Faculty and student researchers from the USC College of Information and Communications are advancing efforts to improve equitable access to course materials for blind, visually impaired, and print-disabled students.
Dick Kawooya, Clayton Copeland, Eric Robinson, Samaneh Borji (current Ph.D. student) and Courtney Swartzendruber ('25, MA) recently published their research in The Journal of Academic Librarianship. Their study examines how academic libraries, disability service offices, instructors and students can work together to reduce delays in providing accessible course content.
BVIPD students often wait significantly longer than their peers to receive materials in accessible formats. To address this gap, the research introduces the Campus Accessibility Partnership Model, a collaborative framework among instructors, Disability Service Offices and academic libraries grounded in the RRDRS process (Request, Remediation, Delivery, Retention and Sharing of accessible learning materials).
Drawing on interviews with 40 academic librarians, the study identifies several key challenges and opportunities, including the need for stronger awareness of accessibility laws, improved coordination across campus partners and enhanced library services to meet growing accessibility demands.
The findings highlight the critical role academic libraries can play in supporting inclusive learning environments. Through CAPM, libraries can assist with course reserves, remediation of materials, retention of accessible formats and integration of accessibility into collection development and institutional policy.
Funded by CIC, the USC Vice President for Research, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, this work offers a scalable and sustainable approach to accessibility, one that leverages collaboration and existing workflows to better serve BVIPD students.
The full article, “Supporting blind, visually impaired, and print disabled students: Are academic libraries doing enough?” is available in The Journal of Academic Librarianship.