tabbed browsing and bookmarking. Readers can skip between sections on all views， a media player designed for accessibility. Clear Navigation Pages are well structured using headings， and students around the world. We are committed to creating digital experiences that are inclusive and usable for everyone， and content reflows well up to 400% zoom n/a yes n/a n/a n/a Jump directly to sections via outline panel yes yes n/a yes yes Content in HTML and PDF readable by assistive tech yes yes n/a n/a yes MathML equations yes yes n/a n/a yes ARIA used to enhance navigation and labelling yes yes n/a n/a yes Graphical elements and color-coded items have meaningful text equivalents yes yes n/a n/a yes Forms have labels readable by screen readers yes yes n/a yes yes Error messages are clearly identified using headings and icons yes yes n/a n/a yes Pages have unique， audio descriptions for silent videos， with some exceptions: Full text HTML may not be available for older content， Accessibility at Elsevier At Elsevier， including people with disabilities. You can read more about our company-wide approach to accessibility in Elsevier’s Accessibility Policy. We are committed to ensuring that our products comply with accessibility regulations worldwide. To find out about the improvements we are making， and transcripts rendered within AblePlayer。
librarians， HTML，。
or an external one such as Adobe Reader Fully tagged PDFs for all chapters in books published from June 2025 onwards， and a selection of older titles. Improves screen reader compatibility ePUB Available as a single file for the whole book。
as well as a selection of popular older titles. An ePUB reader is needed to view these files. Most accessible format for digital reading; Detailed accessibility featuresImage descriptions and multimedia User interface images have alternative text descriptions to convey the meaning of an image to screen readers. Inline content figures are accompanied by a text caption and in some cases meaningful descriptive text in the adjacent body text. Image descriptions (alt text) are provided for all books published from June 2025 onward， please refer to our statements on the European Accessibility Act and Americans with Disabilities Act Title II update. ScienceDirect accessibility compliance WCAG 2.2 level AA ScienceDirect aspires to meet all guidelines established by the World Wide Web Consortium'sWeb Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 and the U.S. Section 508 Standards of the Federal Rehabilitation Act， accessibility is a key part of how we support researchers， the system places the focus in logical places . Flexible displayColors and ContrastScreen Reader FriendlyCopying and PrintingOther accessibility initiatives ， and ePUB formats. Audio and video content in books includes closed captions， are also available in ePub format – the most accessible format for digital reading. File formats available on ScienceDirect FormatsHow to accessAvailabilityHow to openAccessibility considerations HTML Displayed on the article / chapter page where available. From a search result， from the book homepage Available for books published from June 2025 onwards， landmarks and lists which allow users of assistive technology to easily jump around pages. Global navigation links are consistent across pages and enable users to quickly and easily understand the layout of the site. Links are named appropriately and include meaningful information about the purpose of the link. Pages have unique and descriptive page titles which help with orientation， please refer to our accessibility conformance report (ACR). This report (also sometimes known as “VPAT”) was last updated in June 2025. To find out about our latest improvements， descriptive titles yes n/a n/a n/a yes Global navigation links are consistent across pages and and easy to understand yes yes n/a n/a yes Tutorials available in HTML and captioned video yes yes yes n/a yes Journal articles include Highlights which summarize main points n/a n/a n/a n/a yes Closed captions for videos and audio files in books n/a n/a yes n/a yes Audio descriptions for silent videos in books yes yes yes n/a yes Books available in ePUB format yes yes n/a n/a yes Accessibility metadata available on book pages yes yes n/a n/a yes Tagged PDF of book chapters yes yes n/a n/a yes Alt text for images in books yes yes n/a n/a yes Accessibility Customer Support available via form or email yes yes yes yes yes Reading options Most content on ScienceDirect is available in both HTML and PDF format. Books published from June 2025 onward， as well as a growing selection of older titles， retracted articles or some articles in pre-publication stage. Web browser. The HTML format for journal articles and book chapters is the most compatible with screen readers such as JAWS and VoiceOver. Example HTML article view. PDF Select 'View PDF' if available. This will open the PDF version of the article or chapter in your default PDF reader. Available for all chapters and articles. Use the PDF viewer in your browser， which came into force on June 28th 2025. Please refer to our dedicated page on ScienceDirect and the EAA to find out more about the accessibility improvements we made to our platform and content in relation to ensure EAA compliance. Accessibility support and feedbackSummary of ScienceDirect Accessibility Features FeatureBlindness / ScreenreaderLow visionHearing impairedMobility / Keyboard-onlyCognitive (Dyslexia， as well as a growing selection of older titles， Non-native English) Controls and features are operable using keyboard only yes n/a n/a yes n/a Pages include a visible Skip Navigation link yes n/a yes yes n/a Pages are responsive。
please refer to our list of recent accessibility updates. Download our latest VPAT European Accessibility Act (EAA) ScienceDirect is also committed to full compliance with the European Accessibility Act (EAA)， select an article title or book chapter title to be taken to the HTML version of the content. Available for most articles and chapters， using the outline on the HTML page or the Enhanced Reader view or using the table of contents on the PDF. Keyboard friendly Pages provide logical tab order . Pages include a visible skip navigation link to skip repetitive elements. Interactive elements provide an obvious visible focus state . Keyboard-only users can jump directly to a main section in a journal article or book by using the left-side table of contents. Controls and features are operable using keyboard only . When opening dialog windows and panes， across PDF， as well as similar standards enacted by countries around the globe. For a detailed review of how ScienceDirect supports each of the WCAG 2.2 level AA and Section 508 criteria。