Welcome to the Publishing Accessibility Action Group annual report for 2023. The following introduction forms the beginning of the full report which is available in various formats:
The Accessibility Action Group was founded in 2010 and has provided a forum for the publishing community to share insights and information around accessible publishing for over a decade. In the winter of 2022, the AAG was rebranded to the Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG) and continues to offer support to the publishing community in implementing accessible publishing workflows and making content available to all.
The year has seen the launch of the PAAG website, the PAAG LinkedIn group, and, most importantly, the PAAG accessible publishing charter. We are delighted with the positive feedback and engagement from the publishing community, and it is especially encouraging to see 36 publishers and organisations committing to support the accessible publishing charter.
2023 welcomed the first Accessible Publishing Conference, hosted by the RNIB and the DAISY Consortium, and held at Google London. The year also saw numerous milestones in the accessible publishing community, including EPUB 3.3 becoming a W3C recommendation, Bokförlaget Hegas AB winning the ABC Publisher Excellence Award, and the publication of IpEd’s comprehensive guide, Books without barriers: a practical guide to inclusive publishing.
2024 promises to be another exciting year in the development of accessible publishing due to the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and the challenges of implementing the requirements of the forthcoming European Accessibility Act.
We hope you enjoy taking a look back over the year in this annual report. The PAAG and its charter members will continue to be at the forefront of accessible publishing in this coming year of change and we look forward to working with you all over the next 12 months.
Stacy Scott
Chair of the Publishing Accessibility Action Group and Head of Accessibility at Taylor & Francis Group