Books for Everybody
E-books didn't just change how people read - they changed who gets to read. Digital books have opened doors for readers with vision, mobility, or learning disabilities. Adjustable fonts, screen readers, and text-to-speech features make it possible for more people to enjoy books in ways that work best for them. The next challenge belongs to the people who create and distribute e-books. Accessibility features only matter when publishers and authors know how to use them.
The Fine Print
Accessibility in e-books continue to improve, but publishing standards are still not where they should be. For instance, many college textbooks remain inaccessible to students with disabilities. Dyslexic readers often need to adjust fonts or background colors, while visually impaired students depend on tools like text-to-speech, font scaling, or zoom. Publishers are still overlooking these differences when designing digital materials.
An evaluation in 2017 revealed how limited accessibility was across most e-books3. Four years later, a 2021 study found that some progress had been made, but most e-books and e-textbooks still failed to meet even the most basic accessibility standards4. Each textbook was reviewed using sixteen accessibility categories from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The most common problems included missing alt text for images, poor color contrast, disorganized headings, and code that screen readers couldn't interpret properly.
The problem comes down to a lack of understanding. Many publishers and platforms still fail to build accessibility features into their content from the start. Real progress depends on awareness, education, and stronger standards being applied before textbooks ever reach students. E-books have made reading more inclusive, but accessibility still has a long way to go. The progress made so far shows that technology can open doors, but the next challenge is keeping those doors open for everyone. What happens next will decide not only how we read, but how publishing continues to evolve in a digital world.
3. Dobson, Victoria, and Alistair McNaught. “Crowdsourcing E-book Accessibility Information and the Impact on Staff Development”. Insights: The UKSG Journal 30, 2017. (2):61-70.
4. Azadbakht, Elena, Teresa Schultz, and Jennifer Arellano. “Not Open for All: Accessibility of Open Textbooks”. Insights: The UKSG Journal 34, 2021. (1): 24.