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Accessibility Tips for Library Resources

Gale

Gale Accessibility Features 

Gale’s platforms are designed to support users with visual, hearing, mobility or cognitive impairments, and any users accessing via keyboard-only inputs or assistive technologies. We employ ARIA (Accessibility for Rich Internet Applications) to enhance navigation, orientation and labelling for users of screen readers and other assistive technology. Our platforms do not convey information or meaning using color only: whenever color is used to convey information, it is paired with an alternative method of conveyance. Color contrast for platform elements is always 4.5:1 or greater: however, documents may include images of tables, charts and graphs that do not meet minimum contrast standards. In the majority of cases, users are able to:  

  • Read articles in HTML text which supports re-sizing and reflowability. All documents in OneFile, In Context and Gale eBooks are available as HTML, as are most documents in Gale Literature and Gale Business Insights. These files are all free of DRM (Digital Rights Management).

  • Change font, font sizes, font spacing and color contrast, either via browser controls or via a dedicated toolbar which is available at the top of every HTML article. This feature applies changes to the article text only, and the chosen font size persists throughout the user’s session.  

  • Use the ‘Adjust Image’ feature in Gale Primary Sources to change the contrast or invert colours of document images 

  • Zoom in up to 200% using the browser zoom function without requiring horizontal scrolling 

  • Read OCR (Optical Character Recognition) text for the majority of Gale Primary Sources archives 

  • Use a keyboard to navigate the site without encountering keyboard traps 

  • Use a screen reader to access text, either via a third-party application or using the built-in Readspeaker functionality which is accessible in the article toolbar for all HTML articles (see the Readspeaker Support Page for further details and guidance). Users can also use built-in browser functionality (e.g. the Edge browser’s text-to-speech features) or browser plugins for Chrome or Firefox (note: users are responsible for checking the suitability and safety of any plugin before installing).

  • Skip to main content to avoid repetitive links 

  • Read page titles which are consistent and descriptive, allowing users to immediately grasp what the contents of the page are  

  • Easily navigate the site using consistently tagged structural elements such as headings and ARIA regions to ensure correct reading order, and correctly named links 

  • Use predictive search (search assist) to see recommended search terms  

  • Use forms which have correct field labels and easily understandable error messages 

  • Download PDFs where available, with no Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions on copying or printing functionality. Users who require full book files can contact Accessibility.Gale@cengage.com and any PDFs provided will also be DRM-free.

  • Access transcripts and closed captions of video and audio content. 

  • Access alt text for images: where provided by the publishers, this is fully supported by the Gale platform.