Skip to Main Content
live chat

ADA Accessible Library Resources

Library resources and screen readers

This page contains a full list of databases that are compliant with either Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, or W3C WAI WCAG 2.0 Level A.

Some databases offer a simple statement of compliance. However, others provide additional instructions as to how one may maximize use of their databases in screen-reader mode.

EBSCO databases

EBSCOhost is fully functional for visually-impaired users.  The EBSCOhost platform meets and in many cases exceeds section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards.  Additionally, EBSCOhost is WCAG 2.0 Level A compliant. EBSCO has invested time and resources to exceed Web accessibility guidelines and to support several features that are part of the WCAG Level AA compliance by improving page orientation and navigation of EBSCOhost.  Read More.

Below are a list of EBSCO databases with the Read Aloud Feature.

ACM Digital Library

The Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) is committed to diversity, inclusion and accessibility in everything we do. These core values are fundamental to the way we operate our organization and support our constituents.  

The ACM US Public Policy Council identified accessibility as one of its core issues and has provided comments and information to the legislative and executive branches of the US Government toward advancing accessibility standards.  This Council has often been joined by the ACM Special Interest Groups on Accessibility and Computer Human Interaction, both concerned with ensuring systems are accessible and usable by a broad range of stakeholders.

Credo Reference

ADA Compliance Statement:

Credo's Reference and Education products are compliant with Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Users with disabilities are encouraged to use screen readers or other third party tools to assist with use of Credo's interfaces.

Some content types in Credo Reference may have limited usability for individuals with certain disabilities. The videos in the Core Collections have closed captioning. Some videos additionally have transcripts provided by the publisher. Audio content such as pronunciation files, and video content not in the Core Collections, may not be usable by a hearing or vision impaired user. Credo Education materials include transcripts for all audio-visual content.

Oxford

Wherever possible, the site meets Conformance level A (Priority 2) of the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). We have tried to avoid the use of non-W3C formats, and have run Bobby validation for Priority 2 accessibility. Where we have not been able to make a particular feature more accessible, we have tried to ensure that it degrades gracefully.

Please Contact us if you believe barriers remain.

Project Muse

Project MUSE is committed to creating products that are fully accessible to all users, regardless of their physical challenges. To this end, we strive to follow the technical specifications of Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act, including the updated standards released in January 2017.

Proquest databases

While designing the ProQuest interface, we've aimed to comply with the following Web accessibility standards and laws:

  • Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act.
    Further details about how ProQuest addresses Section 508 compliance can be found in our product specific VPAT statements, available from the Accessibility Directory.

  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

  • Level A and Level AA of the WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0).
    (In some cases we meet Level AAA standards). Full details are available in our product specific WCAG 2.0 Accessibility documents, available from the Accessibility Directory.

In addition to the specific accessibility standards, the site has been built following broader web coding standards (e.g. (x)HTML and CSS2) to ensure compatibility with as wide a range of browsers and assistive technologies as possible.

Gale databases

Cengage Learning is committed to making its educational materials accessible to users of all abilities. Through a dedicated company-wide task force, the assistance of outside experts and consultants, and feedback from users, Cengage Learning continuously seeks to identify and evaluate opportunities for improving the usability and accessibility of our products and services.

JSTOR

The website is accessible to users with disabilities, including keyboard-only users and those with visual and cognitive impairments. The website is responsive, meaning users can easily adjust font size and color/contrast settings on most devices. We have made every effort to ensure that our image-based PDF files are accessible and can be read with screen readers like JAWS. These files are tagged at a high level using an automated process. While this method is not exact, it dramatically increases the accessibility of the files as compared to an untagged version. We regularly use automated checks and conduct tests with users against Section 508 and WCAG standards to evaluate and measure the accessibility of the site.

Elsevier

We demonstrate our commitment to web accessibility by enabling access and optimizing the experience for individuals with disabilities and impairments, including auditory, cognitive, physical, speech and visual disabilities. ScienceDirect aspires to meet all guidelines established by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0  and the U.S. Section 508 Standards  of the Federal Rehabilitation Act, as well as similar standards enacted by countries around the globe.