You can make the text on this page read aloud when using the Edge web browser - right-click anywhere on the page and choose Read Aloud, or use the A)) symbol in the search bar at the top of the screen. The Voice Options button will appear at the top right of the screen after you launch Read Aloud.
Accessibility features in ebooks
The library has a wide range of books available as ebooks. These are provided by a variety of suppliers, and each ebook supplier uses a different platform, meaning they vary in the accessibility features available. Use the tabs to find more information about accessibility in our main ebook platforms.
For any further support with accessibility features mentioned here, please contact the Library Disability Support Advisor.
ProQuest Ebook Central books will have 'ebookcentral.proquest.com' in the url. They have a dark blue/purple banner at the top of the screen, as shown below:
How can I have content from ProQuest Ebook Central read aloud?
• Using the read aloud function in the MS Edge browser: Edge will read out content books opened online, and from chapters downloaded as PDFs. To have content read aloud from a book opened online, you will need to turn on Accessibility Mode. Then simply right-click on the text where you want it to start reading, and select "Read aloud" from the pop-up window.
• Using a screenreader: See guidance on ProQuest Ebook Central accessibility features and how to turn on Accessibility Mode in ebooks.
• Using the built-in read out loud function in MS Edge, or in Adobe Reader, when you download a chapter as a PDF - see the step by step guide to accessibility in PDFs, on this page.
Taylor & Francis books will have 'www-taylorfrancis-com.' in the url.
They have the Taylor & Francis Group logo in the top left of the screen next to the search box, as below.
How can I have content from Taylor & Francis read aloud?
• Using the read aloud function in the MS Edge browser. Edge will read out content from webpages and chapters downloaded as PDFs; in the online reader, it will read book content but the highlighting function does not work.
• Using a screenreader. See guidance on Taylor & Francis accessibility features.
• Using the built-in read out loud function in Adobe Reader, when you download content as a PDF - see the step by step guide on this page.
ReadSpeaker: Journal articles from Taylor & Francis have a built-in text-to-speech function called ReadSpeaker: at the top of the page you will see a "Listen" button, which will read the entire page; or you can select a section of text and click "listen", in which case the text is highlighted as it is read out. See more information here.
VLe books will have 'www.vlebooks.com' in the url.
They have a bright green banner across the top of the page, as shown below:
How can I have content from VLebooks read aloud?
• Using the built-in read aloud function in the online reader, VLeReader. To activate this click the "ReadAloud" (speaker) icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen (note: works best in Google Chrome or Firefox browsers).
• Using software which has OCR capability, such as Read&Write Gold. This applies to content opened in the online reader
• Using JAWS, NVDA and Claro Read software. This applies to books downloaded and opened with Adobe Digital Editions.
Downloaded books:
• Chapters: You can download ProQuest ebook chapters as a PDF (up to the limits set for each book). Once you have saved these files to your PC you can then use Adobe Reader DC accessibility features (see guide on this page) to change the page background colour, font colour, zoom levels and reflow.
• Entire book downloads: When you download entire ProQuest ebooks they will open in Adobe Digital Editions software. The text can be magnified up to 4x but the text will not reflow (you will have to scroll sideways to see all the text). No other alterations can be made to books opened in Adobe Digital Editions.
Online reader:
• Magnifying text: ProQuest Ebook Central books opened in the online reader can be magnified to a high level using the + button on the toolbar, but the text will not reflow.
• Changing the font: you can change the font to "Open Dyslexic" in the online reader when Accessibility Mode is turned on. All books you read online will then open in this font, designed for ease of reading by those with dyslexia.
Note: For more customisation options in the online reader, use of Immersive Reader is recommended.
Text displayed in the online reader can be opened in Immersive Reader by highlighting the text and right clicking, then selecting "Open text in Immersive Reader". This allows customisation of the background colour, text size, line spacing and word spacing, as well as offering a line focus option. Immersive reader also offers a choice of three different fonts. For more details go to the Immersive Reader help page.
Downloaded books:
Taylor & Francis ebooks download as PDF files. These can be saved to your PC and you can use Adobe Reader DC accessibility features (see guide on this page) to alter the page background colour, font colour, zoom levels and reflow. You can also use SensusAccess to convert them to Word and change the appearance to suit your preferences.
Online reader:
•Magnifying the text: You can magnify the text in Taylor & Francis online reader to a high magnification, but the text will not reflow (you will have to scroll sideways to see all the text).
• Background and font colour: It is not possible to alter the background colour or font colour in the online reader.
• Font: It is not possible to change the font in the online reader.
In the VLebooks platform
You can use the accessibility settings to apply high contrast or greyscale mode, select a larger font, or use Dyslexic font. This will only affect the home page and the book detail pages, not the content of books.
Downloaded books:
Entire book downloads: When you download entire VLe books they will open in Adobe Digital Editions software. The text can be magnified up to 4x but the text will not reflow (you will have to scroll sideways to see all the text). No other alterations can be made to books opened in Adobe Digital Editions.
Chapters: It is not possible to download individual chapters of VLe books.
Online reader:
In the online reader you have the option to choose from various background colours, using the colour palette in toolbar at the top right of the screen. The text can be magnified to a high level but will not reflow (you will have to scroll to see all the text).
Accessibility statements for other library e-resources are available in our A-Z list
Accessibility of Journals
Most journals offer the option to open the content online - this may be shown as a link to the HTML version, or may open automatically when you access the article. You can then choose to open the text in Immersive Reader if you are using the MS Edge Browser. For more guidance see the information here.
You will usually be able to download a PDF version of the article as well. Look for a link which will say something like "Download PDF" or "View PDF". You can then use the read-aloud function in MS Edge, or open the PDF in Immersive Reader; you can save and print out the PDF, or use Sensus Access to convert it to an alternative format according to your preference.
