Accessibility and Disability Services

Syracuse University's varied services accommodate individuals with disabilities and recognize their potential to excel in both educational and career opportunities. The University is committed to providing an accessible campus environment through its facilities and digital presence, including its websites, online communications and technology. If you have a question or concern regarding accessibility, we welcome you to report any concerns about accessibility at SU.

For information on campus resources, see the Accessibility website.

For bus information, visit the CENTRO website. For parking information, visit SU's parking and transportation services website.

• Computer workstations in all library buildings offer the campus desktop, which includes Read & Write Gold and Microsoft Accessibility Software. Library machines also have Freedom Scientific Fusion, which includes ZoomText and JAWS.
• Assistive Technology Room 123, on the first floor of Bird Library near the Waverly Avenue entrance, has three computer workstations and a station for the DaVinci Pro camera. The Joel and Barbara Zelnick Assistive Technology Room equipment and their features include:
  • Kurzweil 3000 Learnstation software
    • ABBYY FineReader OCR
    • Multiple voice options
    • Highlights text and reads words aloud
    • Image reader, spell check
    • Kurzweil support and how-to guides
  • Kurzweil 1000
    • Scans and speaks text aloud with a choice of natural-sounding voices
    • Supports document creation and editing
    • Supports note taking, summarizing and outlining of text
    • Includes 18 bilingual dictionaries
    • Kurzweil support and how-to guides
  • PEARL Portable Reading Camera (borrow at the 1st floor Check Out Desk)
    • After borrowing the PEARL, users can bring it to the Assistive Technology Room and plug it into the USB port at the second workstation on the right, which is preloaded with OpenBook scanning and reading software
    • Scans 20 pages per minute while reading
    • Has built-in LED lighting for dim settings
    • Allows adding of comments and highlighting
    • Export to Word or Notepad
    • Options for fonts, colors, voice, and reading rate
    • Will snap an image and begin reading again whenever a page is turned
    • If help is needed with set up, please inform staff at the Checkout Desk
  • DaVinci Pro HD/OCR (Enhanced Vision)
    • Auto focus camera for self-viewing, reading or distance viewing
    • Magnification up to 77x
    • 24” high resolution HD LCD monitor
    • 28 viewing modes to optimize contrast and brightness
    • Full page OCR, users can just listen or follow along as it reads aloud
    • User tips and instruction video from Enhanced Vision
• Borrow Laptops and Gear lists all the technology items available to borrow from the 1st floor Check Out Desk in Bird Library.
• Captioning is available for many of the subscription video content packages.

The Libraries will provide an alternate format only for items owned or licensed by the Libraries or obtained through interlibrary loan for currently enrolled students and current faculty and staff for course-related and academic research purposes.

Patrons requesting this service must be registered and authorized to receive alternate formats as an accommodation, through the Center for Disability Resources.

The Libraries recommends providing as much advanced notice as possible when requesting alternate formats of standard printed materials. The Libraries will attempt to provide materials in a timely and reasonable manner, typically 5 to 15 business days for Libraries-owned items.

Users of this service agree not to copy, reproduce or share alternatively formatted instructional materials. Doing so is considered a violation of the University's copyright policies and may result in discontinuation of service and other correctional actions.

Requesting Alternate Format

Once registered with your respective office, submit a request via the request portal at Request, Delivery and Interlibrary Loan

• Complete the request form with the appropriate citation information.
• At the bottom of the form, under Alternate Format Service, select the type of authorized accommodation needed from the optimizations provided:
  • Optimized for magnification
  • Optimized for screen readers
  • Optimized for text-to-speech (Read & Write)
• Click Submit Request

Syracuse University users with certified print disabilities can request text-enabled PDFs of HathiTrust volumes. Requests are made on a title-by-title basis, and any item in HathiTrust is eligible, regardless of copyright status. To request access, email Resource Sharing Manager with your name, SU NetID, the book author and title, and the link to the exact volume HathiTrust needed.

See the HathiTrust Accessibility page for more information.

Libraries staff will assist those who use screen readers or other assistive technologies with navigation of the Library website, e-journals and databases, or with a basic orientation of class sites on Blackboard. To make an appointment, email libref@syr.edu.

If materials on library shelves are not physically accessible for any reason (e.g. aisle is not wide enough, material is too high on shelf, or call numbers are difficult to read or see), staff will pull materials for patrons. For assistance in Bird Library, call 315.443.4083 from anywhere in the building during regular service desk hours and staff will coordinate with you to arrange help. You can also stop by the Service Desk or reach out to the floor monitors in the evenings for assistance.

You can use the Request, Delivery and Interlibrary Loan to request an item from the shelf.

Note: In Bird Library, the aisle width between the book shelves accommodates wheelchairs, but the area between shelves in Carnegie Library does not.

• Assistive Technology Room 123 on the 1st floor of Bird Library, near the Waverly entrance, is open when Bird Library is open.
• Reserve a Study Room in Bird or Carnegie Library, available for use by all students, including those working with readers or other assistants.
• Sensory Friendly Study Rooms are available on the 3rd and 4th floors of Bird Library and are stocked with dimmable lamps to control lighting, sensory discs and fidget items. Eight of these rooms can be reserved and are marked as "Sensory Friendly" in the reservation system. Additional sensory items, such as noise-cancelling headphones, are available for loan at the 1st Floor Check Out Desk.
• Quiet Study Areas are also located throughout Bird and Carnegie Libraries.

Library staff at service desks will assist users with disabilities making copies or scanning documents on public copiers/scanners in their area.

Bird Library

• 1st Floor Information desk: call 315.443.4083
• 1st Floor Check Out desk: call 315.443.5727

Carnegie Library

• Call 315.443.2160

Bird Library

• There are three metered disabled parking spaces located on the north side of Bird Library. Two of these spaces are van-accessible.
• The building is accessible with ramps and curb cuts leading to both of its main entrances on the north and south sides.
• Entrances are equipped with automatic door openers.
• Elevator service is available on every floor of Bird Library, and all elevators are equipped with Braille-encoded elevator buttons.
• Restrooms with stalls that meet ADA compliance guidelines are available in Room 122, on the north perimeter of the 1st floor of Bird Library.
• There are two unisex gender-neutral restrooms, one on the lower level and another on the 5th floor.
• Other restrooms within Bird Library have large-sized stalls with grab bars, but may not be fully accessible.
• Braille signs are posted outside all restrooms in Bird Library.

Carnegie Library

• There are three disabled parking spaces available by the east side entrance to the Carnegie Building for use by Quad 3 parking permit holders.
• The library has an automatic door opener on the east side of the building. A ramp inside this entrance leads to the first door which has an automatic door opener. An elevator is off that corridor. The main service desk is on the second floor.
• Elevator service runs to the 2nd and 3rd floors. Library staff will retrieve materials for patrons who cannot access an area.
• For assistance locating and using library resources, the service desk can be reached by calling 315.443.2160.
• Carnegie has new restrooms on each floor that are handicapped accessible.

Belfer Audio Archive and Preservation Laboratory

• This building is NOT open to the public.
• There are three metered disabled parking spaces located on the north side of Bird Library. Two of these spaces are van-accessible.
• The entrance to the building is level with the outside grounds and has an automatic door opener. The classroom is right across from the front door.
• Contact the Special Collections Research Center at 315.443.2697 or scrc@syr.edu for additional information.

Service Desks

• Standard desk height (approximately 28 inches), and they may include a section that is at a lower height to accommodate wheelchairs.

Other Building Restrooms

• Other restrooms within buildings that house branch libraries have large-sized stalls with grab bars but may not be fully accessible.

The alarm systems in Bird Library have strobe lights for the hearing impaired. If an individual is unable to exit the building without assistance, the standard procedure for building evacuation in all library facilities is:

1. The person in need of assistance should call the Department of Public Safety's emergency number 711 (or call 315.443.2224) and report their location within the building and inform the dispatcher that they need evacuation assistance.
2. Safety or the fire department will locate the person and assist them in exiting the building.
3. If staff see a person needing assistance, they should inform the Emergency Point of Contact (EPOC) stationed outside the front door wearing a safety vest. The EPOC will inform safety personnel about the person in need and their location.

Syracuse University is a proud Aira Access Partner, offering visual interpreting services at no cost to individuals on campus. Through Aira, interpreters audibly describe a person’s visual surroundings via the Aira Explorer mobile app.

To get started:

• Download the Aira Explorer app to your mobile device, sign up and choose a plan or start using Aira for free on Syracuse University main campus.
• Tap or select “Call an Aira agent” to initiate service from a trained Aira visual interpreter.
• Tell the Aira agent how they can help you.

Syracuse University's Digital Accessibility Services team provides SensusAccess Document Remediation and Conversion Service. SensusAccess allows students, faculty, and staff to automatically convert documents into a range of alternate formats including audio (MP3 and DAISY), ePub3, digital Braille, digital large-print, and BeeLine Reader. The service can also remediate inaccessible documents such as image-only PDF files, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and LaTeX projects and deliver them into more usable formats for people of all abilities. This self-service is available 24/7 and is free for anyone with a current SU email address.

SensusAccess can be used anytime a document is going to be distributed, posted, or emailed to constituents in a community.

SensusAccess does not replace Alternate Format Services service; Alternate Format Service converts printed materials from the library collections into other formats, but it is only available to users registered with the Center for Disability Resources (CDR) or a faculty/staff member who is registered with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI).

Workstations in the Libraries are equipped with Read&Write, a versatile literacy support tool that aids reading, writing and comprehension. Its robust toolbar offers many helpful features, including highlighting, word prediction, text-to-speech and speech-to-text, making it a valuable resource for studying and learning. For more information, visit the University's ITS Answers Page.