Accessibility

Accessibility is a core value and design component of Fulcrum. As part of the ongoing development of Fulcrum, we work to make the platform and its content inclusive, accessible, and usable for all readers.

Last updated: January 16, 2026

Fulcrum makes every reasonable effort to have its products and services available to all customers and users, especially those with disabilities, allocating significant time and resources towards ensuring Fulcrum users have equal access. We approach this with three guiding principles:

  1. Be responsive to requests for remediation or reported accessibility issues. We aim to respond to requests within 2 business days.
  2. Be proactive by identifying and working on known platform issues and remediation of content for most likely to be used and essential functions of the platform.
  3. Be transparent as to what we are planning and doing to support accessibility requirements for the platform and its content.

You can follow our accessibility journey in the Accessibility Roadmap.

Conformance Status and VPAT®s

Fulcrum aims to meet the latest WCAG 2 AA Standards (currently WCAG 2.2 AA) in two ways:

Fulcrum's conformance status is assessed through a combination of automated tools, manual self-evaluation, user testing and feedback, and third-party evaluation.

Last manual review of platform: May-June 2025

Last automated review of platform: Since January 2026, Fulcrum is scanned weekly to identify accessibility issues.

Submitting Accessibility Evaluations

While we have our own accessibility evaluation schedules, methods, and prioritization procsses, we welcome accessibility feedback and evaluations from outside entities. If evaluations are conducted and shared with us, we give priority and preference to evaluations that use manual testing methods with specific assistive technologies setups over automated evaluations.

Compatibility with Assistive Technology

Screen Reader Compatibility

Fulcrum should be compatible with most major screen readers. It is optimized for use with NVDA in Firefox. New features are tested with NVDA in Firefox and VoiceOver in Safari. Fulcrum should be compatible with recent versions of the following screen readers:

  • JAWS
  • NVDA
  • VoiceOver

The site is also compatible with:

  • basic operating system screen magnifiers and contrast settings
  • accessibility browser extensions, such as Read Aloud (text to speech), Zoom Text Only (magnifier), and High Contrast for Chrome
  • speech recognition software
  • operating system speech packages

Known issues

For readers using NVDA:

  • In the Fulcrum Reader, alt-text image descriptions will be read when the embedded image is selected via the TAB key, but will not be read automatically via continuous reading. Alt-text image descriptions can be accessed by selecting the embedded image via keyboard controls or by following the link to the full image media page.
  • In the Fulcrum Reader, when searching inside the text of a book and following a search result, the matched term in the text is indicated on the page only through visual highlighting of the matched text, but the excerpts and chapter locations are accessible through screen reader technology.
  • In the Fulcrum Reader, text selection for highlighting or note taking does not work as expected.
  • On book title pages, “Overview” is the default tab. To get to other tabs on that page, navigate to the “Overview” heading and press the right arrow key.
  • On resources pages, “Info” is the default tab. To get to others tabs, navigate to the “Info” heading and press the right arrow key.

For readers using VoiceOver:

  • When the focus in the Fulcrum Reader is on a piece of embedded content such as a video or image, the VoiceOver rotor only recognizes the media controls as links. To access the other links and menu buttons through the rotor, navigate away from the embedded piece of media first.

For readers using Microsoft Edge Read Aloud:

  • In the Fulcrum Reader, the visual display of text does not continue to scroll when Read Aloud reaches the bottom of the page.
  • In the Fulcrum Reader, it is not possible to adjust the emphasis styles in Read Aloud.

For readers playing time-based media in resources or ebooks:

  • As of January 2022, the current version of AblePlayer on Fulcrum has a known issue where audio descriptions can auto-play when users activate descriptions to be read aloud by the player and navigate book pages. Turning off the read aloud function of the descriptions will resolve this issue.

For readers using Dragon NaturallySpeaking:

Keyboard Compatibility

  • In the Fulcrum Reader, all of the pages, and media content such as videos, audio, and images should be accessible via standard keyboard controls only (no use of a mouse required).
  • Standard keyboard controls include:
    • TAB to move through links and buttons
    • SHIFT+TAB to go back to a previous link or button
    • ENTER to select
  • Left and right arrow keys in the Fulcrum Reader provide shortcuts for easy page flipping or scrolling.
  • Using scroll mode in the Fulcrum Reader, Page Up and Page Down and up and down arrow keys also allow for page scrolling.
  • When reading PDFs in the Fulcrum Reader, pages can be rotated by either using the "Rotate Clockwise" button or pressing R on the keyboard. Both will rotate the page 90 degrees clockwise.
  • The default video player shortcuts are as follows:
    • Alt + Control + p or spacebar = Play/Pause
    • Alt + Control + s = Restart
    • Alt + Control + r = Rewind
    • Alt + Control + f = Forward
    • Alt + Control + v or 1-9 = Volume
    • Alt + Control + m = Mute/Unmute
    • Alt + Control + c = Hide captions
    • Escape = Close current dialog or popup menu
    (The modifier keys can be changed through video keyboard settings.)

Accessibility Features

Discovering Accessible Content

  • All book pages on Fulcrum include an "Accessibility Claims" tab that includes accessibility information about the book if supplied by the publisher.
  • If a book is not screen reader-friendly or has no supplied accessibility information, a button to request an accessible file for the book will be available. If the book is restricted access, you must be authenticated and authorized to the book or product for this button to appear.

Fulcrum Reader

  • For certain content, users can choose between page-by-page and scroll view in the Fulcrum Reader. To switch views, select the Preferences and Settings button and choose your preferred Display mode.
  • Image descriptions are enabled for screen readers through alt-text attributes and linked extended descriptions when necessary (and when provided by publisher).
  • While there is no built-in text-to-speech feature, screen readers and text-to-speech browser extensions such as Read Aloud for Chrome should work with the Fulcrum Reader as well as all of the book, publisher, and media pages.

Time-based Media

  • AblePlayer video and audio player has the capability for captions, audio descriptions, and transcripts, though not all publishers may provide these features. The caption font, size, color, and location can be adjusted in the player settings. Captions and transcripts are available when provided by the publisher. As of January 2022, the current version of AblePlayer on Fulcrum has a known issue where audio descriptions can auto-play based on the time codes when users activate descriptions to be read aloud by the player. Turning off the read aloud function of the descriptions will resolve this issue.

For readers with low vision

  • In the Fulcrum Reader, a book's text can be zoomed up to 400% through the Preferences and Settings menu. Switching to scroll view is recommended when enlarging the text as this will shift the text from two columns to one.
  • Operating system text zoom and font accessibility settings and browser extensions such as Zoom Text Only for Chrome should work with all of the other text on book, publisher, and media pages, as well as the menu bars in the Fulcrum Reader.
  • The video player offers a full screen view and the image viewer offers a zoom function.
  • The video player supports user control of caption settings, including toggle, position, font, size, text color, background, and opacity as well as user control of audio description (when captions and audio descriptions provided by publisher).
  • Operating system contrast accessibility features and browser extensions such as High Contrast for Chrome should work with the Fulcrum Reader in addition to all other Fulcrum pages.

Accessibility Roadmap

Four areas of focus guide the Fulcrum Accessibility Roadmap:

  • Make it easy to request accessible copies of books that do not meet accessibility requirements.
  • Clearly communicate a book's accessibility conformance and features.
  • Provide evidence of a plan to remediate books that do not meet accessibility requirements.
  • Ensure the platform and its functionality are as accessible as possible.
Fulcrum's accessibility roadmap contains past, present, and future accessibility activies with estimated timelines and status updates.

Activity

Outcome

Timeline

Status
Support applicable WCAG 2.2 AA criteria that are only "partially supported"
Improve platform conformance with WCAG 2.2 AA. Q1 2026 In progress
Assess accessibility gaps in content and create detailed remediation plans for publishers
Action plans for remediating the most used and relevant backlist content hosted on Fulcrum with timelines for title by title remediation. Q1 2026 In progress
Enable Theme options in the Fulcrum Reader
Users will be able to change the background color and text colors for a customized reading experience. Q1 2026 In progress
Add the ability for users to modify text display in Fulcrum Reader
Users can adjust word spacing, letter spacing, line heights, margins, and paragraphs to create a customized reading experience. Q1 2026 In progress
Maintain keyboard focus on search page when applying filters
Keyboard and assistive technology users maintain their location on the page when searching and browsing content, providing a better user experience. Q1 2026 In progress
Investigate compatibility with speech input assistive technology
Test various speech input assistive technologies on platform and identify any compatibility issues; explore solutions for existing and known compatibility issues. Q1 2026 In progress
Enable searching and browsing of content based on accessibility conformance
Users can find content that meets accessibility standards Q1 2026 Planned
Complete medium priority accessibility improvements to the Fulcrum Reader
Improve the usability of keyboard and assistive technology navigation of the Fulcrum Reader. Q1 2026 Planned
Add accessibility metadata for PDF book content
Users can easily identify accessibility features available in PDF ebooks. Q1/Q2 2026 Planned
Improve the usability of navigating search hit highlights in Fulcrum Reader
Enables equitable access to search highlighting for assistive technology users by not solely relying on color to indicate search result matches in text. - Not yet planned
Add the ability to insert language tags to metadata fields
Allows additional metadata fields to indicate language shifts from English. - Not yet planned
Completed Work
Add help support for using system-based text-to-speech tools in Fulcrum Reader
Users have detailed guidance on using a variety of text-to-speech tools in the Fulcrum Reader. Q3 2025 Completed
Enable users to customize fonts in Fulcrum Reader
Users can apply serif, sans serif, monospace, or dyslexic fonts to EPUBs in the Fulcrum Reader. Q2 2025 Completed
Display "Request Accessible Copy" button for titles that do not meet accessibility conformance
Make it easy to request file for accessibility remediation. Q2 2025 Completed
Display title-level accessibility metadata
Users can easily identify accessibility features available within an ebook. Q2 2025 Completed
Revise and update several VPAT®s, including the platform VPAT
VPAT®s upgraded to report conformance on WCAG 2.2 and follow VPAT® Version 2.5 INT, providing a more comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of platform accessibility. Q2 2025 Completed
Update Fulcrum EPUB Specification
Now includes more examples and details on making EPUB accessible, along with best practices and guidelines for semantic markup of HTML. Q1 2025 Completed
Ensure information buttons on the authentication page have unique values.
Screen reader users can now accurately identify and interact with information buttons on the authentication page. Q3 2024 Completed
Configuring the time-based media player's headings and values to be unique and assigned the correct heading level in the Fulcrum Reader
Screen reader users can now better understand the structure and controls of embedded media players within ebooks. Q3 2024 Completed
Ensure links distinguish themselves from surrounding non-linked text
Users with low vision or color blindness can clearly identify and navigate links. Q3 2024 Completed
Announce loading status to assistive technologies when content is loading in the Fulcrum Reader
Screen reader users are now informed when ebook content is loading, providing better feedback and reducing confusion. Q3 2024 Completed
Revised several VPAT®s including core master VPAT®
Up-to-date accessibility documentation conformance documentation. Q1 2023 Completed
Upgraded AblePlayer to a newer version
Screen reader users can now access improved video descriptions and interact with transcripts more effectively. Q1 2022 Completed
Released Audio/Video Guidelines for accessibility
Authors can now follow clear guidance to create accessible multimedia content. Q1 2022 Completed
Updated Fulcrum PDF Reader core version
Users can now experience better focus management, improved table rendering, and clearer DOI information through ARIA labels. Q1 2022 Completed
Reformatted all fixed-layout page-image ebooks into structured PDFs
Screen reader users can now more easily navigate and understand older e-book formats. Q2 2022 Completed
Remediated over 80 EPUBs and updated EPUB workflow
Users can now download EPUBs that meet accessibility standards and include long descriptions for complex images. Q4 2022 Completed
Updated all VPAT®s to Version 2.4 INT
Users can now reference standardized accessibility reports across all collections. Q3 2021 Completed
Collaborated with DAISY Consortium to test Fulcrum Reader with NVDA and Edge Read Aloud
Screen reader users can now expect improved compatibility and functionality with popular tools. Q3 2021 Completed
Conducted two accessibility-focused sprints addressing issues from MSU UARC usability testing
Screen reader users can now benefit from enhanced semantic encoding and better overall support. Q3 2021 Completed
Conducted assistive technology usability testing with MSU UARC
Identified issues for assistive technology users and users with limited dexterity, created plans and work ticket to address issues. Q1 2020 Completed
Updated VPAT®s from Version 2.1 to 2.3 INT and added collection-specific VPAT®s
Users can now access more granular accessibility details per collection. Q1/Q2 2020 Completed
Released multiple platform-wide accessibility improvements
Users can now navigate content more easily with clearer links, improved contrast, and available transcripts. Q3 2020 Completed
Collaborated with DAISY Consortium for EPUBTest evaluation
Users can now expect ongoing improvements as accessibility gaps are identified and resolved. Q3 2019 Completed
Underwent high-level PDF and accessibility evaluations by Deque for BTAA
Users can now access evaluations and see improvements based on third-party recommendations. Q3 2019 Completed
Released Fulcrum EPUB Specification
Authors and publishers can now create EPUBs that adhere to consistent accessibility standards. Q1 2019 Completed
Conducted accessibility evaluation through Rackham Public Engagement Fellowship
Screen reader users can now navigate the platform more effectively due to identified improvements. Q3 2018 Completed
Conducted user testing with MSU Usability and Accessibility Research Consulting (MSU UARC)
Users can now benefit from platform changes informed by real-world testing of assistive technology. Q1 2018 Completed

Conformance of Content

Fulcrum provides hosting for a number of different publishers and we are a signatory of the Accessible Book Consortium's Charter for Accessible Publishing. Accessible content is the primary responsibility of each publisher yet to uphold our accessibility commitments to the ABC, we work with publishers to support and improve the accessibility of their content. Below you will find links to VPATs and accessibility features for large collections hosted on Fulcrum.

ACLS Humanities EBook

Please see the ACLS Humanities EBook Collection accessibility page for VPATs and detailed accessibility conformance information.

BAR Digital Collection

Conformance last evaluated: October 2025

For content conformance information, please see the BAR Digital Collection Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®) Version 2.5 INT (Oct 2025).

The BAR Digital Collection is made up of born-digital monographs and reformatted monographs that were page scanned from print into digital format. The format and origin will often inform the accessibility of that content:

  • PDFs created by reformatting print to digital include page scans with uncorrected OCR text layer to enable functionality with text-to-speech and assitive technology software. Bookmarks have been added ot these PDFs to enable content navigation within reading systems, including the Fulcrum Reader. However, these PDFs do not contain stuctural tagging and markup to identify document structure such as headings and tables. They do not include textual descriptions of images.
  • Born digital PDFs include a text layer, bookmarks, and linked table of contents. They will work with text-to-speech and assitive technology, but there are some limitations: they do not include structural markup and tagging and they do not include textual descriptions of images.

To request remediation of any content in the BAR Digital Collection, please complete Fulcrum's accessible file request form.

Big Ten Open Books Collection

All titles in the Big Ten Open Books Collection are available in EPUB and PDF format. The EPUB formats have been reformatted to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AA and EPUB Accessibility 1.1 conformance. The EPUB format is available for online reading and download through the Fulcrum Reader. The PDF format is made available for download-only. PDF formats have varying levels of accessibility conformance, most notably PDF formats may not contain textual descriptions of images but do have baseline accessibility features and will work with assistive technology.

A VPAT® for the collection with detailed conformance reporting is slated to be available in Q1 2026.

Lever Press

It is the goal of Lever Press that every title containing illustrations also include textual descriptions of those images, and that audio and video content associated with titles include transcripts and captions.

Lever Press titles are open access and freely available.

To request remediation or a file download of any Lever Press title, send and email with the title of the content, your preferred format, and the URL to mpub-help@umich.edu.

Lived Places Publishing

A detailed accessibility evaluation of content is currently underway and a VPAT® is slated to be made available in Q1 2026.

To request remediation of any content in the Lived Places Publishing collections, please complete Fulcrum's accessible file request form.

University of Michigan Press Ebook Collection

Please see the U-M Press Ebook Collection accessibility page for VPATs and detailed accessibility conformance information.

Resources for Creating Accessible Content

There are several resources the Fulcrum team has developed to assist publishers in the creation of accessible content. These resources, as well as others on the web are detailed below.

  • Describing Visual Resources Toolkit

    Funded by the Kress Foundation, this resource was developed by the University of Michigan Press in partnership with leaders and experts in the fields of accessibility for libraries, museums, and archives. The resource aims to help authors, publishers, and others develop a best practice for describing images in the humanities and social sciences.

  • Fulcrum EPUB Specification

    In partnership with Apex Covantage we developed and released a specification for the creation of highly accessible and Fulcrum compliant EPUBs. The specification was released under an Apache 2.0 License and can be re-used in-house by publisher's production teams, or supplied to vendors that assist in the creation of a publisher's ebook files.

  • Accessibility and Publishing, by Stephanie S. Rosen

    Written by University of Michigan Library's Accessibility Specialist, this open access ebook is a primer for publishers looking to gain an orientation to the complex landscape of accessible publishing in the scholarly ecosystem.

  • Book Industry Study Group Guide to Accessible Publishing and Cheat Sheets

    A live, up-to-date guide for publishers looking to start making their content accessible.

  • Audio/Video Guidelines for Michigan Publishing/U-M Press Authors

    A live, up-to-date accessibility guide for authors and publishers who have time-based media that will be hosted on the Fulcrum platform, developed by Michigan Publishing's Accessibility Working Group.