Barriers inhibiting the availability and accessibility of digital reading in higher education

This article investigates the barriers to digital reading at university level from two perspectives: first, how the (un)availability of digital texts affects students’ reading practices negatively, and second, how accessibility poses a significant challenge to engagement in digital reading for academic purposes. It derives from a broader research project that focused on student and staff engagement with digital reading. Data was gathered from students and staff from a wide range of disciplines, although respondents were predominantly from the Humanities, subjects which traditionally have a heavy focus on reading. The research underlines the factors that prevent equitable engagement in digital reading and highlights misalignment between student, staff and institutional practices, identifying issues such as digital poverty, inequitable access to technology and deficiencies in technical skills. It also reveals issues associated with lack of support and guidance, as well as limitations in pedagogies for teaching digital reading. Importantly, it exposes physical barriers, mental health problems, learning difficulties, and digital distraction as key challenges limiting the engagement of some learners with digital texts. The article closes by proposing a systemic reflection on existing digital reading practices and pedagogies, calling for further investigation into how the availability of digital texts can be improved and how practices of digital reading can be made more accessible for students. Although the initial research focused on the Humanities, these findings have wide-ranging implications for all disciplines and for all students, especially those who face pre-existing barriers to accessible and inclusive reading, whether due to health issues, learning difficulties or socio-economic factors.