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Alistair McNaught Alternative formats

Accessible library practice – the Bradford example

Sarah George is a Subject Librarian at the University of Bradford. She was made a National Teaching Fellow in 2017 – and her accessibility remit contributed significantly to that recognition. Here she gives a personal take on e-book accessibility and accessibility activism via research and evidence. I am an academic librarian at the University of Bradford, covering the subjects […]

E-book audit 2018 – auditing accessibility guidance

Invitation to a New Year Resolution… As the last days of 2017 draw in, Alistair McNaught looks at plans for the 2018 e-book accessibility audit. This will be simpler than the 2016 version but – we believe – more effective. In this season of peace and goodwill to all, we’re looking for an audit that […]

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accessibility statements Uncategorized

Challenging e-text complacency – the allergy analogy

It took a long time to identify my dairy intolerance but once it was identified and managed my sense of taste and smell began to return and long term digestion problems resolved. My quality of life improved because of two simple things: I had a better understanding of my needs The information on food packaging […]

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Learner Experience

The e-book accessibility audit – use and abuse.

The good – it works The e-book accessibility audit (August 2016 to November 2016) was a joint project between several UK Higher Education Institution disability and library services, Jisc and representatives from the book supply industry. More information on the partners is available. The audit had three main purposes: To create a sort of “accessibility Esperanto” […]

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Alternative formats assistive technology Productivity/assistive technology Reading effectively

Delivering words to eyes

Text to speech is great but not everyone gets on with it. What other ways can we deliver words to eyes more efficiently?  What about people who want to read with their eyes but have visual or other difficulties that make scanning normal pages tiring or inefficient? What about those who need bigger fonts but […]

Jisc support for accessible library services

If you’re currently working in a library service and preparing for the impact of changes to the disabled student allowance this blog post is designed to give you a helpful overview of how Jisc can support you. Our three main areas of focus for inclusive libraries has been advocacy, guidance, and case studies. Advocacy: We […]

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Alternative formats Policy & strategy

Checking the accessibility of your e-resources

When you are procuring new institutional platforms (such as eBook, VLE, content creation platforms) or licences have come up for renewal again, check which of the following features are available. If a significant number of these features are missing you might renegotiate costs based on the extra costs you might incur in supporting print impaired […]

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Alternative formats Policy & strategy

Accessible textbooks – jigsaw piece 2/3

It’s good to share, it’s easy to share, it’s legal to share For many years libraries and disability support teams have had the frustration of wasted time and effort in scanning books that others had already scanned… but that licences prevented them from sharing. Now that copyright laws have changed (see previous blog post) it […]