images/figures have alternative text. However, the quality of the alternative text varies for e-books in HTML and PDF format. Images/figures in older content (pre-2000) may not have alternative text.
Screen Reader?  Yes Emerald e-books have been tested using the screen reader/browser combination of NVDA and Google Chrome.
Keyboard Navigation? Yes It is possible to navigate the Emerald site using only a keyboard. The TAB key can be used to navigate through links within the site menu and the main text of each page. Once a link has been highlighted, use the ENTER key to activate the link.
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing from chapters simply by selecting the desired text online. Unlimited printing of downloaded chapter PDFs/EPUBs.
Accessibility Statement Yes Emerald Publishing Accessibility Statement

Gale

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs. Whole-book downloads unavailable.

Full Text Search?  No  
Read Aloud? Narration? Yes

The online reader has inbuilt text-to-speech. This can be found at the top-left hand side of the page by clicking on the "Listen" icon. Narration speed can be set to slow, medium or fast in the "Listen" settings. The narrator voice cannot be changed from the default.

Magnification? No Magnification is only possible through a user's web browser. 
Text Reflow? Yes The text does reflow when reading Gale e-books in the online reader. The Gale site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  Yes

It is possible to change the text font and size of Gale e-books in the online reader using the "A" icons at the top-left of the page to increase/decrease the font size, and the "Aa" icon to change the font. Font options include OpenSans, EB Garamond, Open Dyslexic, and Noto Sans.

Page and Background? Yes It is possible to change the page color in the online reader using the "Aa" icon at the top-left of the page. Page color options include white, grey, orange, and green.
Alt Text?  Yes Charts, graphs and images within Gale e-books don’t always have alt or descriptive text, depending on the source.
Screen Reader?  Yes Gale e-books have been tested using NVDA and JAWS screen readers on Firefox and Chrome.
Keyboard Navigation? Yes Gale e-books can be navigated using only a keyboard.
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing from chapters simply by selecting the desired text online. Unlimited printing of downloaded chapter PDFs/EPUBs.
Accessibility Statement Yes Gale Accessibility Policy

JSTOR

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs. Whole-book downloads unavailable.

Full Text Search?  No  
Read Aloud? Narration? No

JSTOR do not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function. They recommend utilizing text-to-speech tools on the platform and with PDF content, available as plug-ins.

Magnification? Yes It is possible to zoom in at least 200% on JSTOR e-books. 
Text Reflow? No JSTOR e-books are provided in PDF format and are not reflowable. The JSTOR site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  No

It is not possible to change the font type or size of a JSTOR e-book unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page or they are changed via the PDF reader.

Page and Background? No It is not possible to change the background color or tone unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page.
Alt Text?  Yes All meaningful images that are part of the JSTOR interface have a text alternative. All images have informational text alternatives which convey descriptive information about the image. Some images have additional descriptive text, however, JSTOR cannot guarantee that all images have been given descriptive alt text.
Screen Reader?  Yes JSTOR have made effort to ensure that image-based PDF files are accessible and can be read with screen readers such as JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. These files are tagged at a high level using an automated process.
Keyboard Navigation? Yes It is possible to navigate the JSTOR site and access all interactive elements using only a keyboard. It is also possible to skip directly to main content and skip long lists of links.
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing of downloaded chapter PDFs. Unavailable online.
Accessibility Statement Yes JSTOR Accessibility Policies

OVID

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs. Whole-book downloads unavailable.

Full Text Search?  Yes You can search for keywords within the content of an Ovid e-book using the "Search" feature in the left-hand side column. Your keyword matches will be displayed below the search box. 
Read Aloud? Narration? No

Ovid does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function.

Magnification? Yes Text can be magnified without assistive technology up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
Text Reflow? Yes The text does reflow when using the online reader. The OVID site is HTML compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  Yes

It is possible to change the text font and size in the Ovid "New Book Reader". To do this, go to page settings in the bottom-left hand corner of the e-book. Font options include OpenSans, Georgia, and NotoSerif,

Page and Background? Yes It is possible to change the page color of Ovid e-books in the "New Book Reader". To do this, go to page settings in the bottom-left hand corner of the e-book. Background options include Night Mode, Day Mode, and Sepia Mode. 
Alt Text?  Yes All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative. 
Screen Reader?  Yes A screen reader should be able to navigate a user through the product. 
Keyboard Navigation? Yes All functionality of the content is operable through a keyboard interface. 
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing from chapters simply by selecting the desired text online. Unlimited printing of downloaded chapter PDFs.
Accessibility Statement No  

Oxford

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs. Whole-book downloads unavailable.

Full Text Search?  Yes You can search within the content of an Oxford Scholarship e-book using the "Search within book" box on the right-hand side of the page. A results page will then appear. 
Read Aloud? Narration? No

Oxford Scholarship does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function.

Magnification? No Magnification is only possible through a user's web browser for HTML content or through the PDF reader if downloading a chapter.
Text Reflow? No Oxford Scholarship e-books are provided in either PDF or HTML format and are not reflowable. The Oxford Scholarship site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  No
It is not possible to change the text font or size within Oxford Scholarship e-books but can be changed within browser settings or via the PDF reader.
Page and Background? No It is not possible to change the page tone or color within Oxford Scholarship e-books. Throughout the site there are combinations of colors that fall below the minimum contrast levels.
Alt Text?  No There is some provision of alt text within the Oxford Scholarship site, however this is an area currently identified for improvement.
Screen Reader?  No It is somewhat possible to navigate the Oxford Scholarship site and e-books using a screen reader, however there are some issues including a lack of captions to some tables and the structure/organization e-book PDFs.
Keyboard Navigation? Yes Most of the Oxford Scholarship site is possible to navigate using only a keyboard. However, keyboard operability has been identified as an area for improvement. 
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing from chapters simply by selecting the desired text online. Unlimited printing of downloaded chapter PDFs.
Accessibility Statement Yes Oxford Scholarship Accessibility

Project MUSE

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs. Whole-book downloads usually unavailable. In rare cases, whole-book downloads available as unlimited access PDFs and EPUB files

Full Text Search?  No  
Read Aloud? Narration? No

Project MUSE does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function.

Magnification? No Magnification is only possible through a user's web browser or via the PDF reader.
Text Reflow? No All EPUB content is reflowable. However, PDF content does not reflow. The Project MUSE site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  No It is not possible to change the font type or size unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page or they are changed via the PDF reader.
Page and Background? Yes Project MUSE allows users to enable High Contrast Mode and Dark Mode on their website via User Settings.
Alt Text?  Yes MUSE provides text alternatives to all produced and hosted content.
Screen Reader?  Yes MUSE is coded to be intelligible to screen readers using semantic markup and relevant id/label attributes.
Keyboard Navigation? Yes MUSE is fully keyboard accessible and does not use any timing-based interactions.
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing of downloaded whole-book and chapter PDFs or EPUB files. When a title can be read online, unlimited printing is available simply by selecting the desired text.
Accessibility Statement Yes Accessibility on MUSE

ProQuest

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

99% of individual chapters – as well as hundreds of thousands of full titles – are available without download restrictions

Full Text Search?  No Many books on the ProQuest Platform are presented within the ProQuest ebook viewer, the same viewer used in ProQuest Ebook Central. You can search for keywords and phrases using the search box labelled "Search within book" in the left-hand side panel. Your results will appear below the search box.
Read Aloud? Narration? No

ProQuest does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function.

Magnification? Yes Text can be magnified up to 400% using browser tools without text spilling off screen.
Text Reflow? Yes The ProQuest platform is built to be responsive, meaning that regardless of the device you are using or the zoom level set in your browser, interface elements and content will reflow. However, some content in PDF format does not reflow due to the nature of the PDF formatting. The ProQuest site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  No It is not possible to change the font type or size unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page or they are changed via the PDF reader.
Page and Background? No It is not possible to change the page background color or tone for ProQuest e-books unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page.
Alt Text?  Yes The ProQuest Platform supports alternative text and image descriptions when provided by the publishers.
Screen Reader?  Yes It is possible to use a screen reader to navigate the ProQuest platform and ProQuest e-books.
Keyboard Navigation? Yes It is possible to navigate all databases on the ProQuest platform using only a keyboard.
Unlimited Printing? No Most titles with restrictions allow for 20% of the text to be copied and 40% printed.
Accessibility Statement Yes ProQuest Platform Accessibility Statement

SAGE

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs. Whole-book downloads unavailable.

Full Text Search?  Yes You can search within the content of a SAGE Knowledge e-book using the "Search within this book" box on the right-hand side of the page, above the e-book toolbar. The results will appear below. 
Read Aloud? Narration? No

SAGE Knowledge does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function. However, all content can be copied and pasted into a text-to-speech tool with no barriers.

Magnification? Yes PDFs downloaded from SAGE Knowledge support zoom and magnification. When reading in HTML format, magnification is possible by using the browser's zoom functionality.
Text Reflow? Yes SAGE Knowledge uses responsive design, so if reading the book in HTML, changing the zoom level in your browser will reflow the layout of the page. E-books in PDF format are not reflowable. The SAGE Knowledge site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  Yes In most SAGE e-books, you can change the text size between Small, Medium and Large, by using the 'Text size' icon in the tools section. 
Page and Background? Yes It is not possible to change the page background color or tone unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page. However, all text on SAGE Knowledge meets minimum recommended contrast ratios against the background. This is 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
Alt Text?  Yes Alt text is available for most images on SAGE Knowledge. However, some titles, particularly older ones, do not have text alternatives available for figures and other graphics.
Screen Reader?  Yes The SAGE Knowledge site is designed to follow a logical reading order and semantic structure and has been tested with the combinations of JAWS and Chrome, NVDA and Firefox, and VoiceOver and Safari.
Keyboard Navigation? Yes It is possible to navigate SAGE Knowledge using only a keyboard. The tab key can be used to move through the interactive elements of the page. Features on the site have been designed not to rely on mouse-only interactions like hovering and drag-and-drop.
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing from chapters simply by selecting the desired text online. Unlimited printing of downloaded chapter PDFs.
Accessibility Statement Yes SAGE Knowledge Accessibility Guide

ScienceDirect

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs. Whole books may only be downloaded as a compressed ZIP file of individual chapter PDFs

Full Text Search?  Yes You can search within the content of a ScienceDirect e-book using the "Search in this book" in the center of the page to type in a keyword or phrase. A results page will then appear.
Read Aloud? Narration? No

ScienceDirect does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function. However, it is possible to convert text to speech using Adobe Acrobat Reader's "Read out loud" option. 

Magnification? Yes Content can be zoomed up to 400% with reflow and without causing horizontal scrolling using the browser's zoom functionality if reading in HTML format, or using the zoom functionality of the PDF reader. 
Text Reflow? No PDF content does not reflow but the HTML version does. The ScienceDirect site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  No The text size can be changed through magnification. However, it is not possible to change the font type unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page. 
Page and Background? Yes It is not possible to change the page background color or tone unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page. However, the text and link color contrast ratio with the background is at least 4.5:1.
Alt Text?  Yes All graphical elements and color-coded items have meaningful text equivalents.
Screen Reader?  Yes E-books in HTML format are compatible with screen readers including JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. For e-books in PDF format, text to speech can be done using Adobe Acrobat Reader's "Read out loud" option. 
Keyboard Navigation? Yes It is possible to navigate the ScienceDirect site using only a keyboard. This includes text links, mobile hamburger menu, image links, and hide/show controls.
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing from chapters simply by selecting the desired text online. Unlimited printing of downloaded whole-book and chapter PDFs.
Accessibility Statement Yes ScienceDirect Accessibility Features

Springer

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Whole Book – Unlimited whole-book downloads as PDFs or EPUB files
Chapters – Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs

Full Text Search?  Yes You can search within the content of a SpringerLink e-book using the "Search within book" box to type in a keyword or phrase. A results page will then appear. 
Read Aloud? Narration? No

SpringerLink does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function.

Magnification? Yes Content can be magnified using the web browser's zoom functionality when reading e-books in HTML format, and using the PDF Reader's zoom functionality when reading e-books in PDF and EPUB format.
Text Reflow? Yes E-books in HTML and EPUB format are reflowable. When full text is presented in PDF, the text is not reflowable. The SpringerLink site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  No It is not possible to change the font type or size when reading e-books in HTML format unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page. The font size can be changed within the reader when reading e-books in EPUB format.
Page and Background? No Most text and images of text have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. However, it is not possible to change the page or background color within the e-book unless your web browser is equipped with special functionality or plugins that could make such changes to any other web page.
Alt Text?  Yes Most in-line images supplied in article content provide alternative text, or descriptions, or figure captions. However, some images, such as icons on user interface elements, may have inadequate or missing text alternatives.
Screen Reader?  Yes E-books in HTML format are compatible with screen readers including JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. For e-books in PDF format, text to speech can be done using Adobe Acrobat Reader's "Read out loud" option. 
Keyboard Navigation? Yes It is possible to navigate the majority of components in the SpringerLink website using only a keyboard. Skip links are provided for bypassing repetitive navigation elements. However, content contained inside tab interfaces (e.g. tables of contents in Books) cannot be operated by keyboard alone.
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing from chapters simply by selecting the desired text online. Unlimited printing of downloaded whole-book and chapter PDFs or EPUB files.
Accessibility Statement Yes SpringerLink Accessibility Statement

Taylor & Francis

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Usually available through an online reader provided via Kortext. See the Kortext tab for more information. Occasionally some titles may only be read online as an embedded PDF.

Full Text Search?  Yes You can search within the content of a Kortext e-book by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the left-hand side column and typing in a keyword or phrase. The results will appear in a list below the search box. 
Read Aloud? Narration? No

The Kortext e-reader does not provide an inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration function.

Magnification? Yes The Kortext e-reader contains a built-in zoom function allowing users to zoom content up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
Text Reflow? No All EPUB content is reflowable. However, PDF content does not reflow. The e-reader is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  No It is not possible to change the font type or size in the e-reader.
Page and Background? No The foreground is separated from background with the use of appropriate color and contrast and text and images of text have a contrast ratio of at least 4:5:1. However, it is not possible to change the page or background color in the e-reader. 
Alt Text?  Yes Most non-text elements outside of eBooks content are provided with alternative text.
Screen Reader?  Yes Taylor & Francis e-books are fully supportive of eReader software and plug-ins.
Keyboard Navigation? Yes Content is navigable via the keyboard, without needing to use a mouse.
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing of downloaded whole-book and chapter PDFs. Within the Kortext reader, users are only permitted to print 10% of the text in ten-page ranges at any one time.
Accessibility Statement Yes Accessibility at Taylor & Francis

Wiley Online Library

E-book Feature Yes/No Description
Full Text Download? Yes

Whole Book – Unlimited whole-book downloads as PDFs or EPUB files
Chapters – Unlimited chapter downloads as PDFs

Full Text Search?  No  
Read Aloud? Narration? Yes

Wiley Online Library does not provide inbuilt Read Aloud or Narration functions, however many Wiley e-books support free Text-to-Speech functionality.

Magnification? No Magnification is only possible through a user's web browser or within the PDF reader.
Text Reflow? No EPUB files are reflowable whereas PDF files are not. The Wiley Online Library site is HTML5 compliant, allowing for reflow on mobile devices.
Text Font and Size?  No It is not possible to change the font type. The font size can be increased through magnification in the PDF reader.
Page and Background? No It is not possible to change the page background color or tone for Wiley Online Library e-books.
Alt Text?  Yes Since 2015, Wiley has been including alt text in many e-books.
Screen Reader?  No  
Keyboard Navigation? No  
Unlimited Printing? Yes Unlimited printing of downloaded whole-book and chapter PDFs or EPUB files. Unavailable online.
Accessibility Statement Yes Wiley Online Library Accessibility

Acknowledgements

This page has been adapted from the Accessibility Guide at the University of Exeter.