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Re: accessibility of InDesign for ebook creation

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From: John E Brandt
Date: Sep 27, 2012 12:19PM

The latest versions of DAISY and EPUB (3) standards can be used to produce
fully accessible digital documents assuming that the author/developer adds
the necessary elements. Apple uses EPUB 3 as the standard for the iPad and
these books work with VoiceOver on the iOS.

I don't know about the Kindle standard or the accessibility of the device. I
recall the US-DOE informing institutions of higher ed that they should not
be using the Kindle DX as the device was not accessible to students with
disabilities. See
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20100629.html

Regarding InDesign, I don't have recent information, but I recall that the
product also had the ability to create accessible digital documents and to
be able to convert them into accessible PDFs. Again, the assumption is that
the author/developer knows to add the necessary elements to make the
document accessible.

That all said, the hottest thing in e-books is the creation of what are
essentially multi-media, rich-content documents which include video clips,
interactive widgets and features. Apple has a free app for OSX called iBook
Author which creates iBooks in the EPUB 3 format and allows the addition of
these multi-media, rich content features. I am not sure of the accessibility
of all of those multimedia features. These kinds of multi-media documents
will be the next big accessibility challenge.

~j

John E. Brandt
www.jebswebs.com
<EMAIL REMOVED>
207-622-7937
Augusta, Maine, USA