Inclusive Publishing

The Key to Accessible Digital Books

George Kerscher

Secretary General, DAISY Consortium

Technology for Life - Glasgow, Scotland

September 7, 2012

Who is the DAISY Consortium?

• We are a global consortium of organizations committed to a common vision and mission, which pools and coordinates resources to deliver global change.

Vision:

People have equal access to information & knowledge regardless of disability; a right confirmed by the UN convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Mission:

• Work to create the best way to read and publish, for everybody, in the 21st Century• Foster a global partnership between civil

society, publishing and technology industries, standards bodies and governments, that builds a more effective solution, for everyone.

So people with disabilities can say:

• I can access the same information at the same time & cost• I have a great reading experience with

eyes, ears or fingers• I can easily find the publications I want to

read• More publications with built-in accessibility

are available for me to purchase or borrow

People with disabilities can say, cont’d:

• There are far more accessible publications available to me• I have control over my reading experience• The reading technologies I use are

affordable and easy to use: DAISY technology helps me

Born Digital Publishing:

• People want to read anywhere, any time on every device• Rapid adoption in the publishing industry• Need for accessibility clearly communicated

EPUB 3 and Accessibility:

The incorporation of the DAISY accessibility requirements into the non-proprietaryEPUB 3 standard holds significant promise for the increased availability of commercialproducts that are useable, out of the box, by a wide range of consumers.

Specification is available at http://idpf.org/epub/30

Short list of what needs to be in place:

• Commitments from the accessibility community• Standards• Guidelines• Samples• Validation tools and accessibility checkers• Accessible reading systems• Math support• Accessible images and graphics• Beautiful user interfaces• User friendly ways to purchase content

What is Built-in Accessibility in Commercial Publications?

• A mainstream publication• Useable directly by people reading with

their eyes, ears or fingers• With no need for modification• For example, currently:– Works with screen readers– Has great navigation– Pictorial material adequately described

What Does Customized for Accessibility Mean?

• A separate version of a mainstream publication• Modified to be read by disabled persons using

their eyes, ears or fingers to read

This may include:• Re-design for Braille, adding additional

accessible images and graphics and speech narration

• Often distributed separately via a special library

Spheres to Influence and Help:

• Standards• Publishing• Library Communities• Technology (reading systems, authoring

tools)• Education• Government • Blind and print disabled persons

Conclusion:

The DAISY Consortium believes that by working across the publishing industry’s value chain from standards and laws through the publishing library and distribution industries, to people with disabilities, we will achieve our vision of people having equal access to information and knowledge, regardless of disabilities.