Accessibility is becoming increasingly important in the publishing industry. Thanks to the opportunities offered by new standards and digital reading technologies, a new paradigm is emerging: produce accessible publications and distribute them through traditional distribution channels, so that people with print disabilities can enjoy reading and benefit from the same opportunities and wide choice as any other reader. Using Fondazione LIA’s paper, E-books for all: Towards a digital publishing ecosystem, as a starting point, the presentation will provide an overview of the different aspects involved for all the players in the book value chain that want to embrace accessibility. Starting from the insights learned through LIA’s journey towards the creation of an accessible digital ecosystem (projects, R&D activities, events, working groups, training), Elisa will focus on the issues that still need to be solved and the description of the role each actor of the value chain may play in an accessible ecosystem. techforum.booknetcanada.ca #TechForum

1. Towards an accessible digital
publishing ecosystem
Elisa Molinari – Project manager
Fondazione LIA
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2. Fondazione LIA – Libri Italiani Accessibili
• Fondazione LIA is a no profit organization created in 2014 by
the Italian Publishers Association with the support of the
Italian Blind Union
• In 2019 the Italian Dislexyc Association and the Library of the
Blind Regina Margherita joined as institutional members
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3. LIA members
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4. The LIA team
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5. Our mission
• promote reading and expand access for
visual impaired people to publishing
products through research and
technological innovation;
• spread a culture of accessibility
through consulting and training
involving all the actors of the supply-
chain and events
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6. Who are we speaking to?
In Europe :
• Over 30 million blind and partially sighted persons
• An average of 1 in 30 Europeans experience sight loss
In Italy:
• 137.000 blind persons
• 1 milion and a half of persons with low vision
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7. Active in the International network
Actively contributes in the main international working groups at the definitions of the standards and
at promoting solutions to increase the accessibility of publications
• W3C – Publishing Business and Publishing Working Group – WCAG - WAI EOWG
• Transition to accessible EPUB e Reading Systems
• DIAGRAM standard & TIES Production group
• ISO OT UNI/CT 014/SC 04 "Automazione e documentazione"
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8. The survey on reading habits/1
• In 2011 LIA commissioned a survey in collaboration with CNUDD (National
University Conference of Delegates for Disability) and the Bicocca University on a
sample of over 1,500 people (the largest ever conducted among European
countries) on the reading habits of blind and partially sighted people.
• 59.1% of blind and partially sighted people have read at least one book in the
previous 12 months (against 46.8% of the average Italian population). These are
more frequent readers than the average (31.3% read books every day), above all of
the different genres of fiction, without disdaining the non-fiction of culture and
professional.
• A blind or partially sighted person reads 9.2 books a year while the Italians who
can see, only two out of ten read as many.
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9. The survey on reading habits/2
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10. The survey on reading habits/3
I wish my catalogue was everyone’s catalogue. I
wish I could choose like everyone else. I wish I
didn’t have to limit myself to especially made
books, but I could read freely like everyone else
does (Mario Barbuto)
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11. www.libriitalianiaccessibili.it: 24K ebooks
(and counting)
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12. E-books for all
It aims to be an agile manual, providing an overview of the
different aspects involved, for all the players in the book value
chain.
It identifies the role each actor may play in the accessible digital
publishing ecosystem, describes the critical elements to be
considered and provides the relevant references to the
international standard accessibility specifications or guidelines
to be followed.
Available at https://www.fondazionelia.org/en/e-books-all-
towards-accessible-publishing-ecosystem
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13. What else did we learn?
• Accessible contents are high-quality contents for
everyone
• Accessibility is a process, not a stand-alone
activity
• Everything can be fixed but thinking accessible
from the beginning is better
• E-book production is just the beginning
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14. An accessibile digital publishing ecosystem
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15. Like a broken phone

16. Where every actor has a part to play
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17. What do we do in the ecosystem?
LIA supports organizations in the
definition of management strategies
considering accessibility as a core
asset in the company mission
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18. Consultancy and training
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Web
Process
Products

19. Who we work with
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20. What do we do?
• Accessibility audits of publications, platforms,
websites
• Tailor-made training courses (in persons and on line)
• Help desk
• Guidelines
• Accessible templates
• Accessibility check and conversions

21. Born accessible
«Born Accessible» means:
• define a specific procedure aimed at
defining accessibility checks
(internal or external) of the
publications
• adopt international standard
metadata schemas and distribute
them along the value chain
• provide to end users accurate but
friendly description of the
accessibility features available in the
publications
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22. Users testing
• Many organizations do not test their
products or services with disable end
users
• Certification of accessibility is not only
a matter of standards and
specifications
• It’s also a User Experience analysis
• This is why it is essential to work side
by side with accessibility experts with
different disabilities
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23. LIA solution for certification
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24. Training for users
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25. Innovation and sperimentation
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• Skills and actions for smart speakers
• AI for alternative description
• Accessible textbooks
• New projects

26. Thank you very much for your time!
Get in touch at:
elisa.molinari@fondazionelia.org
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