Accessibility Tips for Library Resources

EBSCO is committed to providing positive experiences for all users. Accessibility is a key consideration in all our product development strategies. Contact accessibility@ebsco.com with accessibility questions.

For Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates® (VPAT®) for EBSCO eBooks, EDS, EBSCOhost, and Locate please see: EBSCO VPATs

To request VPATs for other EBSCO products, contact EBSCO support.

EBSCOhost provides several accessibility features to allow users to navigate the website.

• Skip links to skip over redundant content
• Landmarks – these define the page structure, like navigational areas and the main content
• Headings – these denote the beginning of sections of content
• Text to speech tool (ReadSpeaker) for listening to HTML full text content

For content accommodations, please visit: Accessible Content Remediation Requests

 

Screen Reader guide

EBSCO tests EBSCOhost & EBSCO Discovery service in the following screen reader/browser/operating system combinations:

• JAWS + Chrome on Windows
• NVDA + Firefox on Windows
• VoiceOver + Safari on MacOS
• VoiceOver + Safari on iOS
• TalkBack + Chrome on Android

Note that while the above is the list of officially supported screen readers, this does not mean the product is not compatible with other assistive technology. EBSCO uses the WebAIM screen reader survey to inform our testing priorities.

Tips for Navigating in major screen readers

Below are some tips for navigating the site using a screen reader and select browsers.

How do I get to…	NVDA (Windows)	JAWS (Windows)	VoiceOver (Mac OS)
First Title in Result List from Search Box	Use H key to reach heading 2 “Search Results” OR, use D key to reach “main” landmark	Use H key to reach heading 2 “Search Results” OR, use R key to reach main landmark	Use ctrl + option+ command + H to reach heading 2 “Search Results”
Refine Search from within Search box	Use H key to reach heading 2 “Refine Results” OR, use D key to reach landmark region “Refine Results”	Use H key to reach heading 2 “Refine Results” OR, use D key to reach landmark region “Refine Results”	Use ctrl + option+ command + H to reach heading 2 “Refine Results”
Full Text from Results List article title	Tab or browse (down arrow) to PDF Full Text or HTML Full Text link. Then select Enter.	Tab or browse (down arrow) to PDF Full Text or HTML Full Text link. Then select Enter.	Tab or browse (ctrl+option+right arrow) to PDF Full Text or HTML Full Text link. Then select Enter.
PDF Full Text from Detail Page	Use H key to reach h2 “Document viewing options” then tab/arrow to PDF Full Text link	Use H key to reach h2 “Document viewing options” then tab/arrow to PDF Full Text link	Use ctrl + option+ command + H to reach h2 “Document Viewing Options” then tab/ctrl+option+right arrow to PDF Full Text Link
Reading PDF Full Text (Workaround - see note below)	From the PDF Viewer page: Use the D Key to find the "Tools" landmark. In the Tools list, select Print. This will allow printing to a PDF document that can be read on your local system.	From the PDF Viewer page: Use the D Key to find the "Tools" landmark. In the Tools list, select Print. This will allow printing to a PDF document that can be read on your local system.	From the PDF Viewer page: Use Command+Option+U to open the Rotor. Use arrow keys to reach the landmarks list and find the Tools landmark. In the Tools list, select Print. This will allow printing to a PDF document that can be read on your local system.
HTML Full Text from Detail Page	Use H key to reach h2 “Full Text” – html full text content is below. Use down arrow or read all (insert + down) command to begin reading	Use H key to reach h2 “Full Text” – html full text content is below. Use down arrow or read all (insert + down) command to begin reading	Use ctrl + option+ command + H to reach h2 “Full Text” – html full text is below. Use ctrl+option+right arrow or read all (ctrl+option+a) command to begin reading
Text to Speech tool (HTML Full Text Only)	Follow instructions for ‘HTML Full Text from Detail Page’- the text to speech tool is a toolbar of audio controls after the “Full Text” h2 heading	Follow instructions for ‘HTML Full Text from Detail Page’- the text to speech tool is a toolbar of audio controls after the “Full Text” h2 heading	Follow instructions for ‘HTML Full Text from Detail Page’- the text to speech tool is a toolbar of audio controls after the “Full Text” h2 heading
Save PDF, once opened	Insert+F7. Then Select ‘PDF Download’. Then select Enter. Then Control+S	Insert+F7. Then Select ‘PDF Download’. Then select Enter. Then Control+S	Ctrl+Option+U. Then right arrow to “Links.” Down arrow to “Download PDF” and then select with enter
Export and Cite options from Detail Page	Use h key to reach h2 for ‘Tools’ section. Then Tab/arrow to option	Use h key to reach h2 for ‘Tools’ section. Then Tab/arrow to option	Use ctrl + option+ command + H to reach h2 for ‘Tools’ section. Then Tab/ctrl+option+right arrow to option

Tips for Basic Search

1. Begin typing your keywords into search box.
2. If you want to search by Author or Title, select Shift+Tab, followed by Enter if using a screen reader, and then use arrow keys to select the one you want. Tab to return to search box.
3. Once you begin to type in the search box, beneath the box there will be a list of suggestions. You can access these using your arrow keys. If you select one of the suggested terms, the search will automatically run upon hitting Enter.
4. If you do not want to select one of the suggestions, you can arrow up to return to the search box and continue typing your own keywords.
5. If you want to clear the text in the Search box, then while in the box, tab once to the Clear option.

Tips for Advanced Search

1. Select the Advanced Search link.
2. Follow the procedures for “To use the search tool” for entering your search term.
3. To change the search parameter, from within the text search input press Tab to reach the parameter button.
4. When on the button press the Space key.
5. Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate the list of options. The radio button will be listed first, then the label for the radio button.
6. When you are on the radio button you want, press the Space key.
7. Press Tab to go to the next search criteria, and repeat steps 1-6, or continue to press Tab to get to the Search button.
8. Note, on the subsequent search criteria there will be an additional button for selecting the Boolean operator to apply. This button functions the same as the parameter button.
9. For additional options, continue to read down through the page or search for the heading 3 called “Search Options”. In this section there are additional search parameters to apply. At the end of the section is another Search button to perform the selected search.

Additional screen reader resources

Screen readers and PDF documents

PDF content will often be more readable and more easily navigated by screen readers when it is displayed directly in Adobe Reader. For PDF documents, download them to your computer and open then in Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.

Using JAWS with PDF Files

Click the following link to read documentation from Adobe on PDF documents and assistive technology. Accessing PDF Documents with Assistive Technology: A Screen Reader User’s Guide

Screen readers and eBooks

Read the following pages:

• EBSCO eBook Accessibility User Guide and FAQs

Screen Reader Documentation

The following links offer documentation for the JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver screen readers.

• JAWS for Windows Quick Start Guide
  http://www.freedomscientific.com/Content/Documents/Manuals/JAWS/JAWS-Quick-Start-Guide.pdf
• JAWS Keystrokes from Freedom Scientific (Exhaustive list)
  http://doccenter.freedomscientific.com/doccenter/archives/training/jawskeystrokes.htm
• JAWS Keystrokes from WebAIM (Shortened list)
  http://webaim.org/resources/shortcuts/jaws
• NVDA User Guide
  https://www.nvaccess.org/files/nvda/documentation/userGuide.html
• NVDA Keystrokes from WebAIM
  http://webaim.org/resources/shortcuts/nvda
• VoiceOver Guide from Apple
  https://help.apple.com/voiceover/info/guide/10.12/

 

Note on PDF Content and Assistive Technology

• Although PDF Full Text is available online in EBSCOhost and includes options for zooming text, PDF content must be downloaded to be used with assistive technology. In addition not all PDFs contain semantic tagging. For this reason, we recommend using HTML Full Text when available.

• Workaround to access PDF full text documents with assistive technology:
  • Screen reader users
    • From the PDF viewer page:
      • Use landmarks to find the Tools landmark
        • JAWS & NVDA: D Key
        • Control + Option + U, navigate to landmarks list
      • In the Tools list, select Print. This will allow printing to a PDF document that can be read on your local system.
  • Users of text to speech (such as Kurzweil):
    • From the PDF Viewer page:
      • Select the Download button within the PDF viewer area, OR
      • In the Tools panel on the right side of the page, select the Print button. This will allow printing to a PDF document that can be read on your local system.

 

Braille Display Guide

Note that these instructions were created using BrailleNote

Basic Search

1. Sign into EBSCOhost if you are not already logged in.

2. Press the Next key on the BrailleNote until "EBSCOhost Web link" is displayed and press enter or a cursor routing button to select the link.

3. Press dot 2 on the BrailleNote to move to the “Searching:” heading.

4. Press the right thumb key on the BrailleNote to move to the end of the Please enter search term(s) edit box.

5. Type the words for which you wish to search.

6. Press the Next key on the BrailleNote twice to reach the Search button and press enter or a cursor routing button to start the search.

7. Press dot 2 twice to move to the Results List heading.

8. Each result is displayed as a level-3 heading. Press dot 3 to move forward through the results and press enter with backspace and dot 3 to move backward through the results.

9. Press the Next and Previous keys on the BrailleNote to move between the links in each result, and use the right and left thumb keys to read all the text.

10. Press enter or a cursor routing button on the Add to folder link in each result to save it for later reference. Note: you will lose your place and be taken back to the Results List heading after taking this action. Use heading and link navigation to regain your position in the list.

11. Press dot 2 to move to the Refine Results heading, select the desired limiter check boxes. Note: you will lose your place and be taken back to the Results List heading after checking each box. Use heading and link navigation to regain your position in the list.

12. Press the Next button on the BrailleNote several times to move to the Languages button and press enter or a cursor routing button to choose it. Press the Next button to find the desired language and press enter or a cursor routing button to check the box. Note: Focus may simply move to the next available language or it may jump back to the Results List heading.

Read HTML Full Text Journal

1. Log in and conduct a basic or advanced search, making sure to add the Full Text limiter.

2. Navigate the Results List using dot 3 to locate the desired result then press the Next key on the BrailleNote until the HTML Full Text link is reached. This link is immediately after the Add to folder link.

3. Press enter or a cursor routing button to open the HTML view.

4. Press the left/right thumb keys or the next/previous buttons on the BrailleNote as appropriate to read this page. Pressing dot 3 to move by level-3 headings will move among the sections of text as defined in the article.

PDF Full-Text Journal

1. Log in and conduct a basic or advanced search, making sure to add the Full Text limiter.

2. Choose the PDF Full Text link for the first result.

3. Press dot 2 to move to the level-2 heading containing the article’s title in the PDF viewer.

4. Press the Next thumb key until the Full Text Contents button is reached, then press enter or a cursor-routing button to activate it. Observe that focus jumps to the top of the page.

5. Press dot 2 again to move back to the article’s title.

6. Press the Next thumb key until you reach the Full Text Contents button and press enter or a cursor-routing button to activate it.

7. Explore with the Right thumb key to determine that the article’s text content is not available.

   Workaround:

   1. If the Download PDF link is selected on the BrailleNote, the resulting file, although not specifically tagged for accessibility, can be imported and read with the BrailleNote’s built-in KeyWord app.

   2. It is possible to read unformatted article text when accessing the site using a screen reader such as JAWS or NVDA

Access Folder Contents

1. Log in and conduct a basic or advanced search.

2. Press the Next key on the BrailleNote several times until the Folder link is reached and press enter or a cursor routing button to select it.

3. Press dot 2 to navigate to the Folder heading.

4. Press o twice to move to the list of the folder’s contents.

5. Press the Next or Previous keys on the BrailleNote to navigate through the results and press enter or a cursor routing button to select the desired option, such as HTML Full Text, etc.

Advanced Search

1. Sign into EBSCOhost if you are not already logged in.

2. Press the Next key on the BrailleNote until "EBSCOhost Web link" is displayed and press enter or a cursor routing button to select the link.

3. Press dot 2 on the BrailleNote to move to the “Searching:” heading.

4. Press the Next key on the BrailleNote several times to reach the Advanced Search link and press enter or a cursor routing button to select it.

5. Press dot 1 to move to the Advanced Search heading.

6. Press the Next key on the BrailleNote several times to reach the Please enter search term(s) field and press enter or a cursor routing button on the brackets to edit its contents.

7. Type a search term.

8. Press the Next button on the BrailleNote twice to reach the AND button. If a different logical operator is needed, do the following:

   1. Press enter or a cursor routing button on the AND button.

   2. Press the Next button on the BrailleNote several times to find OR, NOT or another operator and press enter or a cursor routing button to select it.

9. Press the Next key on the BrailleNote several times to reach the Please enter search term(s) field and press enter or a cursor routing button on the brackets to edit its contents.

10. Enter a second search term.

    1. Optionally, Press the Next button on the BrailleNote several times to find OR, NOT, or another operator and press enter or a cursor routing button to select it.

11. Press the Next key on the BrailleNote several times to reach the Please enter search term(s) field and press enter or a cursor routing button on the brackets to edit its contents.

12. Enter a third search term.

13. Press the Next button on the BrailleNote several times to reach the Search button and press enter or a cursor routing button to start the search.

14. Press dot 2 to move to the Refine Results heading and select the desired limiter check boxes. Note: you will lose your place and be taken back to the Results List heading after checking each box. Use heading and link navigation to regain your position in the list.

15. Press the Next button on the BrailleNote several times to move to the Languages button and press enter or a cursor routing button to choose it. Press the Next button to find the desired language and press enter or a cursor routing button to check the box. Note: Focus may simply move to the next available language or it may jump back to the Results List heading.