LibGuides: Accessibility at UR: Home

Welcome to the River Campus Libraries' Guide for Accessibility! Use the tabs to navigate and find information about how to make information accessible to all users in specific formats.

The guide is set up with information about specific elements on different tabs. Information on these tabs will correspond to formats such as document, slideshows, or web pages. Many rules and best practices are the same regardless of format, and those will be listed first on each tab.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us via email, chat, or by setting up an appointment.

Before you Begin

If you have come to this page because you are trying to remediate or fix a document that you have placed in Blackboard, which is getting a low (red) score through ALLY, please consider instead trying to find the permalink to it online, either through DIscoverUR, one of our subscription databases, or a publisher's website. Finding official, legally free access to the material can:

help alleviate potential copyright issues
provide students with the material as the publisher intended it to be read and understood (for example, many of these linked materials will provide alternative text for images and figures that was written by the author themselves)
take the responsibility for the material's accessibility off of you and put it where it belongs, with the author, publisher, or provider

Accessibility Resources

WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind)
WebAIM offers many resources and tools for accessibility. They have created the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool browser extension, which will help you check the accessibility of your website or page at a glance and offers guidance for addressing issues.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2)
"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 covers a wide range of recommendations for making Web content more accessible. Following these guidelines will make content more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including accommodations for blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these, and some accommodation for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations; but will not address every user need for people with these disabilities. These guidelines address accessibility of web content on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. Following these guidelines will also often make Web content more usable to users in general."
The National Center on Disability and Access to Education (NCDAE) Cheatsheets
"These one-page accessibility resources, or 'cheatsheets,' have been developed to assist anyone who is creating accessible content. These free resources are catered to less-technical individuals, such as faculty and staff."
Accessibility Resources at UNC Greesboro
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has prepared a robust set of resources for accessibility, including information about why it matters and how to make content accessible.
Microsoft 365 & Accessibility
Microsoft offers a suite of video and written tutorials for how to make documents, email messages, PowerPoint slideshows, and spreadsheets more accessible using their built-in tools. Often, building something the right way from the beginning can save you a lot of time remediating later, even if you change to another format.

For Students with Disabilities

If you are a student seeking accommodations for a disability, please reach out to the Office of Disability Resources to begin the process.

UR Office of Disability Resources
The University's Office of Disability Resources (ODR) offers a variety of services for University of Rochester students, faculty, and staff. These services aim to provide an inclusive experience and equal access for students to academic content and program requirements. Our approach relies on collaboration among students, staff, and instructors.

Social Science & STEM Librarian

Andrea Kingston

she/her

Email Me

Contact:

Learning Initiatives
Rush Rhees Library, Rm. 106
755 Library Rd, Rochester, NY 14627

585-273-3582

Subjects: Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Linguistics, Neuroscience, Psychology