Library & Learning Resources

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Interior of a library with shelves filled with books, a round table surrounded by wooden chairs, and a desk with computer keyboards, monitors, and a bottle of hand sanitizer on the table.

Library Online Resources and Web Accessibility

Library and Learning Resources are committed to providing online resources which are accessible to all our users.

We aim to provide resources that meet or exceed level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 and now include an assessment of accessibility as standard practice when purchasing new resources.

Our digital collections are hosted by third-party publishers on their own web platforms which are independently developed. Many publishers are prioritising digital accessibility and have their own accessibility statements.

Interior of a library with shelves filled with books, a round table surrounded by wooden chairs, and a desk with computer keyboards, monitors, and a bottle of hand sanitizer on the table.

If you experience any problems relating to the accessibility of our online library resources or services, or have any general queries please contact us at library@uwtsd.ac.uk

Our online library contains thousands of eBooks, from a range of different content providers with differing accessibility standards. To find specific eBooks you can find titles and authors using the library catalogue and view their accessibility statements where available.

eBooks are usually offered in two formats, depending on publisher preferences:

  • EPUB, is an HTML-based format that supports reflowable text. When users resize their browser or access the book on a smaller device such as a phone or tablet, the text will automatically adjust to fit the screen size.  Users can also adjust the font size for most eBooks within the menu of the EPUB reader.
  • PDF is an image-based format that keeps the look and feel of a printed book. The book has a set number of pages with a fixed width.  These books may not display well on smaller devices and require zooming in to view the text.

Occasionally there are items that may not meet accessibility criteria which are outside of the publisher’s or platform’s control.  For example:

  • Some eBooks may not allow for magnification or font size increases
  • Some eBooks may not have images with alt text
  • Some eBooks may include text in a different language than the primary language of the eBook

If you experience difficulties with accessibility of our eBooks, please inform library@uwtsd.ac.uk, and we will liaise with the content provider.

The Library Catalogue is powered by Ex Libris Primo. Primo is partially compliant with WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 level AA. Further detailed information can be found in the Primo Accessibility Report.

Our Online Resource Lists are powered by Ex Libris Leganto. Leganto is partially compliant with WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 level AA. Further detailed information can be found in the Leganto Product Accessibility Report.

RefWorks is an online research management, writing, and collaboration tool, designed to help researchers easily gather, manage, store, and share all types of information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies.

RefWorks is continually designed and developed to meet level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2). Further detailed information can be found in the RefWorks Accessibility Guide.

The Research Repository contains full-text research papers, journal articles, book chapters, and theses authored by University staff and students, and research data.

University Policy encourages researchers to make their work available online, free to the reader, as soon as possible after publication.

The University’s Research Repository is powered by Eprints. Accessibility statements for the Research Repository can be found at Research Repository Accessibility Statement.

Please note that older documents may not be in an accessible format. If you wish to request an accessible copy of any document held in our Research Repository, please contact openaccess@uwtsd.ac.uk.

Our pages should adhere to the UWTSD accessibility guidelines.

Freely Available Accessibility Tools

Many browsers and applications have inbuilt accessibility features to help improve the user experience.