2023: 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 Based was regularly updated to convey the latest best practices and support users in creating the most effective accessible EPUB files. The site also received a user experience update, improving the navigation and search functionality.
https://kb.daisy.org/publishing
Ace by DAISY
The Accessibility Checking for EPUB which is used widely in both the specialist and mainstream publishing, received further updates for maintenance and feature enhancement. Improvements included full support for EPUB Accessibility 1.1, the new success criteria added to WCAG 2.1 and updates to the underlying Deque aXe system.
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. SMART has received a series of updates including checking against WCAG 2.1 AA, and fully supporting the EPUB Accessibility Specification 1.1.
https://inclusivepublishing.org/smart
InclusivePublishing.org
We continue to update the wider publishing industry on developments related to accessibility, events and best practices through our website, sending regular updates via email newsletter. The site is regularly referred to as a leading publishing accessibility resource.
https://inclusivepublishing.org
Obi
Obi is used globally in many specialist organizations as their primary tool for audio book creation and editing, all of whom rely on this free tool for their content creation. The tool received further updates to ensure that it continues to deliver the requirements of our users globally. In addition, work has also taken place to update the core system in readiness to migrate to a modern technology, ensuring that Obi is well positioned for many more years of use.
https://daisy.org/obi/
Pipeline
The DAISY Pipeline is a cross-platform framework for document processing and conversion, providing the core conversion technology for organizations globally. The application received several updates to both the main code and conversion scripts to support requested improvements.
Thanks to funding from Microsoft a new DAISY Pipeline App was created to support the straightforward conversion of content by people on older technology who won’t necessarily have previous experience of using tools like this. Connecting to cloud services for audio generation the new App can make the most of the new AI powered text to speech technologies.
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. In addition to continued testing updates were also made to our testing methodology to update and incorporate further elements.
https://epubtest.org
Save As DAISY
The Save As DAISY plugin for Microsoft Word received a series of updates this year to ensure it benefits from the latest Pipeline developments.
https://daisy.org/saveasdaisy/
Tobi
Our tool for producing full text and full audio EPUB 3 and DAISY format titles is currently in maintenance mode and did not require updating but remains a popular solution for book creation.
https://daisy.org/tobi/
WordToEPUB Tool
Further updates were made to our simple yet powerful converter tool for transforming accessible Word documents to EPUB, this included expanding support to many more languages and applying updates to address user feedback.
https://daisy.org/wordtoepub/
W3C Publishing
Throughout 2023 the DAISY team continued to drive accessibility in W3C in Publishing Groups and through W3C leadership, contributing in many areas including EPUB 3.3, EPUB Accessibility 1.1, WPUB 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
A working group of international experts have continued efforts towards a modern, flexible, file format for electronic braille. The objectives were updated to clarify the problem statement, priority use cases and explore how these might be met through, or by extending existing standards.
https://daisy.org/ebraille/
EPUBCheck
Our work under contract to W3C on the development and maintenance of EPUBCheck, the global tool for validating EPUB files against the specification, concluded in 2023 with the release of version 5.1 and a subsequent minor update.
https://www.w3.org/publishing/epubcheck/
European Inclusive Publishing Forum
As legislators across the European Union are actively implementing the legal framework for the European Accessibility Act and authoring guidance in readiness for implementation in June 2025, the Forum continues to be an essential channel of communication for identifying disparity and finding commonalities between countries.
https://daisy.org/euipf/
Microsoft Low-Cost Assistive Technology Project
With thanks to Microsoft for their continued support in 2023 through their AI for Accessibility which enabled us to expand the capabilities of Pipeline, improving conversion scripts, supporting connection to the Azure AI powered voices, and working with partner organizations to design, test and refine a simplified user interface.
https://daisy.org/mlcat/
Music Braille
The project to make strategic improvements to the global music braille ecosystem has improved the creation of accessible master files, automated conversion tools, file formats and metadata. These interventions now facilitate effective and low-cost creation and sharing of music braille files, as well as the dissemination of good practice and teaching and learning materials. Our focus has now turned to promoting a ‘born accessible’ agenda in the mainstream music publishing industry, so that musicians with print-disabilities have access to mainstream scores which can be easily converted into accessible formats such as braille and Modified Stave Notation. We’ve held a second Round Table event and agreed to establish an Accessible Music Publishing Action Group.
https://daisy.org/music-braille/
https://daisy.org/accessiblemusicpublishing
Next: Training & Support
2023 Annual Report Index: