Accessibility Resources

Floors 1-2 are collaborative spaces where group work and conversation are welcome.
Floors 3-5 are designated quiet floors intended for individual study. We ask patrons to keep noise to a minimum on these floors.

Different options for lighting exist throughout the building. There is more natural light on the east side of the building especially in the morning and afternoons, and more fluorescent light towards the west side of the building and in the middle of each floor.

Tables that seat between 2-8 people
Wall-mounted monitors with HDMI hookup (you can check out HDMI to USBC convertors at the information services desk on the first floor)
Several movable chairs in each room
Wall-mounted white boards

The library follows the UMB Campus Center's policy on animals in the building which states that service animals are allowed at any time and all other animals must be approved by UMB Student Affairs.

Items That Can Be Checked Out from the Information Services Desk

Freely Available, Built-in Audio Options for Online Content

Kurzweil 3000: Free through UMB CITS, this assistive technology tool is particularly geared towards people with learning disabilities. Extensions for several browsers are available and it is compatible with a variety of file formats.
Firefox: Use the free Read Aloud browser extension or the Reader View option for articles and webpages
Google Chrome: use Reading Mode, which is listed under 'More Tools' in your Chrome toolbar
Safari: Go to Safari - Edit - Speech and turn on 'start speaking'. You can also go to View - Reader View - and use start speaking in Reader View, which will reduce webpage clutter to read just the main webpage content. While in Reader View, you can also use the AA button in the address bar to change the font type and size.
Edge: Right-click on the webpage you would like to listen to and select 'read aloud'.

File Types and Accessibility

HTML and ePub files are more accessible for screen reader users - select these file types over PDF when available.

It's more common to see journal articles have both PDF and HTML options, whereas eBooks have both PDF and ePub versions.

The library's databases prioritize displaying PDF options for full-text availability, but if you follow links to 'view online' or 'available online' or 'link to publisher', you will see other file types, mostly HTML.
- You can convert PDFs to Word documents using Adobe Acrobat's free online converter.

Available Software

All public computers have Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Reader, and Zotero. Visit the public computing page for an up-to-date list.

Microsoft Office accessibility features
Zotero
Adobe
Equidox - a PDF remediation tool that is available to UMB employees through CITS

Contact the Information Services Desk

Each school has a dedicated librarian.
We can help with research, data management, citation managers, poster planning, and more.
We can meet online over Zoom and in person in the library.

Borrowing Print Books

If you need assistance retrieving a print book from the stacks, an Information Services staff member can pull the book for you when staffing permits.
Proxy borrowing - you can have someone else check out a book on your behalf if you’re unable to pick it up. Please reach out to our Information Services desk to ensure all needed permissions are set up.

If you would like an orientation or have other questions about library services and access, or if you encounter barriers you'd like the library to address, email the library's Accessibility Committee or Report an Accessibility Barrier.

For UMB students who need academic accommodations, please contact UMB's Office of Educational Support and Disability Services (ESDS).