Access for All: How Libraries, Publishers, and Vendors Can Collaborate on Accessible Products

According to the 2016 Disability Statistics Annual Report, “The overall rate of people with disabilities in the US population in 2015 was 12.6%.” This means tens of millions of people in the United States alone, but making work accessible serves a far larger population even than that. As has often been noted, most of us, if we live long enough, will experience a disability at some point. Many of the steps taken to create accessible texts makes them better, more reader-friendly, and more usable to everyone—those with or without impairments. This session’s focus on accessibility will consider how libraries, publishers, and vendors can work together to ensure that all readers can access electronic books and texts. Organized by the AUPress’s Library Relations Committee, this panel features librarians, publishers, and vendors who will discuss what they’re doing to engage with accessibility challenges and opportunities. This session will be of benefit to librarians providing access to materials for patrons, publishers putting out accessible materials, and vendors providing services that increase accessibility of materials for all readers. The session also will focus on how these groups can partner and learn from one another to create more and better accessible products