University of Michigan Press Named Benetech Global Certified Accessible Publisher, First University Press

From a Joint News Release (via U. Michigan Publishing):

University of Michigan Press is now a Benetech Global Certified Accessible™ (GCA) publisher, and is the first university press to receive this certification. Benetech, a nonprofit that empowers communities with software for social good, issues this accreditation to those publishers who produce EPUBs that meet a full range of accessibility features required to support readers with and without disabilities and learning differences.

Benetech’s GCA publisher certification program is the first ever, third-party EPUB certification program to verify ebook accessibility. All approved publishers have demonstrated success consistently producing files in accordance with Benetech’s GCA certification standard, meeting the EPUB Accessibility 1.0 Conformance and Discovery specification and exceeding a publishing standard level of WCAG 2.10 AA. Benetech recognizes these publishers as creators of fully accessible EPUBs.

University of Michigan Press is committed to making its publications and electronic media accessible to the broadest possible audience. This commitment is firmly in line with its mission statement and University of Michigan accessibility guidelines. The Press’ vision is to make the University of Michigan Press an accessible publishing organization: producing accessible publications, implementing accessible systems, and effecting change among our peers and partners by maintaining a high standard of accessibility.

“Our work towards becoming an accessible publisher required many hours of discussion, hard work, and collaboration inside and outside our organization,” said Jonathan McGlone, Front End Developer & UI Designer of Michigan Publishing, which houses University of Michigan Press. “In the end, accessibility touched every corner of our organization. It has been exciting to see many at the Press become accessibility champions and experts in our work towards certification.”

“Born Accessible ebooks give students, researchers, and professors with disabilities equal access to the latest research and innovations in their fields as their non-disabled peers,” said Brad Turner, Vice President and General Manager of Global Education and Literacy at Benetech. “As the first University Press to achieve GCA accreditation, University of Michigan Press has demonstrated leadership in inclusion and accessibility in higher education.”

To learn more about the University of Michigan Press’ accessibility initiatives visit: https://www.press.umich.edu/about#accessibility

To learn more about Benetech’s Global Certified Accessible Program visit: http://bornaccessible.benetech.org

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