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ePub 3.1 Accessibility Proposal To Schema.org
This proposal addresses use cases in digital publishing for accessible ebooks for which current metadata is not sufficient. These use cases require distinguishing between an ebook which has the complete text and audio of the work, one with the complete text and partial audio, and one with the complete audio and partial text. Additional permutations of this sort arise as multimedia in ebooks is factored in, requiring an access mode-based solution rather than a vocabulary of types of books.
Proposal: Add the metadata property accessMode, which exists in other specifications, to Schema.org
Proposed to: Schema.org
Definition: The human sensory perceptual system or cognitive faculty through which a person may process or perceive information. If accessibility features for the resource are known, the access modes of those accessibility features are not included.
Vocabulary: auditory, tactile, textual, visual, colorDependent, chartOnVisual, chemOnVisual, diagramOnVisual, mathOnVisual, musicOnVisual, textOnVisual
Proposal: Create a new metadata property called accessModeSufficient
Proposed to: Schema.org and IMS Global Learning Consortium
Definition: A list of single or combined accessModes that are sufficient to understand all the intellectual content of a resource.
Vocabulary: auditory, tactile, textual, visual
Proposal: Add a new metadata property accessibilitySummary which is an open text field
Proposed to: Schema.org and IMS Global Learning Consortium
Definition: A human-readable summary of specific accessibility features or deficiencies, consistent with the other accessibility metadata but expressing subtleties such as "short descriptions are present but long descriptions will be needed for non-visual users" or "short descriptions are present and no long descriptions are needed."
Used with (or separate from) the accessMode metadata property, accessModeSufficient takes into account both what access modes are present, and what accessibility features are present, to convey the list of all possible ways to access a resource.
Both properties are repeatable; accessMode generally doesn't need more than one instance, while accessModeSufficient often does. The order of the properties and the order of the terms within a property are not meaningful.
Use cases are presented to elaborate on this functionality. For each use case, each instance of accessModeSufficient is followed by a plain text description of what that line signifies in [square brackets].
A publication of prose narrative, with no illustration. After the main content, it contains an informative list of novels from the same author.
- Case 1.A - audio media overlays for the main content but not for the back-of-the-book list of novels.
accessMode = {textual, auditory}
accessibilityFeature = {synchronizedAudioText}
accessModeSufficient = {textual} [entire book can be read using only text]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory} [entire book can be listened to]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio]
Notes: The list of other novels is not critical to use of the book; this is a decision that must be made by the metadata author. The notation that accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} is supported by the metadata that says accessibilityFeature = {synchronizedAudioText} because that implies that the audio and text can be used together.
- Case 1.B - audio and text are both provided for the main content but not synchronized; only text is available for the back-of-the-book list of novels.
accessMode = {textual, auditory}
accessModeSufficient = {textual} [entire book can be read using only text]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory} [entire book can be listened to]
Notes: The list of other novels is not critical to use of the book; this is a decision that must be made by the metadata author. There is no notation that accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} because there is no information to suggest that the audio and text can be used together.
- Case 1.C - The first 3 chapters are available in audio only; the remainder of the book is available in text only.
accessMode = {textual, auditory}
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio]
accessibilitySummary = {The first 3 chapters are available in audio only; the remainder of the book is available in text only.}
Notes: Because different parts of the book are available in different media, accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} indicates the only way this book can be fully used is by using both audio and text, although for different portions of the book. This kind of case can arise when a university adapts part of a book to meet a particular student's needs, but only adapts the chapters assigned for a particular course. The accessibiltySummary is critical here.
A novel for children, with complementary illustrations.
- Case 2.A - audio media overlays for the text of the story, but no description of illustrations.
accessMode = {textual, auditory, visual}
accessibilityFeature = {synchronizedAudioText}
accessModeSufficient = {textual} [entire book can be read using only text]
accessModeSufficient = {textual, visual} [entire book can be read using text and looking at visuals]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory} [entire book can be listened to]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, visual} [entire book can be listened to while looking at visuals]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual, visual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio while looking at the visuals]
accessibilitySummary = {No image descriptions provided; the illustrations are not critical for most readers.}
- Case 2.B - audio media overlays for the text of the story, short descriptions of illustrations.
accessMode = {textual, auditory, visual}
accessibilityFeature = {alternativeText, synchronizedAudioText}
accessModeSufficient = {textual} [entire book can be read using only text]
accessModeSufficient = {textual, visual} [entire book can be read using text and looking at visuals]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory} [entire book can be listened to]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, visual} [entire book can be listened to while looking at visuals]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual, visual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio while looking at the visuals]
accessibilitySummary = {Short descriptions are provided; long descriptions of the images are not needed for most readers.}
A text-book for high school students. It contains several aside boxes with e.g. tips or summaries. It also contains many technical drawings.
- Case 3.A - audio media overlays for the main content, for side boxes, and for long descriptions of technical drawings.
accessMode = {auditory, textual, visual}
accessibilityFeature = {longDescription, synchronizedAudioText}
accessModeSufficient = {auditory} [entire book can be listened to]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, visual} [entire book can be listened to while looking at visuals]
accessModeSufficient = {textual, visual} [entire book can be read using text and looking at visuals]
accessibilitySummary = {Long descriptions of the images are provided in audio but not in text.}
Notes: If longDescriptions are provided in audio but not in text, then the book is not accessible for text-only readers. There is no good way to express that in structured metadata except in accessModeSufficient. Note that accessModeSufficient = {textual} is not one of the accessModeSufficient values. It can also be conveyed in a human-readable note in accessibilitySummary.
- Case 3.B - audio media overlays for the main content, for side boxes, and for long descriptions of technical drawings. Long descriptions also available in text form.
accessMode = {auditory, textual, visual}
accessibilityFeature = {longDescription, synchronizedAudioText}
accessModeSufficient = {auditory} [entire book can be listened to]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, visual} [entire book can be listened to while looking at visuals]
accessModeSufficient = {textual} [entire book can be read using only text]
accessModeSufficient = {textual, visual} [entire book can be read using text and looking at visuals]
accessibilitySummary = {Long descriptions of the images are provided in both audio and text.}
Notes: The difference from 3.A is that long descriptions are accessible for text-only readers. This is expressed by accessModeSufficient = {textual}.
A book or magazine about famous French movies of the last century. The book features many video excerpts of movies.
- Case 4.A - audio media overlays for the textual content, not for the video
accessMode = {auditory, textual, visual}
accessibilityFeature = {synchronizedAudioText}
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual, visual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio while looking at the visuals]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, visual} [entire book can be listened to while looking at visuals]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory} [entire book can be listened to]
Notes: Assuming no audio descriptions or captions. But if listening to clips (and text) is sufficient then accessModeSufficient = {auditory} is true. If the clips are not comprehensible without audio description, then {auditory} is not sufficient. There are two kinds of audio here: the media overlay and the audio in the clips, both of which are considered primary content. We don't have a good way to express that except in accessModeSufficient.
An article published in a newspaper about famous writer John Doe, featuring audio excerpts of the recorded interview.
- Case 5.A - audio media overlays for the textual content
accessMode = {auditory, textual}
accessibilityFeature = {synchronizedAudioText}
accessModeSufficient = {auditory} [entire book can be listened to]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio]
accessModeSufficient = {textual} [entire book can be read using only text]
Notes: Assuming the article conveys the information in the recorded excerpts. If the audio excerpts contain significant new material, then accessModeSufficient = {textual} is not true. There are two types of auditory material included: the interview excerpts and the synchronizedAudioText. We cannot distinguish them without accessModeSufficient.
- Case 6.A - audio-only media overlays (full audio sync'd with partial text) for main content, while skippable elements like footnotes, sidebars, endnotes etc. are in text form
accessMode = {auditory, textual}
accessibilityFeature = {synchronizedAudioText}
accessModeSufficient = {auditory} [entire book can be listened to]
accessModeSufficient = {auditory, textual} [entire book can be read using a combination of reading text and listening to audio]
accessibilitySummary = {Main content is audio only. Skippable elements like footnotes, sidebars, endnotes etc. are in text form only.}
Notes: In this case we do not have accessModeSufficient = {textual} because the text content is partial; the main content is in the form of audio.
- Case 7.A - a graphic novel where both graphics and text are integral to the content and neither is sufficient alone
accessMode = {textual, visual}
accessModeSufficient = {textual, visual} [entire book can be read using text and looking at visuals]
accessibilitySummary = {Visual elements are not described.}
Notes: Without an accessibilityFeature of some kind, this book can only be used by someone who can read printed text and can see the pictures.