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The European Accessibility Act (EAA), set to take effect in June 2025, mandates that all eBooks sold and distributed in the EU market be accessible to individuals with disabilities. This legislation aims to create a more inclusive digital world, aligning with international standards to simplify compliance for publishers and distributors. As the deadline approaches, industry leaders emphasize the importance of preparing for these new requirements to ensure accessibility, content equity, and expand market reach.
We talked with key industry experts about the EAA and its implications for book publishers. Richard Orme, CEO of the DAISY Consortium, a global nonprofit that enhances access to information for people with disabilities, shared his insights around the legislation. Michael Johnson, Vice President of Content at Benetech, a digital services charity dedicated to making digital content accessible, discussed collaboration with publishers on taking first steps. Tyler Carey, Chief Revenue Officer at Westchester Publishing Services, elaborated on their efforts to support the adoption of accessibility best practices. Cathy Felgar, Publishing Operations Director at Princeton University Press, detailed her team's work on accessibility standards highlighting how they are documenting decisions as they go.
“Ultimately, the goal is that from June 2025, for a customer in the EU receiving a book within that market, the content of the eBook is accessible to them,” says Richard Orme. “Whether they are blind, low vision, have a processing difficulty like dyslexia, or have a physical disability, they will be able to access the content and make use of the e-reader, thereby extending the market.”
Michael: “A lot of publishers are still waiting to take meaningful steps forward. One approach that I can suggest to the publishing community is to start with the frontlist... then you can get your workflow certified for all your new titles. And then, everything from that date forward will be fully compliant with the various regulations we have been discussing.”
Michael emphasizes the importance of beginning accessibility efforts with upcoming titles. By focusing on the frontlist, publishers can ensure that new content meets accessibility standards from the outset. This proactive approach allows publishers to integrate accessibility into their regular workflow, avoiding the need for extensive retrofitting later.
Michael: “You should think about accessibility remediation like you would think about going back to print. So, if there is a business reason that you would reprint the book – a hundred copies or a thousand copies, or whatever your reprint runs are – then then you should also send that book through the accessibility remediation process.”
For backlist titles, Michael suggests a pragmatic approach. Publishers should prioritize accessibility remediation for books that sell. This strategy ensures that resources are allocated efficiently, addressing the most commercially viable titles first.
Michael: “We have our own in-house thing that we call the ‘Born Accessible Standards’... informed by Benetech's 25 years of working with accessible content for print-disabled readers.”
Benetech's Born Accessible Standards provide a valuable framework for publishers. These standards, informed by decades of experience, help publishers address key accessibility issues such as color contrast, image descriptions, and book navigation. By adhering to established standards, publishers can streamline their accessibility efforts and ensure compliance with global regulations.
Tyler: “As a vendor, we are uniquely positioned... since we work with over 600 publishers around the world, we see a lot of folks who are much further along in their journey, like Princeton.”
Vendors like Westchester play a crucial role in helping publishers navigate the complexities of digital conversion and accessibility. By offering consultative discussions and sharing best practices from other publishers, vendors can provide valuable insights and support.
Tyler: “The big thing is really auditing the current state and auditing the content that is available. So, we try to understand the workflow.”
A thorough audit of existing content is essential for identifying gaps in accessibility. Key areas to examine include the presence of alt text for images, language shifts, and the complexity of illustrated content. This audit helps publishers prioritize remediation efforts and develop a clear roadmap for achieving compliance.
Cathy: "University press content tends to be quite varied and complex. On average, the intended audience can be really specialized with a lot of science, math, heavily illustrated books. Some of our images have multiple parts."
University presses face unique challenges due to the specialized and variable nature of their content. Complex subjects like science, math, and music require specific accessibility considerations. Additionally, the economic constraints of university presses, which often have lower unit sales compared to trade houses, can complicate accessibility efforts.
Cathy: “We are working on a roadmap to address already published material and categories and exceptions for content going forward. This is time-consuming, but there is really no other way to go about it.”
A well-defined roadmap is essential for systematically addressing accessibility in both frontlist and backlist titles. By categorizing books and setting clear priorities, publishers can tackle accessibility in manageable stages, ensuring steady progress over time.
Cathy: “I hear frequently that AI will be writing alt text any day now, but so far we have not found this to be true, and it is very context dependent.”
Michael added: “Let's just say that AI's sophisticated enough to tell you that this image is a picture of a dog. Well, that is somewhat useful, but is it Lassie or is it Cujo? It is very important that the AI understands the image to a much greater depth than just saying that is a car, or a bus, or a tree, or a building, or a dog, or whatever it happens to be.”
While AI holds promise for automating certain aspects of accessibility, its capabilities are currently limited. The context-dependent nature of alt text and other accessibility elements means that human oversight remains crucial.
Tyler: “The big challenges, blockers that we are seeing are workflow, budget, and clarity of how the EAA is going to be enforced within individual countries.”
Tyler identifies three primary blockers in the path to accessibility: workflow, budget, and legal clarity. Publishers must carefully evaluate their current processes, allocate resources efficiently, and seek legal counsel to navigate the complex regulatory landscape.
Richard: “Accessibility metadata is important. Publishers are beginning to supply that or have been supplying it for some time, but not so many platforms expose that ... so that someone who is reviewing a collection can see the properties of that particular edition of an eBook.”
Accessibility metadata plays a critical role in informing users about the accessibility features of digital content. By providing detailed metadata, publishers can help users make informed decisions about the suitability of eBooks for their needs. Ensuring that platforms display this metadata is a key step in improving the accessibility ecosystem.
Richard: “It's not all about the content. It’s not all about the file. It’s about the publication itself! Accessibility relies on all sorts of other stakeholders.”
While creating accessible eBooks is a crucial step towards inclusivity, ensuring that people with print disabilities can read these eBooks requires a broader ecosystem of accessible tools and services. This includes online platforms, reading systems, and devices that must also be designed with accessibility in mind. If any link in this chain is broken, for example, an inaccessible website or reading app, it can prevent people with disabilities from accessing even the most accessible eBook.
Richard: “When the university professor says, “Go to page 57,” or a student wants to make a citation, do they know confidently what page they are on? The eBook developer may well have put that page markup in the title, and it may work within an eBook reading app but may not work within a website reading experience. Those are two areas where we would hope to see the retailers, the library platforms raise their game, both in terms of accessibility metadata and the on website reading experiences.”
Michael: “I ask the audience’s help to encourage all of your various ecosystem partners to contact me so we can help bring them along on their accessibility journey.”
Collaboration across the entire digital publishing ecosystem is essential for achieving widespread accessibility. Publishers, vendors, and platform developers must work together to ensure that accessible content is discoverable, usable, and enjoyable/informative for all readers.
Cathy: “I think that it is inevitable that more guidelines will emerge. I have actually been wondering whether guidelines will emerge around print too, and we will have to have metadata around print, around color contrast, font size, what have you.”
Future-proofing accessibility efforts requires staying informed about emerging guidelines and standards. By actively participating in industry discussions and continually updating processes, publishers can remain ahead of the curve and ensure that their content remains accessible as standards evolve.
The journey to eBook accessibility is complex and multifaceted, involving numerous stakeholders and ongoing efforts. However, by starting with the frontlist, systematically addressing the backlist, leveraging industry standards, and fostering collaboration, publishers can make significant strides toward creating accessible digital content.
As Michael aptly puts it, “Get started and learn as you go. There are a lot of people out here who are offering you a lot of free advice, and other various services who will help you move along.”
By embracing these strategies and maintaining a proactive approach, the publishing industry can ensure that digital content is made accessible, fostering a more inclusive and equitable reading experience.
