CSUN 2017 presentation by George Kerscher, Richard Orme, and Amaya Webster. Learn more about testing reading systems for accessibility.

1. “Digital publishing should mean regular books
can be inclusive. Come and learn how to tell
which reading systems are accessible (and legal)
for everyone.”
Accessible reading solutions from mainstream
publishers

2. Accessible reading solutions from
mainstream publishers
Amaya Webster
George Kerscher
Richard Orme

3. What is the DAISY Consortium?
The DAISY Consortium is a global Consortium of
organizations committed to equal access to
information and knowledge regardless of
disability; a right confirmed by the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities.

4. Working domains of the DAISY
Consortium
• Supporting the DAISY community: provide
expertise and technologies to support
accessible reading services
• Extending the DAISY community: expand
accessible reading services in developing and
industrialized nations
• Enabling accessible mainstream publishing:
support various mainstream publishers and
content developers to the era of born
accessible publications

5. Accessible materials from publishers
• Stick around for the presentation that follows!
“Finally, Certified Accessible Educational
Materials from Publishers”
• A baseline for accessible titles is now
established
• Built on WCAG and EPUB open standards
• EPUB a11y now managed by W3C

6. Working together
• However, accessible titles are little use if the reading
system is not usable
• Two sides of the same coin- both need attention
epubtest.org - IDPF, BISG, DAISY Collaboration

7. Reading systems a11y testing
Evaluates the accessibility features implemented
in a wide range of mainstream reading systems.
Our first goal is to ensure that fundamental
accessibility features are supported by the
mainstream reading systems.
So that customers can choose companies that
have considered the needs of everyone.

8. All users should be able to consume the
content of a document by:
• adjusting the display such as adjusting font size
and color combination
• reading the text with screen readers or read
aloud applications
• reading the text with a refreshable Braille display
• reading with assistive technologies designed for
persons with dyslexia or other disabilities
• creating the best way to read with eyes, ears and
fingers

9. We provide
• An extensive set of tests
• A documented process for executing the tests
and compiling results
• An opportunity to participate in creating
helpful guidance for higher ed institutions,
students, accessibility specialists, librarians,
developers, content creators

10. Reading System Test Example: Reading order

11. Reading system test example: VS Bookshelf

12. Live demo

13. Latest test results
• Let’s take a look at the epubtest.org results grid

14. Where are the reading systems failing?
• Simple navigation (such as next paragraph)
• Read alt text
• Go to page
• Where am I?

15. Future developments
• Evaluating the experience with math
• Strengthening the dyslexia requirements
• Adding to the evaluation for low vision

16. Inclusive publishing initiative
• This is part of the DAISY initiative funded by
Google.org
• This focuses on both content and reading
systems
• These together are explained on the
inclusivepublishing.org hub

17. Call to action
• Check out the existing test results
• Talk to your suppliers and reference the tests
• Contact info@bisg.org with questions
• Accessibility testing: prospective moderators,
evaluators and testers sign up on the same site
• Still improving! Send your comments and
suggestions.

18. How can I get started?
• Go to epubtest.org
• Instructions for evaluators:
http://epubtest.org/testsuite/
• Select / click on EPUB 3 support grid to review
test results