Subject Guides
Students with a print impairment, or another condition that might affect their reading, often require their reading to be digitised so that their screen reading software can read the texts. If you have a student with a print impairment taking your module, you will need to ensure that we know which readings they need so that we can provide them with an accessible copy. In most cases this is 3 items per week although it will vary according to the individual student’s needs. Please check with the student if you are in any doubt.
You will need to identify the individual items in your reading lists using the tag ‘Accessible format request’ which will alert us to the items that need scanning. There are instructions on how to do this below. One of the main benefits of this change is that you will no longer need to provide the Library with a separate list. The tags will only be visible to list editors and Library staff and no students on your module will be able to view them.
If you've never had a reading list for the module then you can use our online submission form to send it to us and we will create the list for you. Any questions about this process should be sent to infodir-accessibility@york.ac.uk.
This is exactly the same as adding an ‘Essential’ or ‘Digitisation’ tag and you can find the full instructions on the 'Add items' page.
For each item you want to request click on the pencil symbol :
Then select the tag ‘Accessible format request’:
Then select ‘save’. Remember that only list editors and Library staff will be able to see the tags.
Below are 7 tips which explain a bit more about the types of software a student might use and what this might mean for your reading recommendations:
It may also take print impaired students longer to make notes about a text. Consider how many texts the student will realistically be able to read and engage with each week. As your module progresses, check with the student that the workload is right for them and adjust as necessary.
Some students use magnification software whilst others might use e-reading software. This could affect what types of resources you can recommend and there may be occasions when you need to think of an alternative.
This tends to be those with significant sight impairment and there are more limitations on what the software will be able to process for them.
They are a great way of introducing students to original sources but unfortunately they will not work with e-reading software because they are either processed as an image, or the font cannot be recognised.
If you need to format handouts or documents for class teaching into accessible files, the easiest way to do this is via SENSUS. Again you would need to consider how images, graphs etc would be processed.
If you would like more information about our provision for print impaired students, please contact lib-readinglists@york.ac.uk or your Academic Liaison Librarian.