Accessibility: Databases

A guide to Library resources and services regarding accessibility

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Database Accessibility

Library databases come from a variety of domestic and international companies. EBSCO, Gale and ProQuest provide a substantial number of databases and these vendors are compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and/or W3C WAI WCAG 2.0. Specific information about each vendor is provided below.

Contact the Raynor First Floor Information Desk or use the Ask a Librarian service if you are experiencing difficulties with a database.

EBSCO Databases

EBSCOhost databases provide a text to speech option for HTML Full Text articles. However, many articles are not available in HTML. When you have located an article, click on HTML Full Text and there will be an option to listen. You can also download these audio files in MP3 format.

Newer PDFs in EBSCO are ADA compliant. EBSCO Publishing began providing its scanned PDFs with an Optical Character Reader (OCR) text layer in September 2004. For assistance with older pdfs, contact the Raynor Information Desk.

For more information

Elsevier - Science Direct

Elsevier Accessibility Statement
AccessText Network
Find and request accessible textbooks from many publishers.
Disability Request Form
Request electronic files of purchased resources for students with disabilities.

Gale Databases

Gale Databases (such as Biography in Context and Business Insights: Essentials,) provide a Listen function for full-text articles. Wherever the Listen icon is present, there is the option to have the document read aloud. The Listen tool also allows you to download the audio file as a MP3.

For more information

ProQuest Databases

ProQuest databases contain many PDFs which are ADA compliant. However, older content was created from scanned images of original text that is not accessible to screen readers. This content is identified throughout ProQuest with the label 'Scanned image PDF.' For assistance with older pdfs, contact the Raynor Information Desk.

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Other Accessible Databases

ACM Guide to Computing Literature from Association for Computing Machinery This link opens in a new window
Index of 1,000,000+ sources on computing. Includes ACM Digital Library. 1950-present. NOTE: When connected to the ACM site changed the "select items from" dropdown box to "The ACM Guide to Computing Literature".
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Searches proceedings, newsletters, journals, and other documents of the ACM.
JSTOR from JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Guest Access
Broad collection of full-text scholarly journals (approximately 2700 titles). Discipline coverage uneven and usually does not include the most-recent three years.
Nexis Uni from Lexis Nexis This link opens in a new window
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VPN Required for Off Campus Access.
If above link does not work when on campus on wireless, use this link
Full-text sources on current events, business, law, and medicine.
Formerly Lexis Nexis Academic Universe.
It includes regional, national, and international newspapers; magazines; wire services; business publications (trade journals, corporate annual reports, tax sources); legal resources (law reviews, court cases, briefs, federal and state codes); government documents; medical information (medical journals); and reference sources (directories, biographical information). Coverage varies by title; very good coverage from the early 1990s to present, with some coverage as early as the mid-1970s.

Oxford Art Online from Oxford Press by Oxford
Access limited to 1 user at a time.
Provides access to The Dictionary of Art, with over 45,000 signed articles and images on every aspect of the visual arts. Content updated 3x/year. Includes several other art reference works.
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Sources: The Dictionary of Art, ed. Jane Turner (print edition: 1996, 34 vols.); The Oxford Companion to Western Art, ed. Hugh Brigstocke (2001); The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics; and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.

Oxford English Dictionary from Oxford Univ. Press This link opens in a new window
A descriptive and historical dictionary of the English language tracing development of the language since its early origins.
Oxford Music Online from Oxford University Press This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive reference covering on all aspects of music
Includes: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, The Oxford Companion to Music, and The Oxford Dictionary of Music.
Project Muse from Muse This link opens in a new window
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Searches journals (approximately 600 titles) and books from over 120 publishers worldwide, often in full-text. Emphasis on humanities and social sciences.
Web of Science from Clarivate Analytics This link opens in a new window
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Searches 12,000+ scholarly journals in the sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities. Cited Reference Search locates articles that have cited an older document. Limited full-text access.
Includes the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975-present); the Science Citation Index and the Social Science Citation Index (1900-present for both); and the Emerging Sources Citation Index (2005-present).