For Librarians: How to Set Up ATRS

Through this service, users who are blind or print disabled can request copies of any copyrighted book. Copyrighted books are listed as “limited (search-only)” in the HathiTrust Digital Library Collection. HathiTrust members have to set up this service, and requests for copyrighted books are made to the staff member who is designated as the contact at your university. This service can help minimize the work that your disability office does to scan and convert print books into accessible formats.

Please also see this webinar recording from September 2020 on “HathiTrust 101: Accessible Text Request Service.”

Set up this service at your university or library

In order to take advantage of this service, the following steps must be followed. Each step is described in more detail below.

  1. Designate a contact.
  2. Complete and submit a copy of our agreement.
  3. Configure secure access.
  4. Renew access annually in order to maintain this service.

1. Designate a contact

A staff member at your university or library must be selected as the designated service provider. This individual will be responsible for receiving requests from patrons, verifying their eligibility, accessing HathiTrust to retrieve the requested work, and distributing the work to the patron.

Each university or library can have up to four staff members registered to fulfill these requests. Contact us if you need additional staff to have this access. This individual may be located in a university library or in a disability office.

2. Complete the agreement

Fill out the following agreement for your university or library:

The form should be printed out and signed by an “authorized representative” who has authority to sign on behalf of your institution. This is typically someone at level of an associate university librarian or director or higher. If you are not sure who can sign as an authorized representative, please consult with the administrators at your organization.

On the form, under “Public ‘help’ address” indicate the email address that patrons should use for submitting requests. Alternatively, this could be a url for a webpage. This help address will be included on the list at http://bit.ly/acc-texts, which your patrons will consult to determine how to request an accessible text.

After the authorized representative and the designated service provider have signed the printed form, scan and email it to support@hathitrust.org.

3. Configure access

Once we have received the form, we will work with the designated service provider to set you up for access. We can either support access via a static, non-NAT IP address or via two-factor authentication.

  • Multi-factor authentication (preferred): If your university or library has enabled multi-factor authentication, we may be able to rely on this for secure access. Your university identity provider must indicate to HathiTrust when multi-factor authentication is used during authentication via the SAML AuthnContextClassRef element, preferably using the standard REFEDS MFA profile. You can check whether your identity provider already meets multifactor requirements using the NIH eRA compliance check tool. You will be able to access copyrighted material anywhere by logging into HathiTrust with your university or library account. (Indicate on page 4 of the registration form if you are configured to use multi-factor for access)
  • Static, non-NAT IP address: Alternatively, you can access this service via a static, non-NAT IP address IP address which will be registered in our systems. You will only be able to access copyrighted material by logging into HathiTrust with your university or library account and by accessing HathiTrust from the IP address that you have indicated on the form.

Once we have confirmed the details for secure access, you will receive an automated email invitation to register for the service. The email will contain a unique, temporary password and a link for registration. Please click the link to register within 24 hours. If you fail to log in within the 24 hour period, email HathiTrust and request a new password.

  • Service providers using a static, non-NAT IP address: The computer you use to register in this step will be the only computer you can use to access copyrighted content on HathiTrust. Click the link in the email while using the computer with the static, non-NAT IP address from which you intend to access copyrighted books.

After you’ve successfully registered and our internal processes have completed, you’ll receive an automatic email confirming your account, typically within 24 hours. At this point, you can log into HathiTrust and access copyrighted books to provide to your patrons.

4. Renew access annually

Your access will automatically expire every year in June, unless your authorized representative takes action to renew your access. Typically, the person who was indicated as the authorized representative on the agreement will receive an automated email 60 days before your access expires. In order to continue the access for the designated service provider, the authorized representative needs to respond to the email and confirm that their access should be renewed.

If the authorized representative has left your institution or is no longer the appropriate person to approve this contact, please notify us to update the contact.

Terms of Use

Files distributed through this service may be protected by United States copyright law, and you must respect copyright protections as described in this section.

  • The coversheet included with the file indicates the copyright status and terms of use. It must remain with the work at all times. Do not separate or delete it.
  • Access is provided through this service because of your disability.
  • The file is for personal use only and may not be shared with anyone else or copied beyond purposes to facilitate personal use.
  • If you suspect unauthorized access to the files or if you have any questions about the proper use of this material, you must contact your institutional contact immediately.
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