Make e-book accessibility a priority at your library. Through publisher collaboration, automated accessibility testing, and certification programs like Benetech GCA™, EBSCO is advancing accessible e-books across its ordering and research platforms.
Benetech’s Global Certified Accessible Program
Benetech’s Global Certified Accessible (GCA™) program is the first-ever initiative to certify the accessibility of e-books. Publishers participating in the program collaborate with Benetech to improve their production workflows and meet key accessibility standards, including the EPUB Accessibility 1.1 Specification and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at levels A and AA. Once certified, publishers can produce e-books that are born accessible and verified through Benetech’s rigorous review process.
EBSCO’s Accessibility Standards
EBSCO is committed to ensuring that e-books and digital content are accessible to all users, including people with print disabilities.
EBSCO adheres to the WCAG 2.2 AA and EPUB Accessibility 1.1 standards, following guidance from W3C and industry best practices to promote an equitable reading experience across platforms.
To support this goal, EBSCO:
- Collaborates with accessibility leaders such as Benetech to recognize publishers committed to accessible publishing.
- Employs automated accessibility testing against WCAG 2.2 AA using Ace by DAISY to validate EPUB files received from publishers.
- Encourages publishers to submit fully accessible EPUB 3 files that meet or exceed accessibility requirements.
- Continuously enhances the EBSCO eBooks platform to support assistive technologies, accessible navigation, and inclusive reading tools
EBSCO would like to recognize the following publishers for their efforts toward an accessible future.
Publishers Fully Certified with Benetech GCA™
(Born accessible and verified to meet EPUB Accessibility 1.1 and WCAG 2.2 standards)
- Acorn Press
- Alto
- Annick Press
- Athabasca University Press
- Brick Books
- Brush Education
- Dundurn Group
- ECW Press
- Editions Bouton d'or Acadie
- Editions MultiMondes
- Goose Lane
- Guilford Publications Inc.
- Guy Saint-Jean Editeur
- House of Anansi
- Invisible Publishing
- Jones & Bartlett Learning
- Kogan Page
- Les Presses de l'Université d'Ottawa
- Linda Leith Publishing
- Nimbus Publishing Limited
- Radiant Press
- Simon & Schuster
- Taylor & Francis
- Tidewater Press
- University of British Columbia Press
- University of Michigan Press
- Wiley
- Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Publishers Partnering with Benetech to Improve Accessibility:
- Bayard Canada Books
- Cengage
- Editions du Boréal
- Éditions Les Herbes rouges
- Elsevier
- Heritage House Publishing
- Iguana Books
- Inanna Publications
- McGraw Hill
- Presses de l’Université du Québec
- University of Regina Press
- World Bank Publications
Notes:
The GCA certification indicates that a file was born fully accessible and compliant with all accessibility guidelines. However, individual e-book platforms may or may not support all these features. Please consult documentation on the platform.
While Benetech certification denotes confidence that the publisher has demonstrated its ability to regularly produce accessible books, any books that do not fully conform to the Global Accessible Certification standard remain the responsibility of the publisher.
Publishers Meeting EBSCO’s WCAG AA Accessibility Standards
The EBSCO eBooks team recently built an automated tool to assess the accessibility of the EPUB e-books received from publishers, validating against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA.
EBSCO would like to recognize the following publishers who are submitting more than 75% of their e-books as EPUBs and passing the automated WCAG accessibility check:
- Arab Press Agency - Nashron
- Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
- Baylor University Press
- Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
- BookMobile
- BPB Online LLP
- CLC Publications
- Ecoe Ediciones
- Georgetown University Press
- Harlequin Holland
- Indiana University Press
- J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing
- Juta & Company Ltd - Textbooks
- Lantern Publishing & Media
- Legend Press
- Morgan James Publishing
- Nordic Academic Press
- Open Publishing GmbH
- Profile Books
- Saddleback Educational Publishing
- SteinerBooks
- STM Learning, Inc.
- Syracuse University Press
- University Press of Florida
- University Press of Kentucky
- University Press of Mississippi
- William Carey Publishing
While an automated check cannot assess all aspects of accessibility (for instance, the quality of the alternative text read in place of an image or graphic), it is a directional indication that the publisher is aware of compliance guidelines, has taken steps to create accessible EPUB files, and the files are free of errors that could seriously undermine the accessibility of the book.
(Note: the benefit of the Benetech GCA program is to verify that the title has been made fully accessible and that the quality of the file would ensure an equitable experience for print-disabled users. This is something an automated check cannot do.)
Together, EBSCO and Benetech are working toward a future where all books are accessible, empowering readers of all abilities and improving educational outcomes for people with print disabilities.
Learn more about EBSCO's commitment to accessibility
Visit our Accessibility page to learn how we’re working to meet accessibility standards, review our Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs) and accessibility statements, and connect with our team for any accessibility-related questions.
