According to the World Health Organization, around 15% of the world’s population live with disabilities. They are the world’s largest minority and yet in low-resource countries around the globe, only 1% of books are published in accessible formats like audio, braille, large print and sign language enabled books. One of the top priorities for the Global Book Alliance is to create books aligned with Universal Design for Learning principles, increasing accessibility for all children around the world.
Through the month of December, in recognition of International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3rd), the GBA twitter feed featured a series of five posts that highlighted ways to increase the accessibility of books for children.
The GBA offers digital books enabled with sign language video through its flagship Global Digital Library. The books offer voiceover narration as well as video sign language in local languages, making the materials accessible to most students, including those who are deaf and hard of hearing. See the GDL’s Kenyan and Cambodian Sign Language offerings.
For readers who are blind or low-vision, audio books can be an important support. Students without disabilities also benefit. The GBA partner Save the Children developed a video with audio voiceover about safety practices around the coronavirus. Audiobooks and videos with audio voiceover are not only inclusive for students who are blind/low vision, but also individuals who have yet to gain reading skills and those with learning disabilities. To build reading skills it is important to pair the audiobooks and videos with audio voiceover with braille or large text.
Alternative text or ALT text refers to the encoded description of digital images which can be interpreted by screen-reading software. The GBA is adding ALT text to every image in the English collection of books on the Global Digital Library. This important contribution ensures that future translations of GDL books from English to other languages will also contain ALT text, which is an important tool for learners who are blind and low vision, as well as for learners with other disabilities.
While digital books can reach increasingly wide audiences, some readers need or prefer the printed format. Brick-and-mortar libraries offer free printed material but are unavailable or inaccessible for many. Even when libraries are physically accessible, the reading materials contained within them are not always available in accessible formats for all readers. Accessible formats include, braille, large print, easy read, and plain text. The GBA supports provision of books in as many formats as possible. For example, the Global Digital Library provides various print options, from PDF on a home printer, to print-ready files for commercial printers. Books are also available in EPUB format, which offers a high degree of accessibility by allowing the user to change the size of the text to large print, for example.
GBA partner All Children Reading, through its flagship Begin with Books, funded the creation of accessible, early grade storybooks with COVID-19 health and prevention messages in 12 underserved languages.
Begin with Books winner eKitabu has created an excellent toolkit to help everyone create accessible e-books. The kit provides guidance on image descriptions, accessible navigation, dyslexia-friendly fonts, and sign language videos, among others.
The GBA thanks all our partners and members who work to create books aligned with Universal Design for Learning principles, increasing accessibility for children around the world.
Stay up to date on future GBA series by becoming a member, or engaging on twitter.