June 18, 2020 - New feature: ATRS role switch

Start Time: June 18, 2020
End Time: June 18, 2020
Outage: None
Impact: Registered service providers for the Accessible Text Request Service (ATRS)

In order to retrieve copyrighted books to provide to their eligible patrons with print disabilities, ATRS service providers must switch their role.

Role switch feature

The HathiTrust Accessible Text Request Service allows a designated service provider to log into HathiTrust and retrieve copyrighted books, in order to provide the books to eligible patrons who are blind or have print disabilities.

An ATRS service provider may be using HathiTrust for multiple purposes. In addition to retrieving books for your users who have print disabilities, you may wish to browse the HathiTrust collection for your own purposes or, if you’re a librarian, you may be assisting sighted users who are not eligible for ATRS.

To support these multiple roles, we have turned on a feature that allows you to switch between your regular “member” role and your “ATRS” role. The “member” role is the default role, and you will need to follow these steps in order to access copyrighted books for your eligible users with print disabilities:

1. Open HathiTrust in your web browser.
2. Select “LOG IN.”
3. In the “Select your institution” drop-down menu, select your university or college.
4. When prompted, enter the username and password you use to log into services at your university.
5. Arrive at “Search HathiTrust’s digital library” on the HathiTrust main page.
6. In the header, select “Member”. A page will load, prompting you to “Choose a role.”
7. Select the radio button for “Accessible Text Request Service (ATRS)” Provider” and select the “Submit” button.
8. Find the book that the patron requested, either by using the url they provided or by using HathiTrust’s search functionality.
9. In Search Results, locate the item you wish to access. Select the “Full View”, “Limited (search-only)”, or “Temporary Access” link to open the book, or select the “Catalog Record” link to view the record and all associated items.
10. The book pages should now load in your browser, with a banner message along the top that reads “This work may be in copyright. You have full view access to this item based on your account privileges. Information about use can be found in the HathiTrust Access and Use Policy.”
11. You can now download the book in the desired format for your user.
12. When you have finished downloading the book(s) requested by your eligible users, you can return to browsing HathiTrust for other uses by selecting “ATRS” in the header bar and selecting the radio button for “Member.”

If you experience any problems or are unable to access the option to switch your role by clicking on “Member,” please contact HathiTrust User Support at feedback@issues.hathitrust.org.