Accessible Book Publishing: Backlist Remediation Approaches

Bringing Backlists Into Accessibility Compliance

The European Accessibility Act put the spotlight on frontlist ebooks. Now the updated ADA Title II rule is turning attention to the backlist.

Join us for a practical look at what backlist remediation means, how publishers can approach it, and how buyers will know when accessible content is available.

While the EAA focused on the accessibility of frontlist ebooks, the US Department of Justice’s update to ADA Title II requires state and local government entities—including public libraries, colleges, and universities—to ensure the digital resources they provide are accessible. Because those institutions are major purchasers of ebooks and digital content, publishers need to review their backlists and take steps to remediate titles to meet their customers’ compliance requirements.

This session will address questions such as:

• What does “remediation” actually mean for an existing ebook or PDF?
• What approaches are available for remediating backlist content, and how do publishers prioritize which titles to tackle first?
• Once a title has been remediated, how does a purchaser, such as a librarian, know that an accessible version is now available?
• How should accessibility metadata be updated and communicated across ONIX, MARC, and other systems to reflect remediated content?

Whether you’re planning a remediation project, managing a large backlist, maintaining accessibility metadata, or purchasing digital content for an institution with compliance obligations, this webinar will help you understand your options and next steps.

This session builds on our October webinar Accessible Book Publishing: A Roundup of Trusted Tools and Resources featuring Laura Brady.

Who Should Attend

This webinar is designed for anyone responsible for making existing digital content accessible, or for knowing whether it is. It is especially relevant to:

• Publishers with substantial backlists, particularly those that sell ebooks and digital content to public libraries, colleges, and universities, who need to understand what ADA Title II compliance means for titles already in the market.
• Production, digital workflow, and ebook development teams planning or scoping remediation of legacy EPUBs and PDFs and deciding which titles to prioritize.
• Conversion and remediation vendors and service providers who support publishers with backlist accessibility projects.
• Metadata specialists responsible for updating accessibility metadata in ONIX, MARC, and other systems so that remediated titles are accurately represented.
• Librarians, acquisitions staff, and accessibility coordinators at public and academic institutions who need to identify, verify, and acquire accessible versions of digital content.
• Distributors, aggregators, and library ebook platforms that receive, display, and pass along accessibility information across the supply chain.

No prior remediation experience is required. If you attended or watched our October session on trusted accessibility tools and resources, that webinar is a useful precursor.

About Our Speakers

PAT PAYTON is a metadata expert with deep knowledge of bibliographic standards, identifiers, and data analysis. As Senior Manager, Provider Relations, for ProQuest, part of Clarivate, she is responsible for communicating book and journal metadata requirements and best practices to publishers of all sizes. Pat has over 20 years of experience in bookselling, library ebook platforms, and international book markets. She holds a Masters degree in Library and Information Science specializing in Digital Libraries (Rutgers University) as well as an MBA (Kent State University). In addition to her role at Clarivate, Pat serves as an Adjunct Lecturer for Pace University and volunteers her time with BISG and BIC to help shape industry metadata practices. She lives in New Jersey and enjoys reading non-fiction works.

Further speakers to be announced! 

About BISG’s Accessibility Working Group

This webinar is hosted by BISG’s Accessibility Working Group, which brings together professionals from across the book publishing ecosystem to educate the supply chain on accessibility standards and best practices, amplify trusted resources, and provide practical guidance on creating, communicating, and displaying accessible content and metadata. Participation is open to both BISG members and nonmembers.

We welcome your participation. To join, e-mail info@bisg.org to get on the mailing list for meeting invitations, agendas, and other key communications. By participating, you can contribute your organization’s expertise to discussions, resource development, and programming that help advance accessibility across the book industry.