Published Fri May 21 2010
By David Williams in News releases

Disabled readers are already benefiting from using e-books - but according to a new report, publishers can do even more with the technology to improve access.

Further information

Disabled readers are already benefiting from using e-books - but according to a new report, publishers can do even more with the technology to improve access.

Disabled users, for example, can benefit from a statement by the publisher setting out the accessibility options available to them, from how to magnify the screen to fully personalising the e-book.

The project, funded by JISC TechDis, JISC Collections and the Publishers Licensing Society investigated how to help people navigate e-book resources. Working with a group of international publishers, the project used the test results to make good practice recommendations for the publishing industry.

Nearly 65% of teaching staff and students have used an e-book to support their work, study or leisure according to an earlier JISC national e-books observatory project.

Alistair McNaught, Senior Advisor, JISC TechDis said: "We're convinced that e-books have enormous potential to extend access. E-book reading platforms and interfaces have the ability to allow accessibility, so we were particularly keen to discover how their implementation can cater for disabled users, recognising that their use is rapidly become part of the academic mainstream."

Publishers who volunteered to take part in the research reported finding the study itself very valuable and one commenting that it was “a hugely useful exercise and one we are very glad we participated in.”

Dr Alicia Wise, chief executive of the Publishers Licensing Society, said: "Whether through dyslexia, visual impairment or motor difficulties, disabled readers can find it hard to enjoy e-books. This report can show publishers how to maximise access to e-books. Providing tools to enable readers to control magnification, colour change, keyboard access and text to speech can give genuine independence to people with reading disabilities."

Key messages from the research include:

• The experience of the 'keyboard-only' user can be significantly improved through a feature known as 'skip links'
• Buttons or unique 'link text' descriptions, which allow a user with little or no sight to be able to use the menus, can easily enhance accessibility
• It is important to maintain a consistent layout between the main page and sub pages. This is also a feature that is welcomed by people with low literacy levels or those who don't have English as their first language

The findings from the research form the basis of a report, available for download at www.techdis.ac.uk.

A practical guide "Towards accessible e-book platforms" which highlights recommendations in the report was launched at the Publisher Lookup Awards at the London Book Fair, Earls Court on 21st April 2010 and can also be downloaded from the website.

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