ADA Services

USF Libraries — Tampa campus

The USF Tampa Library is committed to providing equitable access to library materials, programs, and services to all patrons. Staff working in public areas will make good faith efforts to accommodate reasonable requests from library users whose disabilities limit their use of the Library’s facilities and resources. If services are needed beyond those listed, or if you have questions or suggestions, please contact us at libraryservicesdesk@usf.edu or by phone at 813-974-2729. The Library continues to develop resources to meet current ADA standards to ensure equal access to information for patrons with disabilities. Arrangements for reasonable accommodations are coordinated with the campus Students with Disabilities Services (SDS) at 813-974-4309. Students with disabilities are encouraged to register with the ASASD to become eligible for the services provided through that office.

Physical Accessibility

Safe and accessible parking is provided near the library entrance with level walkways and gradually sloping ramps leading to the Library entrance. A mechanically operated entrance/exit door is available for access by those with physical disabilities. Within the building, handrails are provided on stairways, doors leading to stacks area, teaching labs, and rest rooms are push-button accessible, and lower sinks and drinking fountains are available for wheelchair users. Braille numbering and lettering are used to designate bathrooms, elevators, and rooms.

Retrieving Materials

The staff of Access Services (Circulation/Reserve/Media) will assist patrons with disabilities by retrieving materials as needed. Requests for assistance will be handled by staff as soon as possible. If staffing at the desk is limited or the staff cannot assist the patron at the time of a request, the patron and the staff will mutually agree upon a time when the patron may best be assisted. Please note that staff will be best able to provide assistance 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday. Contact them at 813-974-1611 for more information, or any other assistance with these matters.

ADA Assistive Technologies

The Library provides assistive technology devices and software, including training and support during office hours. These technologies include:
  • ZoomText 9.0 which magnifies/enlarges and reads on-screen text for people with low or no vision is available on the ADA computers in the Learning Commons (located on the 1st floor of the library).
  • A Braille printer & Duxbury Braille printing software are installed on the Learning Commons ADA computer.
  • A Visualtek machine, which magnifies print, whether from a single page or another print source such as a book or magazine, is available on the 1st floor in the Learning Commons.
In addition, the Tampa Library provides access to:
  • Wireless networking nodes throughout the Library.
  • (3) KIC Scanners are available in the library for student use. They are located in the following locations:
    • 1st Floor East side
    • Basement
    • 4th Floor Special Collections
  • Almost 500 online databases which access nearly 20,000 journal titles.
  • NetLibrary access to 46,000+ electronic books (some downloadable and some audio).*
  • Online reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, manuals, etc.*
  • Laptops are available for five-hour checkout periods at the Library Services Desk on the 1st floor. More info »
  • Access to Microsoft applications + many others (Learning Commons and laptop computers only).
  • PC workstations/carrels designated for wheelchair access in each service area. Wheelchair accessible service desks.
(*Note: Off-campus access to electronic resources is restricted to USF students, faculty, and staff.)

Braille Resources/Audio Books

The Library has a small collection of Braille resources in Government Documents which is located in the basement. These items may be found in the online catalog using the advanced search format criteria. Audio Books are located in Media Resources on the 1st floor and are available for check-out. In addition, many audio book titles may be downloaded from NetLibrary.

USF Libraries — St. Petersburg campus

Assistive Services & Technologies

The USF St. Peterburg campus library staff can usually respond to requests for brief assistance, such as retrieving a book from the stacks or helping a student use the on-line catalog to find a couple citations. For lengthier assistance, please make arrangements with the USF St. Petersburg campus Office of Student Accessibility Services or call the office at 727-873-4990. The Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Assistive Technologies Room(POY 136) is now integrated into the MyStudio Booth and access may be arranged through the USF St. Petersburg campus Reference or Circulation Desks. Direct any hardware and software concerns to USF St. Petersburg campus Library Systems at (727) 873-4402 or through the Student Technology Center. Training and assistance in using speech recognition and associated hardware and software will be provided upon request to the Office of Student Accessibility Services. To set up an appointment for library research assistance, please use the USF St. Petersburg campus library RAP (Research Assistance Program) form.

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USF Libraries — Sarasota/Manatee campus

ADA Information

Students may contact the Sarasota/Manatee campus for information on accessibility services and resources through our General Contact Information, by sending an Email to the Front Desk, or through our Ask a Librarian Service.

USF Libraries — All locations

USF Libraries Websites

The USF Libraries attempts to make our websites ADA compliant. If disabled patrons experience difficulties using any section of it, they should contact the Library ADA Coordinator.

Contact Information

Telephone

Tampa: 813.974.2729 / 866.550.8036 (toll free) / 813.974.9874 (TDD/TTY) St. Petersburg: 727.873.4405 Sarasota/Manatee: 941.359.4243

Email and Chat

Please feel free to contact Tampa campus email & chat, St. Petersburg campus email, & contact form, or Sarasota/Manatee campus email for additional forms of assistance.

Reference Services

Reference librarians can assist with any questions you have about using the library or conducting library research. Assistance is available face to face at the Library Services Desk or individual consultation.

To avoid delays in service that occur during peak service periods or to receive individual assistance with extensive research projects, patrons with disabilities are encouraged to make appointments with a reference librarian by calling the Library Services Desks at the numbers above, or by completing a Research Consultation Request Form Below:

Tampa campus: Research Consultation Request Form »

St. Petersburg campus: Research Assistance Program (RAP) Request Form »

ADA Links

ADA Resources at USF
ADA Resources Elsewhere

Free Assistive Technology Tools

The following Assistive Technology tools are free to use and are organized by access needs.

Screen Readers
  • Non-Visual Desktop Access (NVDA): Fully-functional screen reader for the Windows Operating System. It has the ability to run from a USB drive with no installation.
  • Fire Vox: Talking browser extension for the Firefox web browser.  Basic features such as identifying headings, links, images, and navigational assistance are included.
  • System Access To Go: Fully-functional screen reader for the Windows Operating System that runs from the web. It also works as a talking screen magnifier. It prompts for a download to maintain connection with the web client
Screen Magnifiers
  • Virtual Magnifying Glass: Cross-platform screen magnifier. Magnification ranges from 1x to 32x.  Viewing window width and height can be adjusted.
  • KwikLoupe: Viewing window magnifies the area around the mouse pointer and ranges from 2x to 64x.
  • CLC Star: Browser extension for the Firefox web browser. Allows for enlarging images, increasing font size, changing font style and color, changing background color, enhancing focus indicator, increasing link and word spacing, and more.
  • System Access to Go: Fully-functional screen reader for the Windows Operating System that runs from the web. It also works as a talking screen magnifier. It prompts for a download to maintain connection with the web client.
Text-to-Speech Output
  • Speak Easy: Reads text copied to the clipboard. Voices settings can be adjusted.
  • Orato: Reads text copied to the clipboard with the ability to display text and highlight words or sentences as they are read. It has the ability to run from a USB drive with no installation.
  • Natural Reader: Converts text to speech and can create audio files in mp3 or WAV (i.e. for iPod).
  • PowerTalk: Speaks any presentation or slide show running in Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows.
  • ClickSpeak: Browser extension for Firefox web browser. Mouse-driven interface that reads text based on point-and-click interaction.
  • Word Talk: Plug-in for Microsoft Word that will speak the text of a document and highlight as it reads. It also includes a talking dictionary.
Text Presentation
  • WordFlashReader: Flashes each word of a document sequentially on the screen. Font size, type, color, rate, and amount displayed can be adjusted.
  • Tbar: A colored bar that can be dragged around the screen or locked to the mouse pointer. Color, transparency, and optional ruler lines can be adjusted and saved between sessions.
  • Vu-Bar: On-screen slotted ruler that can be dragged around the screen or locked to the mouse pointer. Width and height can be adjusted.
  • Spr-OT: Spreadsheet slot to block columns or rows for easier visual focus on selected cells. Bar can be flipped horizontally or vertically, moved, hidden, locked to the mouse pointer, and adjusted for height and width.
  • RapidSet: Allows changing of the background and font colors without going through the Windows control panel.
  • Washer: Renders everything within the viewing window into grayscale.
  • Typoscope: A reading guide which has a cutout section, to reduce glare and the amount of text visible, making it easier to focus on a line of text. Color shading can be adjusted.
  • Fx Toolbar: Plug-in for Microsoft Word 2007. A toolbar with options to highlight, collect text in a new document, speak hig hlighted text, indentify confusables, and more.

What is HathiTrust?

HathiTrust is a digital library created with the collections and collaboration of partner libraries whose goal was to generate and organize a comprehensive archive of digital content converted from library print materials.  Public domain materials in the HathiTrust are fully accessible online and may be downloaded, saved, and shared.  Materials still protected by copyright or subject to privacy concerns are full text searchable through the HathiTrust catalog:

  • HathiTrust – Provides access to digitized texts in a variety of repositories, including Google Books and the Internet Archive.
  • HathiTrust user guide – Guide to using the HathiTrust collection and catalog.

HathiTrust items can also be accessed via the Florida Universities and Colleges Union catalog.  If your search in the Union catalog finds electronically available books in the HathiTrust collection they will be displayed under a label that says ‘HathiTrust Digital Library’ or as a ‘Read this E-book’ link accompanied by the HathiTrust logo (example below).  Clicking on these links will take you to the online material.

    

HathiTrust Print Disabilities Access

The University of South Florida is a member of the HathiTrust via an agreement of the Florida State University System libraries group. This membership includes access to ADA compliant electronic files of print books held by both the HathiTrust and any of the State Univeristy System libraries.

Students registered with USF’s Students with Disabilities Services department as having a print disability may request ADA compliant PDF files of any material in the State University System libraries that is also in the HathiTrust collection by filling out the request form below. If you have questions on this process, please contact USF’s designated proxy for HathiTrust ADA services: LeEtta Schmidt, Resource Sharing and Copyright Librarian at lmschmidt@usf.edu

Request HathiTrust ADA files

Fill out my online form.