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Accessibility: How to obtain accessible formats

This guide aims to assist Library staff in providing material for students with additional needs

Publisher Look-up Service

This American database is extremely useful when searching for contacts but bear in mind, when using any model request forms,  that their laws relating to disability and their terminology may be very different from ours. 

The Publisher Look-Up Service is a joint initiative of the Association of American Publishers and the AccessText Network. It was established to help college and university Disability Support Services (DSS) professionals find the correct publisher contact from whom to request electronic files of textbooks in order to support students with print-related disabilities.

You can search our database by publisher or imprint name, or browse it alphabetically. If you cannot find the publisher you need or if you believe the contact information we have is in error, please contact us

Obtaining accessible formats

A useful guide by Learningapps to strategies for providing alternative formats.

What format do I ask the publisher for?

You should ask the publisher for an Epub which is the most accessible format for the user.

EPUB allows publishers to produce and send a single digital publication file through distribution and offers consumers interoperability between software/hardware for unencrypted reflowable digital books and other publications.

International Digital Publishing Forum

 

You do not want a pdf as this is generally not at all useful for users with specialist software as it has not been saved correctly and cannot be manipulated as they wish.

RNIB Bookshare (formerly Load2Learn)

RNIB Bookshare  for print-disabled learners, including those with dyslexia or who are blind or partially sighted.

Contact ALS for help as they hold the University account.

Using assistive and accessible technology in teaching and learning

Using assistive and accessible technology in teaching and learning  is a revised JISC guide which covers the following: