Library website and resources – accessibility

To enrich the study experience of our students, the Open University Library subscribes to a wide range of third-party content online such as ebooks, journals and videos. The platforms providing access and content itself are not under the control of The Open University and therefore may not meet the requirements of The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 No.952.

The Open University Library is committed to improving the experience of students using these third-party resources and undertakes work to support this aim, as well as providing reasonable adjustments where the University assesses this is appropriate. More information is provided in the Accessibility statement for third-party subscription resources, below.

Please contact us if you have any feedback about these resources.

The Library website

The Library website has been designed to be accessible to screen reader users. If you have problems navigating it, or would like guidance to help get you started please contact the Library Helpdesk.

If your screen reader cannot read the full text of an article or book subscribed to by Library Services, please contact the Library Helpdesk to find out what assistance we can provide.

Accessibility statement for third-party subscription resources

The Open University Library works closely with Module Teams and faculties to ensure the third-party resources subscribed to reflect teaching and research needs. These platforms and content cover a breadth of subjects and formats and the accessibility of these will vary. The OU does not have control over these resources which may therefore not comply with The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 No.952.

Working with publishers

Publishers are provided with our accessibility requirements and sent feedback on the accessibility of their products, where possible. We encourage publishers to work with us to improve the accessibility of their products on an ongoing basis.

Each publisher is being encouraged to provide an accessibility statement about their platform and content. The Open University Library works jointly with other libraries, publishers and content providers to improve the accessibility of third party content and was part of the national ASPIRE project to improve accessibility statements.

Below you can find guidance to help improve your experience of using these resources.

Support and reasonable adjustments

Brief information is provided for some databases on the Databases with accessibility Issues page, where there are known problems.
An online training session is provided on Improving your experience accessing online resources, which covers the main formats you are likely to come across and the accessibility of each. A recording with captions and transcript is available on the Online training sessions recordings page.
SensusAccess can help print-disabled students and staff to convert material into a more accessible format. Go to Convert a file with SensusAccess to access the conversion form and find more information. If SensusAccess cannot make your file more accessible, please contact the Library Helpdesk for more support.
A Supported literature searching service is available for disabled students, where a platform cannot be accessed or is very difficult to navigate.

Please contact us if you have any feedback about these adjustments.

Improving your experience of online resources

There are changes you can make to your computer set up to make working online more accessible. Making adjustments to your browser can make it easier to engage with on-screen text on any website - including the Library website and any third party resources.