Many of our databases and e-book platforms conform to accessibility standards. For read aloud functionality, most e-books can be read aloud with a screen reader or by utilizing tools within the database itself. Specific accessibility tools and tips are listed below.
Some of the library's databases allow you to read articles aloud within the platform itself. To locate this tool, you must first click on the HTML article in your results list. Then, find the audio player or Listen link on the toolbar. Examples of read aloud buttons from EBSCO and NewsBank are below.
There are also some free text-to-speech readers available online, like:
Immersive Reader for Microsoft programs and Edge browser: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/educator-center/product-guides/immersive-reader/
TTS Reader: ttsreader.com
Natural Reader: naturalreaders.com
All our platforms (except Movie Discovery) have closed captioning available. Look for the CC button or menu on the bottom-right of the video player to turn captions on or off. We recommend you turn on captions for all films screened in the classroom.
Academic Video Online, Films on Demand, and Kanopy all have full transcripts available for all films. You can search, translate, or download the transcripts as well.
There are two platforms that have streaming videos readily available with audio description: Films on Demand and Alexander Street. If you need audio description on another title, reach out to Ray at ray.zill@evergreen.edu and she will work with vendors to find a solution.
To access audio description on Alexander Street:
In the library catalog, search "with audio description" in quotation marks.
In the Alexander Street platform, search "with audio description" with quotation marks.
To access audio description on Films on Demand:
Click "Advanced Search" to the right of the search box.
Select "Videos" under Search Options (the very last drop-down menu)
Under Advanced Filters, select the checkbox next to "Only show videos with audio description"