Ebooks: Accessibility of e-resources

E-resources, articles and books, can be listened to

• in the browser
• in the web services (databases and e-book readers)
• as PDF file.

Microsoft Edge

• Right-click on top of the page, or press Ctrl+Shift+u, and then select Read Aloud.
• Immersive Reader with tools Read Aloud, Text preferences, Grammar tools and Reading preferences.

Chrome and Firefox

• Extensions such as Read Aloud.
• Notice this: Ebsco e-books can be listened to in Edge but not with Chrome Read Aloud extension.

Text-to speech feature in e-book databases such as

• VLeBooks | UniOulu and VitalSource | UniOulu
• ClinicalKey | UniOulu and Oppiportti.

In Ebsco and ProQuest you can listen to HTML articles.

Thorium Reader has a built-in read aloud feature for EPUB books, such as Ellibs e-books.

Journal articles and book chapters can be downloaded in PDF format.

Text in PDFs can be transformed to speech in Adobe Acrobat Reader or in browser.

Choose View > Read Out Loud > Activate Read Out Loud.

After Activate Read Out Loud you can select 

• Read This Page Only
• Read to End of Document.

You can also Pause and Stop.

Accessibility of e-resources is essential for print-disabled persons, but accessibility features are beneficial for everyone. 

Text-to-speech tools (read aloud) are used visually impaired and dyslexic users, as well as users with different language backgrounds or users looking to multi-task or rest their eyes. 

Screen readers are software programs that allow blind or visually impaired users to use their computer. To be able to listen to an e-book, you need also an accessible e-book. Adobe Digital Editions usually works well with screen readers.