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Services to Patrons with Disabilities

Overview

​The University of Oklahoma Libraries is committed to providing equal access to information for all faculty, staff, students and members of the OU community. In compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), and in collaboration with university policies and the OU Accessibility and Disability Resource Center, library faculty and staff will make good faith efforts to accommodate reasonable requests for assistance in obtaining, accessing, and making use of library resources, materials and services.

Services

OU Libraries offer many services for patrons with disabilities. If you have special needs, please contact the library in advance for accommodation.

Book and Article Retrieval

  • ​OU Libraries will retrieve books and print journal articles from the stacks for patrons in a wheelchair or on crutches.
  • OU Libraries will also retrieve books for patrons to be picked up at a later time.

Proxy Cards
Certain borrowers may designate another person or persons as their proxy, who may check out library materials in their name. A faculty member or administrator may designate a student assistant as a proxy; a faculty member or administrator may request a proxy authorization for a spouse or child, or a disabled student or staff member may have a helper designated by Disability Services as a proxy.

In all these cases the person who signs for the proxy will be responsible for all items checked out under the proxy arrangement. Any fines or lost items are the sole responsibility of the person who fills out the proxy form, and not the proxy holder. This must be clearly understood by the person who fills the proxy application form.

Every time your proxy presents his or her ID to check out items, he or she will be asked by the desk attendant if these are for his or her own personal use or for you.

When you have a proxy user, you should make an effort to check your account from time to time to see what has been borrowed in your name. To view your record, Login to the libraries' website, and click "My Books" under the login box for a current list of items checked out to you.

Please alert the circulation department as soon as possible if your proxy arrangement changes for any reason. If you feel that your proxy holder is abusing your account, you should also alert the Circulation Department at (405) 325-3341 as soon as possible so we can remove your proxy holder from your account.

Proxy arrangements may be set up by calling (405) 325-3341, by completing the web form, or by visiting the Circulation Desk at Bizzell or any branch library.

Sooner Xpress
Sooner Xpress is the University of Oklahoma Campus Document Delivery Service for faculty, staff and students. Sooner Xpress provides digitized copies of journal articles, digitized copies of book chapters, and books from the OU Libraries' collection to faculty, staff, and students for their personal research.

The best way to request materials through Sooner Xpress is through the catalog. Within the catalog, view the detailed record for the item you wish to request. From within the record, click on the "Request via Sooner Xpress" link and complete the form. You will need to be logged into the libraries' website to request materials.

You may also use the online Sooner Xpress form to request an item. Please make sure the item you are requesting is held by the OU Libraries by checking the catalog. Please include as much information as possible. If you have a departmental account that you wish to use, please include the account number in your request.

Any questions about this service should be directed to Interlibrary Loan at (405)325-6422 or by email to Interlibrary Loan.

Software/Hardware
The Accessibility and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) maintains a list of assistive technologies available on campus on their website.

Facilities
OU Libraries branches have wheel chair accessible entrances. Below are directions to accessing the building and contact information for each branch:

Parking

There are several parking lots on campus that provide disability parking. Students that need to park in these designated spaces should display both their OU Parking Permit and a state-issued handicap permit. Vehicles must be parked in a lot designated for the specific permit, i.e. commuter parking, faculty/staff, housing, etc.

Visitors need to display both a visitors parking permit and a state-issued handicap permit. Vehicles must be parked in locations designated specifically for visitor parking.

For more information, view the Map of University of Oklahoma Parking.

Other resources: