Since 2018, NNELS has worked with over 100 publishers from across Canada. We have provided workshops on accessibility, worked together to make new releases available in physical and electronic braille, and audited dozens of their ebooks. Out of this work has come a set of user friendly, plain language resources that will help publishers make more accessible ebooks all of which can be found on the website AccessiblePublishing.ca.
One of NNELS’ top priorities is to help publishers make more accessible ebooks, and work toward a Canada where born accessible publishing is the norm! By working with dozens of publishers across Canada, we are learning about their needs and building resources and documentation, designed to be useful for all levels of technical expertise! Our accessibility testers, who are people with lived experience of print disabilities, use their knowledge, experience, and vast expertise to help publishers understand both barriers and solutions in accessible publishing.
Highlights of AccessiblePublishing.ca
There are questions that we frequently get from publishers and ebook producers, which we have started to gather in one place! Check out our “Frequently Asked Questions” page to see if your questions are there at the following link: https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/frequently-asked-questions/
Don’t see your question on this page? You can also submit a question and our team will get you the answers you are looking for! Here is the link to submit your questions: https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/submit-an-accessible-publishing-question/
Knowing how to ensure that an audiobook is as accessible as possible can be challenging! To help you get started, we have put together some Audiobook Recommendations for Publishers at the following link: https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/audiobook-recommendations-for-publishers/
Learning about ARIA roles and aria-labels in EPUBs can definitely be a little bit tricky! This document on Understanding and Using ARIA in EPUB will help you feel a little bit more comfortable and knowledgeable on the subject! Learn more at this link: https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/epub-semantic-aria-roles/#ARIA
We also have guidance around:
- Image Description: https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/a-guide-to-image-description/
- EPUB Evaluation / Checking: https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/evaluating-your-epubs-accessibility/
- Accessibility Features Checklist: https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/accessibility-features-checklist/
- Working with Conversion Houses: https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/accessible-publishing-communicating-with-conversion-houses/
- Working with InDesign: https://www.accessiblepublishing.ca/working-with-indesign/