Accessible EPUB 3

Chapter 4. Conclusion

EPUB 3 holds out much promise, but only if you care about the quality of your content and actively work to make it better. If I’ve done my job, though, accessibility is hopefully no longer a foreign concept or impossible-sounding ideal anymore. It’s fundamentally about high-quality data, with hooks in for people who can’t consume the content in its native format, whether auditory or visual.

The people you need to produce accessible EPUBs are not hard to find, either. Web content developers abound as the internet generation comes of age. And unlike in the early dark days of web accessibility, more and more people are learning WCAG and WAI-ARIA guidelines for accessible production. They’re not skills you can ignore as a developer, as so much basic accessibility legislation is premised on them now.

My point, however, is only that creating accessible EPUB 3 publications is not a costly proposition. It doesn’t require seeking out highly-specialized skills that won’t provide you a return on your investment. Reflowable web content is the direction publishing is heading in, and well down the road to.

But to wrap up, no guide can ever make you take action, only impart some measure of knowledge. Assuming I’ve met that threshold, the onus is now on you to take what you’ve learned and put it to good use.

EPUB 3 Best Practices Teaser

Accessible EPUB 3 is an excerpt of the book EPUB 3 Best Practices, currently in development for publication in 2012.

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