Alternate Formats
Guidelines for Requesting Alternate Formats
Textbooks and other course materials can be made available in alternate formats (electronic files, Braille, enlarged text, etc.) with advanced notice (THREE weeks MINIMUM preferred) to the Office for Disability & Access (ODA).
Things you should know:
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Per copyright law, you are required to provide proof of purchase/receipt (or rental) for each textbook you are requesting in an alternative format. The ODA must verify that the student has lawfully obtained the title (purchase, rental, loan, gift, etc.) before any alternative format materials can be released.
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Student requests may take 3-6+ weeks to process based on the requested formatting and origin. ODA strongly encourages that requests be received before the start of the course/semester you are taking the class.
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Alternate format texts obtained through ODA cannot be shared with other students as this behavior violates copyright law. These texts are provided as necessary access due to a disability barrier for an ODA student.
Terms of Use
This accommodation provides the student with an alternative format of copyrighted material. This material is intended solely for the recipient's use in the academic accommodation of the specified course. Any misuse, alteration, or distribution of this copyrighted material to anyone other than the original recipient may violate copyright law. The original recipient of the accommodation will be in violation of the Student Honor Code and may face disciplinary action.
Fulfillment of Requests
Requests will be processed in the order they are received. Fulfillment schedules may vary by title, request parameters, and team capacity. Requests may take longer to fulfill during peak request periods:
Fall Semester: August-September
Spring Semester: January-February
- Submit an Alternative Format Textbook Request Form in your ODA Online Profile for each book you want to request. Attach proof of purchase, rental, or ownership of the requested title.
- Communicate with the ODA as needed to coordinate your request. The ODA may contact you to gather information, ask content production questions, and share fulfillment updates.
- Review fulfilled materials. You will receive an email from the ODA when content is available in an accessible format, including access instructions. If you encounter issues accessing the files, please notify the ODA immediately.
Please notify the ODA immediately if you no longer need previously requested alternative formats so that we can effectively manage our request workflow (e.g., if you drop a course, realize that the title you have is already accessible, or decide that an alternative format is not needed for any reason).
With your Bookshare account, you can search the online repository for accessible versions of books that you may need. As an administrator, the ODA has additional access that students do not. If you are unable to locate a title, please email the following information to ODA@oberlin.edu:
● Title
● Author
● Publisher and Publishing Date
● ISBN
Kurzweil 3000 is a comprehensive reading, writing, and learning software solution to assist individuals with learning differences, phonological processing, awareness, vocabulary development, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Kurzweil supports all areas of reading, fluency, word attack, vocabulary development, and comprehension while allowing the student to choose the text. It allows users to read the web, PDFs, e-books, and their own writing. Users can set the speed, how the program will track words or phrases as it reads, and a wide variety of languages, voices and accents to choose from. As the program reads, users can access dictionaries to explain words or provide a picture of a word. The annotation tools allow the user to highlight and color-code, write sticky notes, and circle text. These notes can be pulled out and organized to help review for a test or write an essay.
Launched in 2008, HathiTrust has a growing membership comprising more than two hundred libraries and holds the largest set of digitized books managed by the academic, research, and library community. Members have contributed more than 17.4 million volumes to the digital library, digitized from their library collections. More than 6.5 million of the contributed volumes are in the U.S. public domain and freely available online.
HathiTrust serves a dual role. First, as a trusted repository, it guarantees the long-term preservation of the materials it holds, providing the expert curation and consistent access long associated with research libraries. Second, as a service for members and the public good, HathiTrust offers persistent access to the digital collections. This includes viewing, downloading, and searching public domain volumes, and searching access to copyrighted works. Notably, specialized features are also available for members that facilitate access by persons with print disabilities, and allow users to gather subsets of the digital library into “collections” that can be searched and browsed.
Oberlin students, faculty, and staff can now access member features by clicking on the “LOG IN” button at hathitrust.org, choosing “Oberlin College and Conservatory,” and using their ObieID to authenticate.
Other Tools
- Minnesota's Ausburg Univerisity has a helpful list of FREE OR LOW COST ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. Check it out to see if there are any that may be useful for you!
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Morphic is a free downloadable tool that helps everyone find and use valuable features that simplify their computer experience. Many features are built into computers that are not well known or are too hard to find; Morphic offers a simple solution that displays these features and makes them easy and convenient to use.