Disability and accessibility support

Identifying your needs

We recommend that you meet with one of the Learning Support Officers based in the Student Wellbeing and Disability Support team to discuss your needs.

General help

We have trained staff to help you. Just ask at the help desk for any assistance you need, from help with finding books, using the multi-function printers or how to use the lifts.

Services we offer

Book a personal consultation

You can arrange a personal introduction to library services and research tools with an Accessibility Officer.

Borrowing books

We will fetch books for you from our shelves if you are unable to collect them yourself, and we can extend the length of our loan periods for you. If you have a support worker, they can borrow books on your behalf. If you are unable to visit the Library, items can be posted to you (UK/BFPO addresses only), or copied for you (subject to copyright restrictions).

Photocopying and printing

All libraries have Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compliant scan/copy/print machines. You can make your own large scale copies but please ensure they are copyright compliant. If you have any questions, please speak to one of our Accessibility Officers.

Accessible formats

If you have a Student Support Plan, and have a disability that makes it difficult for you to use printed texts, you may be eligible to use RNIB Bookshare. RNIB Bookshare is a collection of over a million books and over 3,000 images for use by print-disabled learners.

Using RNIB Bookshare you can:

• Listen to books with high quality text-to-speech voices
• Hear and see highlighted words onscreen
• Read with digital braille or enlarged fonts
• Create physical braille or large print
• Read with Dolphin EasyReader, a free accessible e-reader

If access to material via RNIB Bookshare is not possible, we will attempt to acquire accessible copies of books for you by other means.

For taught course students, the title must be on a module/course reading list and we must already have a copy in Library stock. For research students and staff, please discuss your requirements with us. Please check Library Search before making a request.

Please note, we may be able to provide an individual chapter or article in an accessible format much quicker than awaiting a full-text version from a publisher. If you only need select readings, please tell us when you make a request.

Website accessibility

We have written an accessibility statement for this website. We have provided a link in the footer at the bottom or every page on this site.

Additional requests and suggestions

We understand that you may need some individual adjustments, based on your particular condition to help you make the best of our services. Please contact one of our Accessibility Officers to learn more about the existing service adjustments we offer, or to discuss additional requests you may have.

We welcome all comments and suggestions.