Universities and colleges have a legal obligation to provide resources in accessible formats to print disabled students. However, many of the e-book platforms they subscribe to have limited accessibility or are tied-in to scarcely accessible third-party tools like Adobe Digital Editions. So it is not unusual to need to get the raw file from the publisher […]
Tag: publishers
Invitation to a New Year Resolution… As the last days of 2017 draw in, Alistair McNaught looks at plans for the 2018 e-book accessibility audit. This will be simpler than the 2016 version but – we believe – more effective. In this season of peace and goodwill to all, we’re looking for an audit that […]
It took a long time to identify my dairy intolerance but once it was identified and managed my sense of taste and smell began to return and long term digestion problems resolved. My quality of life improved because of two simple things: I had a better understanding of my needs The information on food packaging […]
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Praise a publisher month
The students leave. The library staff have a chance to breathe, reflect and plan ahead. August is an excellent month to take the opportunity to say ‘Well done’ to those who have made a difference in supporting disabled students. Using a simple online voting tool Alistair McNaught asked the LIS-Accessibility Jiscmail list who they wanted […]
The good – it works The e-book accessibility audit (August 2016 to November 2016) was a joint project between several UK Higher Education Institution disability and library services, Jisc and representatives from the book supply industry. More information on the partners is available. The audit had three main purposes: To create a sort of “accessibility Esperanto” […]
It’s easy to think that new publishing formats like EPUB3 have made accessibility issues a thing of the past. James Scholes – an expert screen reader user and ebook tester – suggests there’s still a long way to go… It’s no surprise that the eBook revolution has been a boon to many visually impaired people. For […]
If you’re currently working in a library service and preparing for the impact of changes to the disabled student allowance this blog post is designed to give you a helpful overview of how Jisc can support you. Our three main areas of focus for inclusive libraries has been advocacy, guidance, and case studies. Advocacy: We […]
It’s good to share, it’s easy to share, it’s legal to share For many years libraries and disability support teams have had the frustration of wasted time and effort in scanning books that others had already scanned… but that licences prevented them from sharing. Now that copyright laws have changed (see previous blog post) it […]
The Law got better for disabled learners The Copyright and Rights in Performances (Disability) Regulations 2014 legislation enshrined a right for HEI’s to share accessible “intermediate copies” of textbooks with one another. However, the lack of definition of “intermediate copy” meant that, in practice, hardly any sharing was taking place for fear of falling foul […]