Print Disability Access – General Information

How accessible is the Archive.org Site for people with print disabilities?

The Internet Archive strives for AA-level WCAG compliance to ensure the accessibility of the site to users on a variety of platforms and devices, including screen readers.

Books and text content available to people with print disabilities:

  • Unencrypted text DAISY files for books that are in the public domain
  • All books can be read in a browser user on our online Book Reader.  This online reader has both magnification and text-to-speech capabilities. Public-domain books are immediately accessible in the Book Reader.  Modern books must be borrowed or accessed under special disability access before they are fully available in the Book Reader.  
  • Modern books are also available to be borrowed and downloaded using Controlled Digital Lending.  Once borrowed, a modern book can be opened on a user’s desktop, laptop or mobile device using Adobe Digital Editions (ADE). Soon, support will be added for Aldiko New (mobile), Thorium (desktop), and other apps that support LCP digital rights management.
  • Content-related limitations:  Please be aware that there are some unusual cases when books or texts that have been uploaded to the Internet Archive will not be converted into a text. If there is a critical item in which you encounter this situation, please contact info@archive.org to get help with access.  

Other resources for people with disabilities

Librivox Audio

Bookshare

Learning Ally

BARD (National Library Service)