Future of Library Text Accessibility: The Promises and Potentials in EPUB

Join the Accessibility Ambassadors on February 25 for a presentation by Kate Deibel, Inclusion & Accessibility Librarian at Syracuse University Libraries.

Much of what makes documents accessible to people with disabilities and their assistive technologies boils down to the file format. Every format comes with benefits and drawbacks when it comes to accessibility. Which format or formats should libraries choose to best benefit their patrons and the needs of archives and discovery? While our current efforts focus mostly on the long-in-the-tooth PDF format, innovations in newer formats, such as EPUB3, have great promise for improved reader experience and accessibility.

This talk will cover what makes written content accessible (with a focus on documents typical to libraries) and what PDF, EPUB, and other formats succeed at. Emphasis will be given on the latest EPUB standards that have addressed multiple accessibility concerns, tools for working with EPUBs, and why the future of digital texts in libraries and repositories may shift away from the PDF.

Please join us!

Recording: Future of Library Text Accessibility: The Promises and Potentials in EPUB

About the Ambassadors

Accessibility Ambassadors is a group of University staff who are passionate about making U of M digital resources more accessible online. They bring different skills, strengths, and backgrounds, but all want to create an inclusive and accessible community at the U.

They host events to teach, advocate, and discuss digital accessibility topics and strive to be resources for the University community.

To learn about more accessibility-related events at the University of Minnesota, please visit Accessible U.

For more information about the Ambassadors, join the Google Group or send an email to: accessibility-ambassadors@umn.edu.