Library databases come from a variety of domestic and international companies. EBSCO, ProQuest, and Gale provide a substantial number of research databases whose vendor statements document that they are compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and/or W3C WAI WCAG 2.0. Highlighted information about accessibility of several database vendors is provided below, and full vendor accessibility informaiton is linked.
Independent evaluators periodically conduct usability testing. To see objective reports of accessibility, the following evaluation summaries and full reports are recommended:
Contact an Spokane Community College librarian with questions including those about accessibility information for databases not on this guide.
Newer PDFs in EBSCO are ADA compliant. EBSCO Publishing began providing its scanned PDFs with an Optical Character Reader (OCR) text layer in September 2004. For assistance with older pdfs, contact the SCC Disability Access Services staff.
Use the TAB key to navigate through the main elements of a page, such as links and form fields.
Press the TAB key to move forward to the next feature.
Press SHIFT and the TAB key to move back to the previous feature.
Note: Default settings in Safari are to press Option and the TAB key to move through each link on the page.
If you use a screen reader or your keyboard to access ProQuest, you can bypass the site-wide navigation links and jump directly to the content of the page using the “Skip over navigation to the main content” link at the top of each page. This link is usually hidden from view but can be revealed on screen by pressing the TAB key or Accesskey 2.
Screen reader or keyboard users can also use the TAB key or Accesskey 8 to bypass the list of suggested subjects on the Search Results list. Screen reader users can also use the TAB key to go to a link that allows them to turn on/off hit highlighting for speaking browsers.
ProQuest makes use of pop-up windows to provide some content. Pop-ups do not provide advertising in ProQuest; they always contain ProQuest content only. Links which trigger a pop-up window include warning text to inform you that content will load in a new browser window.
If you have a pop-up blocker activated, you will need to disable it for full access to ProQuest content. Alternatively, most pop-up blockers can be configured to allow pop-ups for sites you select, while still blocking pop-ups from other sites. Refer to your browser help for details on how to disable your pop-up blocker or to allow pop-ups within ProQuest.
ProQuest databases contain many PDFs which are ADA compliant. However, older content was created from scanned images of original text that is not accessible to screen readers. This content is identified throughout ProQuest with the label "Scanned image PDF."
For assistance with older pdfs, contact the SCC Disability Access Services staff.
