EBSCO Accessibility Request

By Elizabeth Horan, Coastline Community College

A faculty member contacted the library about an EBSCO article they wanted to use in a course that was not accessible. After going through the normal circles at my college I reached out to accessibility@ebsco.com asking what my options were legally to create an accessible article. I was pleasantly surprised by the prompt reply letting me know that EBSCO would create accessible content for me due to the Marrakesh Treaty on Copyright. They stated they were "able to provide accommodations for individuals with print impairments" and could get me the content within a week. My contact also stated "EBSCO is actively working with publishers to encourage more accessible content delivery. We're seeing some strides here, particularly with html-based articles and books, but there is a long way to go."

When I asked what my process would be if I came across this again the contact replied I could contact them at accessibility@ebsco.com. If content is full text accessed through EBSCO then they can help provide an accommodation.

Like all of us, I strive to have accessible content for students. I was happy to find that EBSCO could be a partner in that goal when content is found in their collection that needs access improvement. If you have similar experiences with other information providers, please share! It would be great if all our content was accessible one day.