BISG Launches Book Industry Surveys on Accessibility Readiness and Workflow Pain Points
As accessibility requirements continue to evolve, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is inviting organizations across the book supply chain to share their experiences, pain points, and needs.
The BISG Accessibility Working Group has launched two short surveys—one for creators of digital products and metadata, and one for recipients—to better understand how the industry is approaching compliance with legal requirements and where friction arises in the day-to-day workflows of creating, delivering, receiving, and supporting accessible products.
With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) in effect as of June 2025, and updates to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) taking effect in April 2026, accessibility is a growing operational priority for both creators and recipients of digital products.
Your feedback here will help identify where pain points most frequently occur and where additional guidance, tools, or coordination would have the greatest impact.
By capturing perspectives from both sides of the exchange, BISG seeks to support more efficient, consistent, and user-centered accessibility workflows across the industry.
Why Your Participation Matters
Accessible publishing depends on coordination across the entire supply chain. Decisions made by publishers, vendors, distributors, retailers, and libraries all affect whether readers with disabilities can discover and use digital content.
Survey responses will help BISG:
- Identify key challenges and gaps in accessibility readiness
- Develop practical guidance and resources for the industry
- Support compliance with ADA Title II and the EAA
- Improve discoverability of accessible titles
- Reduce barriers to library procurement and course adoption
- Inform future BISG standards and initiatives
Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that readers with disabilities can reliably access the content they need.
If your organization creates, distributes, sells, or provides digital books, your input will directly shape BISG’s ongoing accessibility work.
Survey for Creators (Publishers & Vendors)
This survey is intended for organizations that produce digital content or accessibility metadata. Early planning at the production stage is essential to meeting accessibility requirements, particularly for academic and public-sector markets.
Survey for Recipients (Distributors, Retailers, Aggregators & Libraries)
This survey is for organizations that receive, manage, or deliver accessible content to end users. Recipients play a critical role in how accessibility information is displayed and how easily readers can find usable content.
Each survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Results will be reported in aggregate* and will help BISG identify pain points, develop guidance, and support the industry in meeting accessibility requirements while improving discoverability and usability for readers with disabilities.
About the BISG Accessibility Working Group
Established in July 2023, the BISG Accessibility Working Group brings together stakeholders from across the publishing ecosystem to advance accessibility best practices. The group focuses on education, resource sharing, and practical guidance on accessibility standards, metadata, and compliance requirements.
The working group will conclude formal meetings in May 2026, after which accessibility initiatives will continue within BISG’s committees. Survey input will play an important role in shaping those future efforts.
*Personal or organizational information will be used internally only to track response distribution and will not be publicly attributed. BISG may use AI-assisted analysis to identify themes in responses—with human oversight and interpretation—and without exposure of personally identifiable information.