Inclusive and accessible eBooks

As stated by the European Accessibility Act, a number of everyday digital products and services have to be adapted to accessibility and inclusive principles by 2025, in order to allow people with impairments and disabilities a comfortable access to knowledge. This means that also academic products have to be adapted to those standards, enabling students and general public a broad-base interaction with textual heritage products and studies.

At DAIH we look forward to improve equal access to scientific products starting from reading practices, specifically considering the development of accessible eBooks that can stimulate interaction and reduce barriers in relation to different kinds of users (Ganner et al., 2023; Bellacosa et al., 2024). This research stream involves different focuses and approaches, such as: the analysis of the state-of-the-art concerning eBooks and editorial routines; the definition of best equity and inclusion practices; the adaptation of scholarly eBooks to accessibility standards; the certification that an eBook complies with the proposed accessibility standards at various levels, from content presentation to alternative text and metadata description.

Moreover, our collaboration with different partners, starting with Fondazione LIA (Libri Italiani Accessibili) and the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired, will give future insights on how our textual heritage is shaped by new media and how we can promote access to scientific contents for everyone.