Accessibility Services

Library facilities

• 1. Visiting the Library during the pandemic
  2. Entrance information
  3. Quiet Areas
  4. Distraction-reduced study or test taking
  5. Accessible restrooms
  6. Service dogs
  7. Emergency evacuation

Assistance with research & library materials

• 1. Research assistance
  2. Request books from the shelf
  3. Designate someone to check out books for you
  4. Scanning of library materials
  5. Interlibrary loan and OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
  6. Accessibility features of e-book platforms

Technology

• 1. Using assistive technology
  2. Printing

Drop-off, parking, and transportation information by library

• 1. Getting to the Daley Library
  2. Getting to the Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago

Additional information

• 1. Commitment
  2. Other campus resources

If you require specific assistance from library staff in order to safely navigate the library during the pandemic, please inform us ahead of time by emailing lib-ref@uic.edu with desired assistance. Some examples include:

• If you read lips and need staff members to wear a clear mask to facilitate communication.
• If you need priority access to an elevator for mobility purposes.
• If you require a staff member to escort you to an accessible computer or table.

We recognize that not everyone may be able to come to the library due to accessibility issues. We will do what we can to help you access library services through low contact pickup or remote services. Please contact lib-ref@uic.edu to inquire about potential services.

Daley Library:

The Daley Library has three entrances, none of which have any associated stairs:

• Information Commons Doors: These face the Quad and are on the east side of the building. There is a push button on the card swipe stand on the right side of the doors on a post (approximately 3 feet high).
• Main Doors Facing Quad (East Doors): To the left of the revolving doors there is a single entrance door with a push button. The pushbutton is on the card swipe post on the left side of the door (approximately 3 feet high).
• Doors facing Morgan (West Doors): In between the two revolving doors there are two single entrance doors. Each door has a push pad located on the brick pillar approximately 7 feet from the door.

Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago
The Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago has a single entrance, located on Polk St. There is a ramp up to this entrance and also stairs. There is a push button option on the door furthest to the left when facing the entrance. There is also a card swipe near the door furthest to the left. During the pandemic, users must use the card swipe to enter the building.

For information on how to get to these libraries, please see the sections for:

• Getting to the Daley Library
• Getting to the Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago

Both Daley and the Library of the Health Sciences have designated quiet areas that are available for all students.

In the Daley Library, the Circle Reading Room is an enclosed room on the first floor of the library that is a designated quiet space. Also, the third and fourth floors are both designated as quiet floors.

In the Library of the Health Sciences, the third floor is the designated quiet floor. Note: There is usually also a large quiet enclosed reading room (107) on the first floor, but this is temporarily unavailable.

If you have an accommodation and need to reserve a space at the Daley library specifically for taking an online test, please contact the Disability Resource Center at least 72 hours prior. They will contact the library, and a library staff member will reserve a room on your behalf.

If you have an accommodation for distraction-reduced studying, there is also a space in the Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago (room 319) that you can directly reserve for this purpose.

In the Daley Library, there are multi-stall restrooms on all four floors that have a wheelchair accessible stall. On the second floor, there is a gender-inclusive, single person restroom which is wheelchair accessible.

In the Library of the Health Sciences, there are multi-stall restrooms with a wheelchair accessible stall on the lower level and the third floor. The first floor has a gender-inclusive, single person restroom which is wheelchair accessible.

Service dogs are welcome in the UIC Library. Service dogs are trained to do specific tasks and must be under control at all times. For information about assistance animals, also known as therapy and emotional support animals see the UIC Service and Assistance Animal Policy.

When elevators are not in service proceed to the designated Area of Rescue Assistance or nearest stairwell if you can and wait there to be evacuated by a member of the UIC Police Department (UICPD) or an emergency responder.

If possible, ask a member of the library staff or another person to accompany you to the stairwell. Ask the person to immediately inform UICPD and/or other emergency responders of your exact location (floor, stairwell number, etc.) once the person has evacuated.

Once in the stairwell, call UICPD (312-355-5555) for help; if no help arrives in 5-10 minutes, call again.

Make an appointment with a librarian to discuss your research assignments and identify relevant resources. One option is to meet online, sharing a screen to walk through the search process together. To work in person with a librarian and a sign language interpreter, please use this form to request an interpreter. It is recommended that you allow one week’s notice for this.

You can also get help via our “Chat with a librarian” chat option, which displays at the bottom of every Library website window.

You can also send us an email using this form.

Other options to get help.

Anyone may request that books be pulled for picked up at the front desk:

1. Go to the UIC Library Search.
2. Sign in (top right)
3. Search for and locate the item of interest
4. Click “Available at (location).”
5. Click “Request Local Copy.”
6. Select your “Pick Up Library” and “Pick Up Location.”
7. Click “Place Request.”
8. You’ll get an email when the book is ready to pick up. (Requests are usually pulled within 24 hours, except on weekends)

As staffing permits, Library staff can also accompany students and employees who need assistance to the stacks in order to browse and retrieve books.

Patrons with disabilities can designate a proxy, another person who has authority to check out books for you using their own i-cards.

Assign a person to check out your materials.

Students in need of alternate format of inaccessible library materials must first register with the Disability Resource Center (DRC), then fill out the Alternate Format Request Form. The DRC and the Library work collaboratively through this process to ensure students have equitable access to educational materials in a timely manner.

Faculty and staff who have requested and received an accommodation from the Office for Access and Equity (OAE) may place requests for materials by contacting their nearest ILL office using the relevant email address listed below.

• Richard J. Daley Library: lib-ill@uic.edu
• Library of the Health Sciences, Chicago: lib-lhsill@uic.edu
• Library of the Health Sciences, Peoria: lib-pcir@uic.edu
• Crawford Library of the Health Sciences, Rockford: lib-lhsr@uic.edu
• Library of the Health Sciences, Urbana: lib-lhsu@uic.edu

If you would like articles or chapters that you request through ILLiad to be OCRed, please include a note in the notes field to that effect when you submit your request.

Please see Request Items for more on interlibrary loan.

You do not need to be registered with the DRC in order to make these requests.

While libraries may often notice and honor an OCR request, sometimes they may not, and since fulfilled requests are automatically uploaded into our system and notifications are triggered without manual intervention we do not have an opportunity to intervene prior to your receiving the requested item. However, if you find that your requested item has not been OCRed, please alert us by responding to the email stating that your item is available and we can convert it to OCR-readable using Adobe Acrobat.

We now have detailed charts available that compare some of the different e-book platforms that we use at UIC, as well as their compatibility with JAWS and VoiceOver (scroll down on the page for the charts for JAWS and VoiceOver).

These charts, compiled in spring 2022, contain information for each e-book platform listed including keyboard-only navigation, ZoomText compatibility, Text-to-Speech compatibility, magnification and re-flowable text, contrast, font color, size and style, and distinction without color.

The library has screen reader software and text magnification software in the Daley Library and the Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago, and some of these are installed on computers on adjustable tables.

Learn more about assistive technology.

Accessible WEPA printers are available in the Daley Library (IDEA Commons) and in the Library of Health Sciences, Chicago.

The Richard J Daley Library is located at 801 S Morgan St.

Drop Off Locations:
There are entrances on both the east and west side of the library, but the west entrance is the closest to street drop off, and can be accessed by heading North on Morgan Street. There are two curb cuts leading to the door.

Accessible Parking:
Visitor Parking and Card Access Parking
• Lot 4: 761 West Polk St
• Halsted Street Parking Structure: 760 West Taylor Street

Public Transportation:

CTA Bus
• Closest: 8 Halsted & Polk (Northbound and Southbound)
• Other options:
7 Harrison & Morgan (Eastbound and Westbound)
60 Harrison & Morgan (Eastbound and Westbound)
157 Taylor & Morgan (Eastbound and Westbound)

CTA Train stop
• Blue Line, UIC Halsted Station

Intracampus Shuttle Stops
Live Route: https://uic.transloc.com/
Closest stop varies by date and time.

Library of Health Sciences-Chicago is located at 1750 W Polk St.

Drop Off Location:
Drop-off is available heading westbound on Polk Street on side of the road (has a curb) right in front of LHS entrance. The closest curb cut is at the corner of Polk and S Heritage Ave.

Accessible Parking
Visitor Parking
• LOT E1: 820 South Paulina Street

Card Access Parking
• Closest is at Lot N1: 713 South Wood St.
• Other nearby options are: LOT E (820 South Paulina Street) and LOT AOB (860 South Paulina Street)

Public Transportation

CTA Bus
• Closest: 7 Polk Pink Line Station (Eastbound and Westbound)
• Other options:
157 Polk & Wood (Eastbound and Westbound)
7 Polk & Wood (Eastbound and Westbound)

CTA Train
• Closest: Pink Line, Polk Station
• Other options: Blue Line, Illinois Medical District Station

Intracampus Shuttle Stops
Live Route: https://uic.transloc.com/
Stop: CTA Pink Line Station

The University of Illinois at Chicago is committed to maintaining a barrier-free environment so that individuals with disabilities can fully access programs, courses, services and activities at UIC.

Disability Resource Center: Their mission is to empower the UIC community with the knowledge, resources, and skills necessary to ensure full access and engagement for students with disabilities in all aspects of college life.

They also provide a wonderful list of other campus and external resources, partners, & online learning guides

Disability Cultural Center: This center offers public programs, discussion series, arts-based workshops, and one-on-one support — working to engage an understanding of disability as a social justice issue and a site for identity, community, and culture.

Department of Disability and Human Development (DHD):The DHD department is an internationally-recognized center for the interdisciplinary study of disability.