Accessibility Summary Authoring Guidelines

Status of This Document

Editors Draft - Version 0.9 (06/12/2019)

This document is published by the DIAGRAM Center Standards Working Group and DAISY’s Transition to EPUB Working group as an Editor’s Draft.

Comments regarding this document are welcome. Please file an issue using our GitHub repository issue tracker.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Before you start writing
• Some High-Level Considerations
• What to Include in the AccessibilitySummary
• Examples
• Acknowledgements

Introduction

The EPUB Accessibility Conformance and Discovery Specification defines a schema.org metadata term called accessibilitySummary. This piece of metadata is extraordinarily unique and important in that it provides a human readable description of the accessibility of the publication. It is expected that people who do not have formal training in HTML, EPUB, or who are not experts in accessibility will be reading the accessibilitySummary. Online Library and retail catalogues should present the accessibilitySummary to assist in making the decision to purchase or recommend the title. Individuals, professors, schools and universities should be basing their decisions to purchase on the accessibility of products.

The metadata accessibilitySummary can be found in either of two places, inside the EPUB in the OPF file, or this information can be retrieved from ONIX code list: 196; Code: 00: Accessibility Summary.

Note: Please refer to the Guidelines for discovery and presentation of EPUB Accessibility metadata for libraries and retailers.

Before you start writing

The Accessibility Checker for EPUB (Ace by DAISY) is a tool which can be used to help you determine some of the accessibility features within the publication. This information can be found when looking at the report.html file Ace creates. This will help you determine what should be included in the accessibilitySummary that will be put into the OPF file and/or ONIX metadata feed.

Next read the accessibility metadata in the EPUB package.opf file before you begin to write. Make note of the features listed in the metadata as you prepare to write. One should always truthfully represent the accessibility of the publication and point out shortcomings of the publication; students may be able to get assistance from their school or university if some aspects of the publication are not accessible. For example, if complex graphics that convey information do not have an extended description, let people know that extended descriptions are not available.

Some High-Level Considerations

• Use simple language that communicates effectively to a non-technical and a non-accessibility aware community.
• Avoid terms that are only known in a specific knowledge domain, or explain the term in a simple way.
• Write out the words of the acronym before using the abbreviation, e.g. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
• Include all accessibility features, even those detailed in another schema.org metadata item; remember that the AccessibilitySummary may be the only piece of metadata that some users read.
• Templates may be a useful approach for creating accessibility summaries in your organization, especially if all the content of a similar type goes through the same workflow and quality assurance process. However, make sure that the accessibilitySummary metadata that ships with the publication is accurate and applies to this particular publication.

What to Include in the AccessibilitySummary

Here is a list of areas that the summary should address :

Accessibility Conformance Statement

Screen Reader Friendly

Audio Book

Accessibility Features

Accessibility Hazards

Accessibility hazards: Some content, especially videos, may contain elements that have been found to be problematic. Most common items are motion effects that make some people motion sick, flashing that can cause severe distractions or even seizures, or loud sharp noises like a gunshot which can cause hearing issues. It is only necessary to include this information if it is present.

Examples

<meta property="schema:accessibilitySummary">
    The publication contains structural and page navigation. All non-decorative images have alt text or captions, or are described in the surrounding text. The publication meets WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
</meta>

<meta property="schema:accessibilitySummary">
    This publication is screen reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. The publication was designed to be as accessible as possible to all persons with disabilities. It is compatible with the wide range of Assistive Technology on the market today. The built in features of most EPUB Reading Applications have accessibility features that may be used, e.g. read aloud is available in many Reading Apps. The publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web AccessibilityContent Guidelines (WCAG) at the double "AA" level.

    Extensive navigation is provided to make it easy to use. The logos provided have alt text to identify what the logo represents. there are no other images. There are no accessibility hazards.

    There are no video or audio recordings.
</meta>

Acknowledgements

Editors

• George Kerscher
• Charles LaPierre
• Gregorio Pellegrino

Contributors

• Avneesh Singh
• Jason White
• Madeleine Rothberg
• Sarah Runcie