Changes to Access to Audiobooks via Legimus

The University Library would like to inform you about changes affecting access to audiobooks through Legimus. Legimus is the Swedish Agency for Accessible Media's (MTM) digital library, through which students and others with a reading impairment resulting from a disability can borrow accessible audiobooks.

These changes have been implemented by MTM as part of a government assignment and have not been decided by the University Library.
It is important to be aware that these changes may negatively affect the study situation of students with disabilities, who may no longer have access to course literature in a format that is accessible to them. 


Summary of the Changes:

  • Not all course books will be produced as audiobooks. Due to changes in accessibility legislation, MTM will no longer produce audiobooks of course literature if a commercially available e-book is considered sufficiently accessible for the individual student and can be purchased by libraries. Available e-books may be associated with a high cost per title and may have restrictions on the number of concurrent users (typically one to three users at a time). The library cannot reserve these titles exclusively for students with accessibility needs. In some cases, high costs may also prevent the library from acquiring a particular e-book.
     
  • Students may need to use multiple platforms to access course literature. Instead of having all materials collected in Legimus, students may need to use several different e-book platforms. This can increase the cognitive load for students with reading impairments, who must navigate multiple systems, and may create additional challenges for students with executive functioning difficulties.
     

  • Longer processing times for access to Legimus. Students who need access to Legimus will continue to book an appointment with library staff. However, the library can no longer approve access directly. Instead, library staff and the student must submit an application to MTM, which will make the final decision. Students cannot apply on their own; all applications must be submitted through the library.

     

Additional information

  • The library is no longer permitted to proactively order audiobooks for upcoming courses to ensure that literature is available at the start of a course. All requests must be linked to a specific student. The production time for a new audiobook is approximately eight weeks, so it is important that students place requests well in advance.
     
  • Since Legimus was divided into two services during the autumn semester of 2025, only students can search for and access course literature in Legimus. Course literature is not accessible before studies begin or after studies have ended. Teachers do not have access to information about course books in Legimus.
     

Questions and Further Collaboration
We are happy to answer questions from both staff and students and would appreciate it if you could share this information within your department.
You are also welcome to invite us to relevant meetings or forums. We would be pleased to discuss how we can best support students under these new conditions and work together to identify effective solutions.

Contact:

Marie-Louise Eriksson, tf Bibliotekschef
marie-louise.eriksson@kau.se

Anna-Britta Nilsson, Verksamhetssamordnare Medieförsörjning
anna-britta.nilsson@kau.se