In Spring 2022, UBC Press achieved Benetech certification of our EPUB production process. EPUBs published from that point forward (with a few exceptions) are born accessible. Books published prior to 2022 have varying levels of accessible features. In order to help readers find books that will best suit their needs, we are working to grade each EPUB available for purchase on our website to indicate its general level of accessibility:
Benetech certified | EPUB has passed the Benetech GCA certification program and has achieved the highest level of accessibility. This EPUB:
EPUB meets the AA requirements of WCAG 2.0 and generally contains the same features listed above, but it did not go through the Benetech-certified production process. |
| A | EPUB meets the AA requirements of WCAG 2.0 and generally contains the same features listed above, but it did not go through the Benetech-certified production process. |
| B | EPUB contains a moderate level of accessibility features. Examples of accessibility features that may be missing include alternative text for images and tagging of languages other than English. Although these titles generally do contain several types of structural navigation, coding may not meet WCAG 2.0 standards. |
| C | EPUB contains limited accessibility features and/or the extent of accessibility is unknown. |
PDFs available for purchase on our website also meet varying levels of accessibility.
| A | PDF contains embedded fonts, bookmarked table of contents, linked table of contents, linked endnotes, linked index, working external URLs, alternative text for images, and reflow view capabilities. |
| B | PDF contains a moderate level of accessibility features, such as bookmarked table of contents and searchable text. Examples of accessibility features that may be missing include alternative text for images. |
| C | PDF is not accessible: it is a scan of the print book and is not searchable. |
Very old books (for example, books published prior to 2008) and books that are primarily illustration-based, such as guidebooks, are less likely to be available in an accessible format. We are working to remediate our older titles to improve their accessibility.
If you have purchased an ebook that does not meet your accessibility needs, or if you have any questions about accessibility, please contact us at accessibility[at]ubcpress.ca and we will work with you to prepare a usable file whenever possible.
Accessible Ebook Software
Available ebook reading systems vary widely in their support for accessibility features. Visit EPUB Test for accessibility support information for specific platforms.