This presentation was provided by Rachel Comerford of MacMillan Learning during the 12th Annual NISO-BISG Changing Standards Landscape Forum held at ALA in Washington DC on June 21, 2019.

1. Building Born
Accessible
Rachel Comerford
Senior Director of Content Standards and Accessibility
Rachel.Comerford@macmillan.com
@rallyfora11y
macmillanlearning.com

2. Accidental Advocacy
2
Confessions:
● I have no formal training in Accessibility
● I was an English Major in College
● There was definitely a time in my childhood
when I wanted to be a forensic scientist
because I thought it would be cool to
examine cadavers

3. 3
Asking
Questions ● Who needs accessibility?
● What does it mean to be
accessible?
● How do I make it
accessible?

4. 4
Who Benefits
from
Accessibility?
● Blind, deaf, low-vision, dyslexic, learning-disabled users…
Many of these users require special tools (assistive
technology) to read
● People with cognitive disabilities, neurological issues
● People with slow internet, old technology, mobile devices
● Users with temporary disabilities, such as a broken arm
● Users with situational disabilities, such as a noisy or dark
room
● The aging population
● EVERYONE
https://webaim.org/intro/

5. 5
There is no such
thing as 100%
Accessible.*

6. 6
Accessibility
is a
Spectrum
● Content that is partially accessible is more usable
than content that is not accessible at all.
● We should be doing what we can to make content as
accessible as possible, even if it’s not “fully
accessible”.
● Accessible means different things to different people,
especially with a diverse user base.
● Because there is not one definition, there is not one
checklist but families of tests and best practices.
● Content can be compliant - check off all the boxes on
an accessibility checklist - but still not have a good
user experience.

7. Working Towards the Same Goal
7
*But what
if the goal
isn’t
100%?
● Compliance vs usability
● Making an experience that
complies with standards but
also one that is enjoyable and
easy to use.
● Focusing more on the user
than on checklists.

8. 8
Defining the
Goal
● Finding the right format - Choosing EPUB3
● Understanding the Standards - EPUB3,
Accessible EPUB, WCAG 2.1
● Joining in the conversation - W3C EPUB
Community Group and Publishing
Community Group

9. 9
Who tells us
What to do?
● Readers
● Accessibility Advisory Board
● Third party consultants (ie Tech For All)
● Industry Specialists (ie Benetech,
DAISY)

10. What We Talk About When We Talk About Change
10
● Authoring Alt Text for all images that need it - which also means
understanding when images don’t
● Learning to design with contrast in mind and how to test for
contrast
● No more copying old files in InDesign and pasting new content
on top of it
● Establishing all new workflows in house and training vendors in
new workflows
● Understanding and checking markup for lists, tables, and asides
● Applying MathML

11. EPUBCheck
11

12. ACE
12

13. 13
Information about the
accessibility features - and
limitations - of the EPUB
More info:
http://kb.daisy.org/publishing/docs/
metadata/schema-org.html
Accessibility Metadata

14. Certification
14
● Benetech introduced Global Certified
Accessible
● Rigorous testing against standards with the
goal of a positive user experience
● Certifying born accessible ebooks for users
and ultimately providing them through an
accessible store on VitalSource
14

15. Macmillan Learning
Improving lives through learning.
macmillanlearning.com
Bedford/St. Martin’s I W. H. Freeman I Worth Publishers I Sapling Learning I Late Night Labs I Hayden-McNeil
Macmillan Learning Curriculum Solutions I Macmillan Learning Lab Solutions I i>clicker I BFW High School