Disability Services

We are committed to providing accommodations for patrons with disabilities. Please contact Library Disability Services at LibraryDisabilityServices@cornell.edu if you need assistance in accessing our library facilities, materials, and services. You can also find additional resources, including BookShare, at Student Disability Services.

Assistive Technology in the Library

All of our public computers include assistive software, Adobe Creative Suite, NaturalReader plug-ins for Chrome, and JAWS 2018 screen-reading software. Assistive Technology workstations are available in Olin and Mann Libraries. In addition to the workstation, Olin has a Merlin text magnification LCD screen and Mann Library houses a Braille printer with associated software (instructions for the Braille Embosser). Olin Library and Law Library also have assistive laptops, including Dragon NaturallySpeaking software. Catherwood Library has adjustable height tables in the reading room. Opening in Spring 2024, Mann Library has a Sensory Study Room available for reservation; this room includes an e-ink monitor, adjustable lights, comfortable chairs, and an adjustable height table.

Adobe Creative Suite includes Adobe Acrobat Pro for creating accessible PDFs. For advanced accessible PDFs, ABBYY FineReader is available in the Digital CoLab.

Accessible Printer

Olin Library has a printer on a low table for easy accessibility.

HathiTrust Equitable Access

In participation with HathiTrust, Cornell University Library provides access for eligible patrons with print disabilities to items within the HathiTrust Digital Library. Access is facilitated through a proxy. If you wish to use this service, please refer to the Patron Guide to Equitable Access for Books in HathiTrust (PDF) for step-by-step instructions, and contact the Library’s proxies through CUL-HTProxy-L@cornell.edu.

Definitions:

  • Eligible patron: an affiliated user at a supporting institution who has a print disability for which access to digital copies of library books is a reasonable and appropriate accommodation.
  • Print disability: a disability, such as a visual impairment, learning disability, physical disability, or other disability that impedes access to printed content in the standard way.
  • Proxy: a representative designated by a HathiTrust Supporting Institution who accesses in-copyright content on behalf of an eligible patron.

Additional Services

We offer the following services to help you use the library effectively:

  • ScanIt: Library staff will scan a book chapter or journal article and send it to you as a PDF via email to view on your own computer.
  • Library-to-library book delivery: You can request that materials be paged and sent to the library of your choice.
  • BorrowDirect: If Cornell does not own a particular book that you would like access to, or Cornell’s copy is checked out to someone, you can search for the item in BorrowDirect. BorrowDirect is a shared database of 12 partnering institutions that share materials by shipping them rapidly to one another for a 56-day loan period. Turnaround is usually 1 week or less.
  • Interlibrary Loan: Materials that Cornell does not own and that are not available through BorrowDirect can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.
  • Private study or work spaces: In some of our libraries, privately assigned study desks are available for semester-long use. Please check with each individual library for more information.