Ebooks have received quite a lot of press in recent months, and are starting to change the way that books are sold, as well as to influence the in-house production systems of major publishers.
Both the ebooks and their development files have the potential to revolutionise access to books, and dramatically improve the number of books produced in accessible formats (braille, large print or audio) - which currently stands at an incredibly poor seven per cent of books published.
Specialist converter tools are in development which are planned to take a well structured ebook and speed up the transcription of that book to accessible formats. This isn't a fully automated process, but offers the potential to significantly speed up the process.
However this is still a relatively new industry, with over 50 different ebook file formats, several of which are completely inaccessible (being image based), a limited amount of ebook content being published and the rapid development of devices which can read ebooks, we are only at the beginning of a very exciting journey towards improving access to books.
Direct ebook access
For some people the quickest and most effective way to read will be directly from the ebook. Some ebooks can be read directly by blind and partially sighted people using access technology on a computer, or a dedicated ebook reader which can enlarge the text, or has text to speech.
At present challenges are presented by the software accessibility for mainstream ebook management, and a lack of accessible ebook reading devices with text to speech or talking menus, however RNIB continues to encourage developments in these areas.
EPUB format - a new hope?
One of the file formats which is gaining popularity is EPUB, as well as being one of the increasingly popular formats for delivery, it is also being used by some publishers to manage their print publications.
At it's core is an open XML system which was developed with contributions from the technical minds behind the DAISY format. This facilitates the potential for conversion into DAISY and other accessible formats - depending on the construction of the book.
EPUB is starting to look like the new industry standard in e-books, and is rapidly gaining popularity in Europe. In terms of improving the amount of information produced in accessible formats, ebooks and specifically the EPUB format arguably offers the most potential to improve access to books for blind and partially sighted people around the world.
Accessible publishing
Our Accessible publishing pages provide accessibility advice, guidance and best practice for publishers to help you to deliver accessible publications.
Whether you are the MD of a publishing house, work in production or digital departments, or support the publishing industry, you will find relevant information to inform and support your work.