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Accessibility of the University Libraries’ Collections 

Print and Other Physical Collections

  • There can be accessibility barriers to accessing print and other physical materials. 
    • Physical materials may not be usable in their current formats to patrons with certain disabilities. 
    • Materials may require reaching or stooping to access that may pose difficulties. 
    • Some materials may also be in compact shelving that is not accessible.  
  • The University Libraries has two services that can provide accommodations for accessing print and other physical items: placing a hold and Scan and Deliver.  
  • Placing a hold will pull an item from the collection and make it available for you to check out at the entrance of the library. It can accommodate people who cannot access materials on the shelves. 
  • Scan and Deliver provides a scanned, digital copy of print or other physical University Libraries’ materials instead of the physical item. 
    • Scan and Deliver can be used as an alternative to traveling to one of the libraries to provide access.  
    • It can also be used to provide alternative formats for materials when they would not be accessible as a physical item. 
  • Both services are free to use for University of Memphis students, staff, and faculty.  
  • The University Libraries have a small Braille textbook collection.  

Placing a Hold

  • Any materials that can be checked out from the University Libraries can be placed on hold. The material will be pulled from the shelf and held for you at the library’s front desk. 
  • To place a hold, find the item in the Classic Catalog.   
  • Materials can be delivered to any of the University Libraries’ locations .  
  • You will receive an email when your item is ready for pickup. 
  • Please contact the Circulation department at lib_circ@memphis.edu or (901) 678-2205 with any questions about item pickups.  
  • Scanned copies of print and physical materials can also be requested both as an alternative to physically traveling to a library and to provide alternative formats for accommodations. See the Scan and Deliver and Interlibrary Loan section for more information.  

Scan and Deliver 

  • Scan and Deliver provides a scanned, digital copy of print or other physical University Libraries’ materials instead of the physical item.  
    • Materials that can be scanned and delivered include individual articles, book chapters, microformats, and individual conference proceedings papers.  
    • Larger materials like a complete book cannot normally be scanned and delivered. However, there may be disability accommodations that allow for scanning complete books. 
  • Use the “Request an Electronic Delivery from Materials in the University Libraries Collection” forms on ILLiad under New Request to use the service.  
    • University of Memphis login in required.  
    • There are three different forms: Scan and Deliver Article, Scan and Deliver Book Chapter, and Scan and Deliver a Book. 
    • Fill out all the information marked as required.  
  • You can request alternative formats or conversion to accessible formats for Scan and Deliver materials. 
    • Each form has an Alternative Format Service section where you can request formats optimized for screen readers or optimized for magnification and color enhancement. 
    • All students who request alternative formats must be registered with Disability Resources for Students that confirms they can receive alternative formats as accommodation.  
    • Faculty and staff who request alternative formats will have their ability to receive alternative formats as accommodation confirmed with Human Resources.  
    • Entire books may be available for Scan and Deliver as accommodation in certain instances.   

Braille Collection

Thanks to a generous donation from DRS, the University Libraries has several Braille textbooks available on permanent reserve at the Checkout Desk in the McWherter Library Rotunda. Braille materials can be delivered to other libraries by placing a hold. 

Electronic Collections

The University Libraries strive to ensure that all electronic resources are accessible. However, with the diversity of vendors and platforms that host these resources, you may still discover a barrier. Please use the Report Resource Access Problem form when you discover inaccessible resources, and our Electronic Resources Management team will work with you to remove the barrier or provide accommodations.  

The University of Memphis maintains a subscription to SensusAccess, an automated accessibility conversion tool, to help convert inaccessible digital resources. While SensusAccess cannot make a document fully accessible, it can create a readable, tagged document from images and image-based PDFs, convert text to audio MP3 files using customizable computer-generated text-to-speech voices, and convert documents to contracted and uncontracted Braille delivered as ready-to-emboss files in a variety of digital Braille formats. You can upload a file to the SensusAccess conversion form and request your conversion, and the new file will be delivered to your email.  

Interlibrary Loan

  • Interlibrary Loan (ILL) provides access to materials from other libraries not available through the University Libraries’ collections.  
    • ILL may be used to access materials in alternative formats that the University Libraries do not have available. 
    • Shorter materials such as an individual article or book chapter are usually delivered digitally, while larger materials such as a complete book are shipped physically to a library  or to online-only patron’s home address.  
    • However, there may be disability accommodations that allow for loaning complete eBooks. 
  • Use the “Request Material from Another Library” forms on ILLiad under New Request to use the service.  
    • University of Memphis login in required. 
    • There are four forms:  Article (also Conference Proceeding, Patent, Report, Standards Request), Book Chapter, Loan (e.g. Book/eBook, Microformats, Music Score, Thesis/Dissertation), and Multimedia. 
    • Fill out all the information marked as required. 
  • You can request alternative formats or conversion to accessible formats for ILL materials. 
    • Each form has an Alternative Format Service section where you can request formats optimized for screen readers or optimized for magnification and color enhancement. 
    • All students who request alternative formats must be registered with Disability Resources for Students that confirms they can receive alternative formats as accommodation.  
    • Faculty and staff who request alternative formats will have their ability to receive alternative formats as accommodation confirmed with Human Resources.  
    • Entire books may be scanned and delivered for ILL as accommodation in certain instances.