Happy New Year!
We are especially excited to share the first issue of Learned Publishing in 2018, dedicated entirely to accessibility in academic and professional publishing.
This special issue is a call to action, a call to elevate the conversation about what accessible publishing is and why it matters. This issue aims to demonstrate what is possible when our products and services are fully accessible to those with physical, learning, and cognitive disabilities. Our industry is now acknowledging that accessible publishing is aligned with our core mission to broadcast research and information to all our constituents, as well as realizing that making publications accessible makes them better for everybody.
The authors in this issue share the latest thinking from the accessibility community with a series of case studies from a diverse landscape of scholarly and educational publishers. From expert opinion pieces and exclusive original analysis, the voices in this issue help us consider the information experiences of those with limitations that keep them from fully engaging in the world.
As confirmed in this special issue, accessibility is no longer a fringe topic — instead, publishing in a manner that is accessible to all is central to our purpose. All articles in this special issue will be freely available throughout 2018, as we believe the articles here will be a go-to reference point for all publishers, those with committed accessibility roadmaps and those just beginning to integrate accessibility into publishing workflows. This issue represents what we can do when we come together to address why and how our community can better serve all readers.
Lettie Y. Conrad
North American Editor
Learned Publishing
NOTE: All articles are free to SSP members and journal subscribers; those editorials, reviews and articles using the ‘ALPSP Author Choice’ OA option, are now free to all. Also, be sure to sign up to receive an email alert or RSS feed every time a new issue goes online.
SSP members – please log in to the member center on the SSP website to access the full content.
Learned Publishing Vol. 31 / Nov. 1, January 2018
Editorial
Making accessibility more accessible to publishers
by Lettie Y. Conrad and Bill Kasdorf
Original articles
Evaluating e-book platforms: Lessons from the e-book accessibility audit
by Alistair McNaught, Ruth MacMullen, Sue Smith and Vicky Dobson
Why accessibility is hard and how to make it easier: Lessons from publishers
by Bill Kasdorf
Case studies
Accessibility at JSTOR: From box-checking to a more inclusive and sustainable future
by Lauren Trimble
CAL Download – an innovative approach to making books more accessible
by Jo Burges
The secrets of failing better: Accessible publishing at SAGE. A case study
by Caroline Manis and Huw Alexander
The ScienceDirect accessibility journey: A case study
by Ted Gies
Industry updates
Benetech global literacy services: Working towards a ‘born accessible’ world
by Brad Turner
Towards universal accessibility: The UK policy landscape and supporting technology
by Emma House, Richard Orme and Mark Bide
An overview of content accessibility issues experienced by educational publishers
by Frederick Bowes III
Making materials accessible to students in higher education institutes: Institutional obligations, methods of compliance, and recommendations for future action
by Jamie Axelrod
Publishing with accessibility standards from the inside out
by Madeleine Rothberg
Beyond the mandates: The far-reaching benefits of multimedia accessibility
by Violaine Iglesias
Opinion pieces
How publishing has helped and hindered me: Experiences and advice from a blind reader and publisher
by George Abbott
Do you have a broken link in your accessibility chain?
by George Kerscher
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