Adaptive and Assistive Features: Databases

 

You can access the majority of databases from home with a valid Library Card number and password. Forgot your password? If you do not have a Library Card, you can access databases by logging on to any Library computer or by connecting your personal device to the Library's WiFi network at any APL location. You can also apply for a Library card online.

All TexShare databases are ADA-compliant and each resource should have an associated Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) to render them accessible to users with blindness/low vision, Deaf or hard of hearing users or users with mobility issues. These can be found by visiting our All Digital Resources page and selecting "TexShare" under the "Access" filter.

Adaptive Features

All Gale databases and EBSCOhost databases allow you to listen to an HTML article rather than reading it. The SciTech Premium Collection database also offers the ability to listen to HTML articles.

Accessing adaptive features in Gale databases

Screenshot of HTML article adaptive toolbar options: enlarge font, display options, and listen.

Click the Display options icon to change the background color, font (including dyslexic font) and line, letter and word spacing.

Click the Listen icon to expand the player and begin playback. Click the cog, or Settings, icon to access additional assistive features, including:

  • text highlighting
  • color options for text and text highlighting
  • automatic page scrolling
  • enhanced text visibility, which displays the current sentence at the bottom of the screen with enlarged font
  • speed up or slow down the reading rate
Accessing adaptive features in EBSCOhost databases

Screenshot of database article, with notes: Click to listen; change settings; and download mp3.

Click the red arrow to Listen. Click the cog, or Settings, icon to access additional assistive features, including:

  • text highlighting
  • color options for text and text highlighting
  • automatic page scrolling
  • enhanced text visibility, which displays the current sentence at the bottom of the screen with enlarged font
  • speed up or slow down the reading rate

Click the Download mp3 icon to download an mp3 of the article.

If an HTML full-text version isn't available for an article, many of the PDF full-text articles from our database vendors are OCR-software compatible. However, this feature is available on a case-by-case basis, depending on the PDF provider/publisher rather than the database vendor.