Services For Patrons With Disabilities

The University Libraries is committed to providing equal access to information for all faculty, staff, students, and members of the Las Vegas community. In compliance with Nevada law, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and UNLV policies, we collaborate with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) to accommodate reasonable requests for assistance in accessing and using library materials and services.

Accessible parking near library buildings

Designated parking for users with handicap parking placards or permits are available in lots nearby library buildings.

Lied Library

Also available, two accessible parking spots in the metered parking next to the Harmon Ave library entrance.

Architecture Studies Library

Teacher Development and Resources Library

Music Library


Building access

  • Automatic doors and wheelchair ramps
  • Elevator access to all levels
  • Wheelchair accessible restrooms
    • Restrooms with powered doors available on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floors of Lied Library

Accessible desks

Powered height-adjustable desks provide flexibility for your needs. Desks also include integrated power strips to keep your devices charged.

Lied Library

1st floor adjustable desk locations
2nd floor adjustable desk location
  • Flexible group study space along the north side
3rd floor desk locations
4th and 5th floor adjustable desk locations
  • Near the central stairs and elevators
Adjustable desks in library instruction rooms
  • Eureka instruction room (with computer workstation)
  • Pioche instruction room (with computer workstation)

Architecture Studies Library

  • 1st floor (with QuickSearch catalog computer)
  • 1st floor (with movable lightpad)

Music Library

  • General study space area

Teacher Development and Resources Library

  • Near the northwest corner of book stacks (glass markerboard available near desk)

Access to library resources and materials

We are committed to providing an accessible experience for all library patrons. Depending on staff and resource availability, we can offer assistance using library resources or equipment based on your needs.

If you require specific accommodations, please contact us in advance so we can prepare accordingly.

For students who routinely need additional assistance, we recommend contacting the Disability Resource Center (DRC) before your visit. The DRC can help arrange necessary support to ensure you get the most from our library resources.

Disability Resource Center
Campus Resource Center (CRC), Room 136
702-895-0866
Fax 702-895-0651
drc@unlv.edu

Help retrieving library materials from the shelf

At all our campus libraries, we are happy to assist with the retrieval of materials from the shelves.

Request assistance

Simply ask at the Circulation Desk, and our staff will retrieve the items you need. To ensure prompt service, it's best to make requests during weekday hours (8:00 am to 5:00 pm). Assistance may be limited during evenings and weekends due to staffing constraints.

If we're experiencing high demand, we may ask you to return later to pick up your materials.

Advanced requests

For larger requests or to save time, we recommend submitting your list through the library catalog. This allows us to prepare your materials beforehand. You will then receive a notification once everything is ready for pickup.

Proxy borrower requests

If you would like to choose someone else to request, pick-up, or renew library materials on your behalf, please submit a proxy borrower request form.

Scanning and and delivery of library materials

We offer a a free scanning and document delivery service of journal articles and book chapters from our collections. This service is available to UNLV faculty, staff, and students for teaching and research purposes.

After scanning, we will email you a link to access the electronic document for viewing, downloading, or printing.

  • Requests are limited to 3 articles/chapters per journal issue or book.
  • All requests are reviewed for copyright compliance and may be canceled if issues arise.
How to request
  1. Verify that the item can be found in the Libraries collections by searching library quick search.
  2. Submit your request through our Interlibrary Loan system (ILLiad).
    • Submit only one item per request.
  3. On the main menu, select the type of material under "New Request."
  4. Enter as much information as possible, using the Notes field for additional details.

Processing times vary depending on the volume of requests.

For questions, contact Interlibrary Loan at illiad@unlv.edu or 702-895-2152.


Reference and research help

Assistance is offered through the following methods.


Adaptive Technology Pod

The Adaptive Technology Pod (ATP) offers computers and laptop with specialized software and hardware for patrons with disabilities. The pod is located behind the Computer Help Desk on 1st floor of Lied Library.

Because of the specialized nature of this equipment, these workstations are for research and education purposes only. Do not use them for gaming, chatting, personal email, or other non-academic activities. If you do, you may be asked to give up the computer for someone else's academic work.

For help using the adaptive software and hardware, contact the Disability Resource Center. For basic computer assistance like printing or word process troubleshooting, ask at the Computer Help Desk.

Find additional policies and information about the Adaptive Technology Pod.

Powered adjustable-height desks

All 5 workstations have one-touch fully powered adjustable height desks. 

Software available

  • JAWS (screen reader)
  • MAGic (screen magnifier and reader)
  • Open Book (scanned document reader)
  • Dragon Naturally Speaking (speech recognition, laptop only)
  • Kurzweil 3000 (reading/writing support)
  • FS Reader (DAISY book player)

Hardware available

  • Powered adjustable height desks in ATP
  • IntelliKeys Keyboard (checkout from Circulation)
  • TOPAZ video magnifier
  • SARA CE scanning/reading appliance
  • ZoomText large-print keyboards

Additional assistive technology and equipment

Lied Library offers a variety of assistive technology devices available for check out. For more information and to borrow items, visit the Circulation Desk.

List of assistive technology devices

Pocket Talker (amplifies speech)

  • Computer help desk on the 1st floor of Lied Library
  • Architecture Studies Library
  • Music Library
  • Teacher Development and Resources Library

"Grabber" (for reaching high or low shelves)

  • Ask at the Circulation Desk

High-speed duplicator (for textbooks on tape from Recordings for the Blind & Dyslexic)

  • Ask at the Circulation Desk

Compliant electronic library materials (databases, articles, ebooks)

The majority of the library databases come from three companies, EBSCO, Gale, and ProQuest. These database vendors are compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and/or W3C WAI WCAG 2.1. They also provide information about their accessible features.

Learn more about accessing materials from off campus.

EBSCO

All HTML Full Text articles in EBSCOhost databases have a text-to-speech option and an option to download the audio file as an MP3. However, many articles are not available in HTML. EBSCO PDFs after 2004 are ADA compliant.

Gale

Provides a "Listen" function for full-text articles. Wherever the "Listen" icon is present, there is the option to have the document read aloud. The Listen Tool also allows you to download the audio file as a MP3

ProQuest

Many ProQuest documents are ADA compliant. However, older PDFs (identified as ‘Scanned image PDFs’) are not accessible to screen readers