Tip: Text-to-Speech Features in GALILEO Resources

Several GALILEO resources have recently added text-to-speech, or read aloud, features so that users can have the text of an article read to them. This feature can be very helpful for students struggling with reading or for those who just prefer to listen to the spoken word.

Britannica Elementary and Encyclopædia Britannica Online for Kids (Public Library Edition) both include a small speaker icon at the beginning of each paragraph of the encyclopedia article if younger students want the article read to them.

EBSCOhost databases, such as Academic Search Complete, MasterFILE Premier, and MAS Ultra, offer a Listen feature for articles with HTML full text (not for PDF full text, just HTML). Just above the HTML text of the article, there is a button with a speaker icon to click for listening. It also includes options to select the accent of the reader (American, British, or Australian) as well as the reading speed.

For K-12 schools and the higher education institutions that purchase SIRS resources, SIRS Issues Researcher includes an .mp3 file with each article as well as a read-aloud icon that can be dragged to any place in the article to start reading where needed.

To try out any of these features, go to the database and run a search. Select an article to see the text-to-speech features.