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Library

Supporting accessibility

The Library Accessibility Service is here to support you, as a student or staff member, with making your learning, teaching and research resources accessible to you and others with visual, physical or learning disabilities.

View our accessibility statements

Accessing the library

The York Campus Library in Fountains Learning Centre is spread over 3 floors. It is located in the Fountains building and is accessible by automatic doors, or by a first floor manual door in the De Grey building. Lift access to all floors is available.

View our online walking tour of the library space below.

An in-person accessibility tour which includes escape routes, safe havens, navigation, and sensory needs is available. You can ask a staff member at the desk or email in advance to schedule a tour at a time that works for you.

Read our Accessibility Guide to Fountains Learning Centre on AccessAble.

Register for the Library Accessibility Service

If you do not have a Learner Adjustment Plan (LAP), or you are a staff member, you need to complete our registration form. You need to be able to declare one or more visual, physical or learning disabilities to us. You do not need to provide evidence.

Register for Library Accessibility Service

If you have a LAP, registering for our service forms part of your LAP so you don’t need to do anything else.

Once you have registered, you will receive a welcome email from the Library Accessibility Service with key information, including:

  • Information about being able to borrow up to 35 items at a time.
  • Information about RNIB Bookshare Service.
  • A direct referral to your Academic Liaison Librarian and, if appropriate, the Assistive Technology Adviser. They are here to support you with resource accessibility.
The accessibility station in the library.

Accessibility station

In the York Campus Library, we have a Library Accessibility Station to help you adjust the library environment to your needs while you study. You can find the Accessibility Station next to the Library Services Desk

A range of items are available from the Accessibility Station, including:

  • Ear defenders
  • Study timers
  • Wobble cushions
  • Arm rests
  • Large print contrast keyboard
  • Ergonomic mice
  • Book stands

Height adjustable desks are also available, and we are regularly adding to the range of accessibility items.

Some of these items can be viewed in the gallery below.

Accessibility station items

Click the images to view full size

Drag/swipe to view all the images

Analog and hourglass study timers.
Analogue and hourglass study timers.
A magnifying sheet being used to enlarge the text in a book.
Magnifying sheet.
A magnifying glass, magnifying sheet, and torch.
A magnifying glass, magnifying sheet, and torch.
Ergonomic mouse.
Ergonomic mouse.
Arm rest.
Arm rest.
Arm rest with clamp that can be attached to a desk.
Arm rest with desk clamp.
Ear defenders.
Ear defenders.
Large print contrast keyboard featuring bright yellow keys.
Large print contrast keyboard.
A book open on a book rest.
Book rest.
A wobble cushion.
Wobble cushion.
A portable desk divider in use on a desk.
Portable desk divider.
A torch being used to see text in a book.
Handheld torch.

Coloured overlays and paper

You can borrow coloured overlays for 7 days at a time from the Library Services desk on the York campus. A full range of colours are available. You can use the drop-down menu below to see some of the colours we currently stock.

  • Green
  • Pink
  • Jade
  • Blue
  • Yellow
  • Purple
  • Navy Blue
  • Sky Blue
  • Teal
  • Aqua
  • Bright Yellow
  • Orange
  • Magenta
  • Peach
  • Red
  • Celery Green
  • Lime Green
  • Dark Green
  • Grey

You can also borrow PC-monitor sized overlays for 1 day from the Library Services desk on the York campus. You can use the drop-down menu below to see some of the colours we currently stock.

  • Jade
  • Aqua
  • Grass
  • Celery
  • Orange
  • Yellow
  • Grey
  • Magenta
  • Pink

You can also get different coloured shades of paper to use in the York Library printers instead of white. You can use the drop-down menu below to see some of the colours we currently stock.

  • Pale Pink (Tropic)
  • Pale Blue (Lagoon)
  • Pale Yellow (Desert)
  • Lilac (Tundra)
  • Pale Green (Jungle)
  • Deep Blue (Stockholm)
  • Pale Beige (Beach)
  • Peach (Savana)
  • Mid Blue (Lisbon/Malta)
  • Mid Green (Java)
  • Mid Grey (Iceland)
  • Mid Orange/Gold (Venezia)
  • Orange (Amsterdam)
  • Dark Yellow (Sevilla)
  • Deep Green (Dublin)
  • Red (Chile)

You may need specific services and adjustments to support your access to library resources. Follow 'Register for the Library Accessibility Service' on this page to get registered and access your personalised support.

Digital resources 

Accessible reading tools

Many resources available to you, either on your Reading Lists or ones you find during your studies, may already be accessible to you in their current format. See our Technology and reading guide for information about getting the most out of digital reading tools.

Assistive Technology

Assistive technology refers to any tool, software, or system designed to help a student or staff member overcome barriers that might make certain tasks challenging.

We have a wide range of resources available via our Assistive Technology webpages, and you can also book individual training sessions.

Assistive Technology at YSJ

RNIB Bookshare

RNIB Bookshare is a website where you can search for and download books in more accessible formats, including PDF, Word, MP3 and DAISY audio files, and EPUB. An account is free and you can sign up when you register for our Library Accessibility Service, or by using the RNIB Bookshare Account form.

Read more about how to use RNIB Bookshare.

Chapter scanning or Tactile Copy request

If a book isn't available on RNIB Bookshare, you can request a chapter to be scanned. You can request a chapter of a book, or if you don’t know which chapter(s) you need, you can request a contents page to help you decide. You can also request a tactile copy of a resource.

Request a chapter scan or tactile copy

Convert a file

If you have a file that you need to convert into a more accessible format, such as converting PDFs into ebook, text, audio or braille files, you can use the self-service SensusAccess tool.

Physical resources

Book Collection Request Service

If you need support to find and retrieve books or resources in the Library, and you are registered with our Library Accessibility Service, you can request items through the Library catalogue.

While you are logged in to your Library account on the catalogue, look for the ‘Reserve’ button when you view a book’s details. The Library team will get them from the shelves so you can collect and borrow them from the ground floor of the Library.

You can only request books which are loanable. If you need help to get a Reference Only book from the shelves, ask at the Library Services desk.

Nominated collection

If you are sending someone else to collect or borrow books on your behalf (we call this 'Nominated Collection'), they will be required to show their ID and your student card each time they borrow on your behalf.

Postal Loans

You can register for the Postal Loans service, where we post books to your home address anywhere in the UK. To sign up, email library@yorksj.ac.uk with your address.

 

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