2024: Developments
DAISY leads several open-source development initiatives that deliver practical solutions to Members and the wider community.
Accessible Publishing Knowledge Base
Known globally as the definitive EPUB accessibility reference resource, the Knowledge Base is continually updated to reflect the latest best practices and support users in creating the most accessible EPUB files. Updates included improved navigation and content display, new resources on metadata, and details on text direction.
https://kb.daisy.org/publishing
Ace by DAISY
The Accessibility Checker tool for EPUB is used widely in both the specialist and mainstream publishing. Work continued behind the scenes to update Ace to support the latest testing processes and newer technologies.
https://inclusivepublishing.org/ace
Ace SMART
SMART is the Simple Manual Accessibility Reporting Tool for EPUB designed to aid people in performing the accessibility tests which cannot be automated. Updated included checking against WCAG 2.2 by default, and a discovery metadata wizard.
https://inclusivepublishing.org/smart
InclusivePublishing.org
The Inclusive Publishing site is established as the leading accessible publishing resource, regularly accessed by publishing professionals globally. The site is continually updated to keep the industry informed of news, technical developments, events, best practices and legislative developments.
https://inclusivepublishing.org
Obi
Our audiobook creation tool, Obi, is used globally by many specialist organizations as their primary audio book creation tool. A new major release delivered upgrades to the back-end, providing a robust framework on current technology. Improvements were also implemented to address known issues and improve To-Do functionality and time-based navigation.
https://daisy.org/obi/
Pipeline
Delivering a flexible yet powerful engine for cross-platform document processing and conversion, the DAISY Pipeline is a powerful framework used at the core of library services globally. Available as both a command line and desktop app, Pipeline received a series of updates including adding wider support for AI text to speech services, as well as conversion script enhancements for braille, audio, EPUB and DAISY formats.
https://daisy.org/pipeline/
Reading System Testing
We continue to test a wide range of reading systems to assess and offer feedback to developers and consumers about their accessibility, publishing the data on epubtest.org for everyone to review. Updates were made to the test books, including the addition of tests for MathML support.
https://epubtest.org
WordToEPUB Tool
The simple yet powerful converter tool for transforming accessible Word documents to EPUB is widely used in education, libraries and by small and independent publishers. Minor updates were performed on the code, with improvements also made to the guidance in readiness for a future release.
https://daisy.org/wordtoepub/
W3C Publishing
Throughout 2024 the DAISY team continued to drive accessibility in W3C in Publishing Groups and through W3C leadership, contributing to the maintenance of EPUB 3.3, EPUB Accessibility 1.1, EPUB Reading Systems 3.3, DPUB ARIA, Accessibility Platform Architecture and the User Experience Guide for Displaying Accessibility Metadata.
https://www.w3.org/publishing/
Special Projects
eBraille Project
The working group of international experts made significant progress in the creation of a modern, flexible, file format for electronic braille. Where possible the new format is being formed using existing mainstream technologies to ease development and facilitate adoption. Work toward the new format is being widely supported by organizations, including by the World Braille Council. Conversion tools are currently in development and scheduled for wider testing and release in 2025.
https://daisy.org/ebraille/
EPUBCheck
Under contract to W3C, EPUBCheck, the conformance checker for EPUB, received a maintenance release to address identified bugs and add some small but important features.
https://www.w3.org/publishing/epubcheck/
European Inclusive Publishing Forum
The European Accessibility Act continues to act as a motivator for parties across the publishing spectrum to work towards successful implementation, and the forum provides a platform for sharing best practices and resolving common challenges between regions implementing legislation.
https://daisy.org/euipf/
Music Braille
The music braille project is now in the implementation phase, supporting the adoption of the tools, widening the global network of practitioners, promoting accessible music to mainstream publishers, sharing teaching resources and facilitating communication.
https://daisy.org/music-braille/
https://daisy.org/accessiblemusicpublishing
Next: Training & Support
2024 Annual Report Index: