Accessibility

The EPUB 3 format represents a significant leap forward in the production of accessible ebooks, incorporating all of the following advances:

• new semantic markup features in HTML5 for structuring content, including native MathML support
• the inclusion of ARIA attributes for making dynamic content accessible
• the addition of the epub:type attribute for semantic inflection
• media overlays for text and audio synchronization
• SSML, PLS pronunciation lexicons and CSS3 Speech for enhanced text-to-speech playback
• a new XHTML-based navigation document

But enhancements alone don't make ebooks accessible. The creation of accessible content requires due diligence both in production and quality assurance processes. To aid in the understanding and creation of accessible content, the IDPF is both producing guidelines to help publishers and consolidating on this page links to useful external production resources.

Accessibility Specifications

• EPUB Accessibility 1.0
• EPUB Accessibility 1.0 Techniques

General Production Guidelines

• EPUB 3 Accessibility Guidelines
• BISG Quick Start Guide to Accessible Publishing
• Accessible EPUB 3 (O'Reilly)
• Inclusive EPUB 3
• Top Tips for Creating Accessible EPUB 3 Files

Accessible Image Production Guidelines

• DIAGRAM Production Standards
• Accessible Images Sample Book
• HTML5: Techniques for providing useful text alternatives

Discovery Metadata

• ONIX Code List 196
• schema.org accessibility metadata
• LRMI and accessibility metadata integration guide

W3C Accessibility Standards

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0
• Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.0