Last updated February 2024
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The Accessible Content E-Portal (ACE)
About the Service
OCLS and CLO have partnered with Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) to provide college access to Scholars Portal’s Accessible Content E-Portal (ACE). ACE supports users with print disabilities at participating universities and colleges in Ontario by providing access to library books in accessible formats.
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ACE supports accessibility, AODA compliance, and creates equitable access to print materials for all library users.
College Collections
Participating college libraries’ ACE collections will include any items that are in the repository and that are available in print at their college library, regardless of which college or university submitted the item for digitization. Libraries may add items to ACE by submitting a digitization request for items that are available in print at their library, either at the request of an eligible user, or proactively by identifying items for digitization.
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Eligible users can access the collection by logging in with a token provided by the college library. Users are able to view the titles of all books available in the ACE collection and will be able to download files for books in their college’s collection. When searching, users can choose to search or browse all items or easily filter to see only items they can access.
Textbooks
Textbooks may be submitted to the ACE repository but will be deposited in a separate collection accessible only to college library staff through ACE admin tokens. Once the item has been added to the admin collection, library staff can share the accessible copy with the user who requested the item.
Internet Archive Print Disabled Collection
Titles from the Internet Archive Print Disabled Collection are available for use for all eligible ACE users. To request access to a title from the Collection, follow the instructions in the ACE guide here.
Eligibility
Library users with a documented print disability are eligible to use ACE.
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Please note that the ACE terms of service as stated on the ACE login page indicate that students must be registered with disability services; this policy applies specifically to OCUL institutions. The Ontario colleges have a separate agreement with Scholars Portal and the Internet Archive and should follow their own local policy after reviewing the eligibility guidelines outlined in this document.
Resources for ACE Representatives
OCLS Website
OCLS’s Services ACE page contains important information and resources for college ACE representatives, including workflows, checklists, cheat sheets, and terms of service. ACE representatives can also access training and marketing material.
ACE Website and Staff Portal
The public-facing ACE website contains a series of tutorials and video guides created by Scholars Portal and FAQs about the service. The FAQ contains general information about the service and frequent issues and the videos and tutorials cover topics like on logging in, searching and browsing the repository, and downloading accessible formats.
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Note that the Scholars Portal ACE Digitization Service guide contains information about submitting digitization requests that may differ for universities and colleges, and therefore this resource should not be used by college library staff for digitization procedures or workflows. College libraries should instead follow the procedures outlined in this document and found on OCLS’s ACE page.
ACE Contacts
College ACE Representatives
Each college participating in ACE will appoint an ACE representative to administer the service locally, to act as a point person for OCLS, and to receive updates from OCLS and Scholars Portal through the ACE listserv.
ACE Working Group
All ACE representatives are welcome and encouraged to participate in OCUL’s ACE Working Group, which meets bimonthly. The ACE service coordinator at OCLS and the AODA Committee chair participate in this committee and will share updates with college ACE representatives who do not attend.
Strategic Direction
Strategic direction for the ACE service is provided by the AODA Committee. Members of the AODA Committee will attend OCUL’s ACE Working Group meetings to represent the interests of the ACE colleges, and will share updates with the ACE colleges via the local ACE listserv as needed.
Tokens
ACE tokens provide access to the Accessible Content E-Portal. There are two types of tokens:
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admin tokens: for library staff (or staff in the college’s disability office)
Token Distribution
When colleges join the ACE service, and on a regular basis thereafter, ACE representatives should estimate how many tokens they require and submit a request to the ACE coordinator at OCLS (lrupert@ocls.ca). Scholars Portal recommends that colleges overestimate rather than underestimate how many tokens they may need, as they can be saved and distributed as needed in the future. Requests for tokens can be submitted at any time.
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OCLS and Scholars Portal do not need to know the names of users or admins who have been assigned tokens.
Token Expiry
As of July 2020, Scholars Portal has set tokens to expire after four years. College library staff should keep track of when tokens are issued as they will not be notified of the expiration.
College library staff should also track the expected graduation dates of their ACE users and request the deactivation of the tokens of graduated students as needed. Email Lauren (lrupert@ocls.ca) to request deactivation of any tokens.
Digitization Request Procedures
If an eligible user at a participating college requests an accessible copy of an item in their college library’s print collection that is not currently in the ACE repository, college library staff may submit a digitization request to Scholars Portal via the ACE staff portal. Library staff may also proactively submit digitization requests for items in their library’s print collection without a request from a student. Institutions may wish to submit items for digitization for high demand materials in advance of a new semester or during slower periods.
Note that the college libraries have a specific workflow that is different than the process for Universities. There are digitization instructions on the Scholars Portal ACE Guide that are specific to the Universities and do not apply to the colleges. Please follow the instructions for colleges as outlined below and as outlined in the checklists and other documents found on the ACE Resources page.
Definitions
The requesting college is the college that is submitting an ACE digitization request.
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It is important that this is marked clearly on the Bookmark Slip so that Internet Archive staff know where to return the book.
Digitization Request Workflow
User Requests
When a user requests an accessible copy from their college library, the college library should check first to see if the item is already in ACE, and if so, if it is in their college’s collection.
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At this point, college library staff should check to see if they have a scannable copy of the physical item (see Scannable Copies, below, for more information on determining whether your copy is scannable).
If the Requesting College Has a Scannable Copy
Library staff will complete the ACE digitization form, which can be accessed via the ACE Resources page. If your library has a scannable copy, select “I will provide the item.”
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Prepare a bookmark slip, which can be found on the ACE Resources page, noting the ACE #. Prepare a return, prepaid waybill for the courier. Then package the item(s) to Internet Archive with the bookmark slip and the waybill. Please see Shipping Procedures, below, for more information on courrierscouriers, shipping policies, and preparing items for shipping.
If the Requesting College Does Not Have a Scannable Copy
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Library staff will complete the ACE digitization form, which can be accessed via OCLS’s ACE page. If your library does not have a scannable copy, select “Please acquire this item for me.”
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The contributing college will package and ship the book to the Internet Archive with the bookmark slip and return, prepaid waybill.
Processing and returns
The Internet Archive will receive and scan the book, and return the book to the contributing library.
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Once the requesting college library has been notified that the item has been digitized and processed, college library staff will notify the ACE user who requested the item that the item is available in ACE and ensure that they are able to access it.
Permalinks
The ACE digitization request form asks that you provide a permalink for each item. The Internet Archive has requested that you provide a permalink from WorldCat wherever possible. If you are not able to provide a WorldCat link, a link from the Colleges Union Catalogue is fine. Providing a permalink allows OCLS to easily locate the item if necessary, and it provides important information to Internet Archive that may not be contained in your local catalogue record.
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For items from the Internet Archive Print Disabled Collection, please submit the “IA identifier” as the permalink (see the ACE guide for details).
Information for Contributing Colleges
If a college has submitted a digitization request for an item in their print collection that they have determined not to be scannable, OCLS will attempt to find a scannable copy of that item at another college library. If you have been contacted by OCLS to find a scannable copy of the book, please locate the item in your collection and assess it for scannability, following the instructions found in Scannable Copies, below.
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Once the item is received at the Internet Archive, the turnaround time is typically very short (1-2 days). Once the item has been scanned, it will be packaged for return shipment to your college.
Scannable Copies
When submitting an item to ACE for digitization, please try to locate a copy that is in the best condition overall. However, you may have to balance this with other considerations such as the availability and ease of retrieval of alternative copies and the urgency of a request.
A Copy Is Scannable If
Any marginalia or other markup is in pencil, is not too extensive or heavy
There is highlighting (unless particularly dark to the point of obscuring content but this is not usually an issue)
The binding does not run in the gutter. See Pencil Test below.
A Copy Is NOT Scannable If
Content is missing
Content is obscured i.e markup such as underlining or circling that cannot be erased
There is extensive marginalia that cannot be erased, specifically textual marginalia That can be misinterpreted by the OCR screen readers as part of the text
The binding runs into the gutter. See Pencil Test below.
The book would be damaged in the process of digitization.
Bending the spine to the equivalent of normal use is not a concern unless noted by lending library.
IA staff will make any necessary judgment calls when needed.
IMPORTANT: if you do not have a scannable copy locally, you will need to indicate that on your ACE Digitization Request Form and OCLS will attempt to find a copy for you.
The Pencil Test
Lay the book flat on a table, and open it to the middle.
Place a pencil in the middle of the opened book.
If the pencil obscures any of the text, the book must be disqualified.
If no text is obscured, repeat this process in a few other parts of the text until you are reasonably satisfied that the binding is not too tight.
It is not a requirement for the book to be able to lie flat. If a book is tightly bound and does not lie flat, but passes the pencil test when held open, the item is still scannable, as the machine can hold the book open.
Shipping
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Procedures
Couriers
A return, prepaid waybill must be included with all shipped items. Colleges may use their preferred courier to ship books to the Internet Archive. The Internet Archive’s preferred couriers are FedEx and UPS, and they also deal with Purolator. They do not deal with Canada Post, as it is challenging for Internet Archive staff and outside of their normal workflow.
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If you are submitting a book to the Internet Archive on behalf of another college, OCLS will arrange shipping for you through Purolator and bill back to the requesting college library.
Shipping Multiple Items
Package multiple items together in one box with one return label for the shipment. Each book in the shipment should have its own book slip which notes that item’s ACE number. This ensures a smooth process for the Internet Archive and ensures that items do not get lost.
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