New Accessibility Metadata Guidance Benefits All
When purchasing or borrowing a digital publication from a mainstream vendor it has been challenging for people with print disabilities to make an informed decision, primarily due to the lack of information about accessibility available at the point of sale, being able to understand just how accessible a product is and whether it meets their own specific requirements. This lack of information can lead to costly and inaccessible reading experiences.
The ability to attach information about accessibility (metadata) within the content file (EPUB) and the retail feed has been around for some time but the issue remains as to how retailers and platforms should display this in an effective and user-friendly way.
In 2021 the first User Experience Guide for Displaying Accessibility Metadata was created to provide a framework for transforming and displaying accessibility metadata to users. This initiative aimed to develop a guidance document for retailers and distributors that prioritizes the most important accessibility metadata for users and explains how to display it in a practical and friendly way.
DAISY staff were integral to the development of this original guide, and a new updated draft version 2.0, renamed The Accessibility Metadata Display Guide for Digital Publications, paves the way for the European Accessibility Act, due to come into force in 2025.
How does this benefit the user experience?
The aim of this new draft guidance is to give retailers and distributors the confidence and knowledge to display important accessibility metadata elements that their readers will need to make an informed purchase. If these organizations can start using the metadata provided to them by publishers, we can expect end users to have a far easier retail or borrowing experience.
Publishers have various metadata options available to them and, if used correctly, retailers and distributors have an extensive set of information surrounding the level of accessibility within an ebook. Some distributors are actively conveying this information to their readers, such as Vital Source, enabling readers to make more informed choices. This was exemplified at the NNELS Accessible Publishing Summit this year where demonstrations of effective metadata made a huge impact on ebook selections by users.
The hope is that readers will no longer have to take a leap of faith over whether their purchase will deliver what they need in order to access content. By levelling the playing field and helping readers to make informed decisions, we can make sure that accessible content is discoverable and that the good work in the creation stages is not unnoticed.
Work is Ongoing
Version 2.0 of these guidelines is currently in draft format only and the Publishing Community Group at W3C welcomes comments on this important work. There are no quick solutions, but we look forward to reporting on how these guidelines have been of benefit to the publishing industry and, consequently, readers themselves.
GitHub Issues are preferred for discussion of this specification.
For a more detailed overview of this new version of the guidance, our metadata article on Inclusive Publishing provides more information intended for a professional publishing audience.