AZHIN: Textbooks: Alternate Formats and Accessible Options

Alterative Formats and Accessible Options for Textbooks

Depending upon the need, an alternate format or accessible characteristics may be present in the textbooks required for the DBH program. Options can include the following:

Option	Details
CORE Library Databases and eBooks	The CORE Library's ebook and database vendor is Ebsco. Database articles may include a Readspeaker option, which will read the article out loud. You may also download an .mp3 of the article to play in another device. eBooks do not have native text-to-speech functions. However, you may download PDFs of the books. Depending upon publisher restrictions, this can be individual chapters or as much as 100 pages at a time. From there, you can use a PDF to speech app to convert the text to speech.
Publisher's Website	Check the publisher's website and listing for the textbook. Often they will sell versions of the book (such as e-books with extra features or complete PDFs of the textbooks) that are not available elsewhere.
VitalSource	VitalSource is a seller of electronic textbooks. Many textbook publishers offer a VitalSource version of the book, available via the VitalSource Bookshelf app (iOS, Android, Mac, PC, Chromebook, Kindle Fire). Depending upon the platform, Bookshelf may offer a Read Aloud feature that has text to speech built in (iOS) (Android, Kindle Fire).
Amazon Kindle	The user can customize the font type, size,and weight; control the screen brightness,margins,and line spacing;or invert the background and text colors The latest version of the Kindle for PC app may contain accessibility features, such as integrations with screen readers and text-to-speech capabilities within an external program. The Kindle for PC accessibility plug-in may also provide assistive features. Kindle for iOS may be able to convert text to audio using iOS VoiceOver. Kindle for Android may be able to convert text to audio using TalkBack. Helpful individuals on the internet have discovered ways to use iOS speech features to read text in a Kindle book out loud.
Apps	A popular option is NaturalReader Text to Speech , which can read a PDF out loud. Simply search for "PDF to speech app" and a number of possibilities will come up. The Learning Disabilities Association of America lists Prizmo as an option for iPhone and iPad users. The app lets you take a picture of what you want to read and then it reads it out loud to you. Georgia Tech's Tools for Life App Finder can help you to locate other ideas about assistive technology that may be helpful.