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Submitted by hsltser@mcmaster.ca on
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes: PDFs are not image-only
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes: PDFs are not locked.
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Are alternative descriptions provided?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The newest (2025-2026) had alternative descriptions. The older PDFs (approximately older than 2010) did not. 15+ PDFs were reviewed.
Is primary language specified?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Most PDFs older than 2020 did not have the primary language specified. 15+ PDFs were reviewed.

Is reliable character encoding provided?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: 60-70 % of PDFs passed. 15 PDFs were checked.
Are all page elements tagged?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The newest (2025-2026) were tagged. The older PDFs (approximately older than 2010) did not pass, and the tagging was inconsistent and unpredictable.15+ PDFs were reviewed.
Are list and table structure correct?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The newest (2025-2026) passed list and table structure, but did not have table summaries. None of the older PDFs (approximately older than 2010) passed the table or list structure. 15+ PDFs were reviewed.
Does the Read Out Loud function read the PDF in a logical way, preserving the order of the text and various sections?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The newest (2025-2026) eBooks were read aloud in a logical order preserving the order of text and sections. Most of the older PDFs (approximately older than 2010), would skip sections of text, read out of order or have blank pages that were not read aloud at all.15+ PDFs were reviewed.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The occasional book would have a blank space read aloud as " warning empty page"
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: If Alt text was not available, there are textual alternatives describing figures.
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Some cover pages were image only and were not tagged or have alt text.
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: If Alt text not available, there are textual alternatives describing images.
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Tables not tagged well. Very rarely had table summary available.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Older PDFs (approximately older than 2010) are not always tagged properly to allow navigation. 15+ PDFs were reviewed.
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Are videos captioned?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no videos.
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no videos.
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no videos.
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no videos.
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no videos.
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no videos.
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no videos.
Do videos include described video, or if not, is there a text equivalent of the video provided on the same page or via a link?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no videos.
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There are no videos.
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There is no audio.
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: There is no audio.
eResource: Taylor & Francis eBooks
eResource Type: eBooks
Vendor: Taylor & Francis
Institution: McMaster University
Score: B-

Key Findings

Weaknesses

  • PDFs are all searchable and the newest PDFs were tagged appropriately (2025-2026). Most of the older PDF were not tagged.

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only? Never PDFs are not image-only no images
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)? Never PDFs are not locked. no images
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable? Always no images

Tagged PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are alternative descriptions provided? Sometimes The newest (2025-2026) had alternative descriptions. The older PDFs (approximately older than 2010) did not. 15+ PDFs were reviewed. no images
Is primary language specified? Sometimes Most PDFs older than 2020 did not have the primary language specified. 15+ PDFs were reviewed. no images
Is reliable character encoding provided? Sometimes 60-70 % of PDFs passed. 15 PDFs were checked. no images
Are all page elements tagged? Sometimes The newest (2025-2026) were tagged. The older PDFs (approximately older than 2010) did not pass, and the tagging was inconsistent and unpredictable.15+ PDFs were reviewed. no images
Are list and table structure correct? Sometimes The newest (2025-2026) passed list and table structure, but did not have table summaries. None of the older PDFs (approximately older than 2010) passed the table or list structure. 15+ PDFs were reviewed. no images

Structure: Reading Order

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the Read Out Loud function read the PDF in a logical way, preserving the order of the text and various sections? Sometimes The newest (2025-2026) eBooks were read aloud in a logical order preserving the order of text and sections. Most of the older PDFs (approximately older than 2010), would skip sections of text, read out of order or have blank pages that were not read aloud at all.15+ PDFs were reviewed. no images
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”? Sometimes The occasional book would have a blank space read aloud as " warning empty page" no images
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document? Always no images

Magnification

Question Answer Notes Images
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read? Always no images

Images

Positioning of Images

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find? Always no images

Alternative Description

Question Answer Notes Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Always If Alt text was not available, there are textual alternatives describing figures. no images
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Sometimes Some cover pages were image only and were not tagged or have alt text. no images
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Always If Alt text not available, there are textual alternatives describing images. no images

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate? Never Tables not tagged well. Very rarely had table summary available. no images
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers? Sometimes Older PDFs (approximately older than 2010) are not always tagged properly to allow navigation. 15+ PDFs were reviewed. no images

Additional Navigational Aids

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks? Always no images
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document? Always no images

Video Captions

Question Answer Notes Images
Are videos captioned? Not Applicable There are no videos. no images
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive? Not Applicable There are no videos. no images
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)? Not Applicable There are no videos. no images
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video? Not Applicable There are no videos. no images
Are the captions in sync with spoken words? Not Applicable There are no videos. no images
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided? Not Applicable There are no videos. no images
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided? Not Applicable There are no videos. no images

Described Video

Question Answer Notes Images
Do videos include described video, or if not, is there a text equivalent of the video provided on the same page or via a link? Not Applicable There are no videos. no images
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents? Not Applicable There are no videos. no images

Audio Accessibility

Question Answer Notes Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip? Not Applicable There is no audio. no images
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio? Not Applicable There is no audio. no images
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