EBSCO eBooks for FE Subscription Collection: Accessibility
The information on this page is taken from the EBSCO ebook user accessibility guide
EBSCO have a good approach to making their products accessible and allocate time and resources toward testing, tools and partnerships to ensure that their products try to meet accessibility standards.
ASPIRE
ASPIRE provides expert assessment of publisher, ebook platform, educational institution + public sector website accessibility statements. EBSCO has been verified by ASPIRE with an ASPIRE score of 100%
Accessibility Guidelines
The EBSCO eBooks platform aims to comply with the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.1 level A and AA and the U.S. Section 508 Standards of the Federal Rehabilitation Act.
Accessibility Information by User Type
Information for Blind Users
The EBSCO ebook interface and content is tested with the following screen reader/browser combinations:
- Desktop: JAWS + Internet Explorer 11
- Desktop: JAWS + Chrome
- Desktop: NVDA + Firefox
- Desktop: Safari (latest) + VoiceOver
- Mobile Apple devices: Safari + VoiceOver
- Mobile Android devices: Chrome + TalkBack
Other accessibility functions such as keyboard operability, colour contrast, etc. are tested in all browsers.
Most book downloads require the Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) reader. This can be used with Voiceover, NVDA, and JAWS screen readers, ADE offers other accessibility features such as high contrast mode and full keyboard support. There is more information available on commands for screen readers in the help book that downloads by default with ADE
Information for Low Vision and Colour Vision-Impaired Users
- The online book viewer for EBSCO eBooks allows users to Zoom content beyond 200%. EPUB content is “reflowable” (meaning it adjusts to the screen size/zoom level) and works particularly well for users with vision impairments
- All other EBSCO interfaces have a responsive design that allows users with vision impairments to zoom in up to 200% without loss of functionality
- EBSCO’s company-wide design standards include requirements for minimum colour contrast
- EBSCO’s eBook viewer has been tested with colour inversion tools
- EBSCO’s eBook viewer has been tested with screen magnifiers such as ZoomText and MAGic
- EBSCO’s company-wide design standards include requirements for minimum colour contrast, including for colour vision impairments
- EBSCO eBooks’ software development process uses tools to validate colour contrast
Information for users who rely on the keyboard 
EBSCO eBooks contains a Skip to Main Content link at the top of the ebook viewer page, which allows keyboard users to skip redundant navigation links. To access this, use the tab key from the top of the page. The Skip to Main Content link will come into view. Activating this link sends focus to the ebook viewer region, where a keyboard user can scroll content with the down arrows or easily reach the page navigation tools with the tab key.
Information for Users with Dyslexia
- EBSCO interfaces use web fonts that are known to work well for dyslexic users
- EBSCO eBooks works in a limited capacity with Text to Speech tools. Known limitations exist for books with copy/paste restricted by the publisher, where the Text to Speech tool requires selecting text. There are also known limitations with DRM-protected content. DRM readers such as Adobe Digital Editions may not work well with Text to Speech tools when content is downloaded. EBSCO recommends using downloaded chapters or page ranges, which are DRM-free.
- Downloaded Books in EPUB format allow for changing fonts (using third party tools) that are optimized for dyslexia
Information for Deaf Users
EBSCO eBooks does not contain audio or video content so deaf users have access to the full range of content included in any EBSCO eBook
