Searching for Accessibility searchBOX is a free directory of accessibility information about the publishing industry. The service provides accessibility information for publishers and platforms, such as links to accessibility statements and involvement with organisations such as RNIB Bookshare, so that librarians can efficiently source accessible content for their students. The searchBOX Finder service is included within the accessibility statements of a wide range of higher education institutions in the UK and has been has been embedded in the library directories of University of Kent, City University of London, and UCL. Everyone likes a list at this time of year, so we've been exploring the page search data for searchBOX and the following vendors rank highest in searches by librarians and users in 2024. These searches represent users seeking accessibility information of vendors (such as an accessibility statement or contact details) and indicate platforms with high usage. JSTOR is the most searched for vendor on searchBOX in 2024, closely followed by VLebooks and ProQuest Central. We’ve added in the availability of accessibility statements on the platforms, and it’s great to see that the customer searches in the majority of cases are leading users to accessibility information. We’ve also mapped the results to ASPIRE accreditation, and you’ll notice that those vendors with ASPIRE accreditation for the quality of their accessibility statement rank higher in the list. As the European Accessibility Act looms in 2025, the provision of accessibility information is critical for compliance. Your statement is your opportunity to tell your accessibility story and provide user-focused information to your customers. Are you on the list? searchBOX Directory: https://lnkd.in/ezVyBuW searchBOX Finder: https://lnkd.in/gpcAwRQg The ASPIRE project for accessibility statements: https://lnkd.in/eyjVq_d Browse the ASPIRE list for platforms: https://lnkd.in/eueuKhn List of most searched platforms on searchBOX: 1. JSTOR 2. Vlebooks 3. ProQuest Central 4. Ebook Central 5. Kortext 6. Ovid 7. Taylor & Francis eBooks 8. EBSCO Ebooks 9. BibliU 10. Elsevier ScienceDirect 11. Gale Academic OneFile 12. SpringerLink 13. Cambridge Core 14. MathSciNet 15. Directory of Open Access Journals 16. Wiley Online 17. Oxford Academic 18. Taylor & Francis Online 19. ABI/INFORM Collection 20. De Gruyter 21. Sage Journals 22. Fulcrum ACLS Humanities Ebooks 23. Business Source Complete 24. Directory of Open Access Books 25. O'Reilly for Higher Education 26. SDC Mergers and Acquisitions 27. Brill 28. Sage Research Methods 29. Bloomsbury Collections 30. Clinical Key Student 31. Cambridge Higher Education 32. MIT Press Direct 33. Cite them right online 34. Emerald Insight 35. IEEE Xplore 36. Sage Knowledge 37. The Economist Online 38. HeinOnline 39. Office for National Statistics 40. Westlaw

The European Accessibility Act is approaching. Slowly. Inexorably. Like an Imperial Star Destroyer. We've been thinking about the EAA and accessibility statements. What does the publishing industry need to do? Has anyone written about the EAA and accessibility through the lens of Star Wars? No? Then here it is... European Accessibility Act + accessibility statements: An ASPIRE overview featuring tenuous Star Wars references https://lnkd.in/egGEU2at #MakeADifference #MayTheForceBeWithYou

Episode 6 of the Digital Publishing Podcast just dropped. This time I get to interview one of the loveliest people in publishing, Huw Alexander, Managing Director and founder of the brilliant firm textBOX, to nerd out about all things image description. We cover his publishing journey, starting your own business, and big changes in the industry (of course including AI...). Don’t miss this one! https://lnkd.in/e-xF4HrV #digitalaccessibility #publishing #digitalpublishing #podcast #digitalpublishingpodcast #a11y #imagedescription #alttext #ebook #epub #eprdctn

We're thrilled to announce that the EBSCO Ebooks platform has achieved a gold-rated, 100% ASPIRE score for the quality of its accessibility statement. This is the fourth time that the EBSCO Ebooks accessibility statement has recorded a 100% ASPIRE score and it underlines EBSCO's continued commitment to creating an inclusive environment for all their users. Many congratulations to Emma Waecker and the whole team at EBSCO Information Services. Always a pleasure to work with you! Learn more about EBSCO Ebooks: https://lnkd.in/givqqEcX Explore the EBSCO Ebooks statement: https://lnkd.in/er35RicN Learn more about the ASPIRE project: https://lnkd.in/eyjVq_d Explore the ASPIRE list for platforms: https://lnkd.in/eueuKhn #ASPIRE #MakeAStatement #AccessibilityStatements #EBSCO

Is your organisation part of the ASPIRE 100 Club? The ASPIRE project launched in 2018 and reviews the quality of the information included in an accessibility statement by publishers and platforms. In the age of the European Accessibility Act, telling your accessibility story is more important than ever. Your accessibility statement is a gateway to your customers and a window on your content. Your statement needs to be user-focused, encourage engagement, and communicate your work + investment. 26 publishers + platforms have now recorded a gold-rated, 100% ASPIRE score for the quality of their accessibility statements. This unique accreditation informs procurement decision-making and demonstrates a commitment to inclusive content. Learn more about writing a user-focused statement with the ASPIRE reference guide to writing accessibility statements: https://lnkd.in/egYhUPYW Explore the ASPIRE lists and find out more about the publishers + platforms excelling in accessible content and interfaces: ASPIRE publisher list: https://lnkd.in/evz--j4 ASPIRE platform list: https://lnkd.in/eueuKhn Learn more about the ASPIRE project + contact us with any questions you may have: https://lnkd.in/eyjVq_d #ASPIRE #MakeAStatement

searchBOX is a free directory of accessibility information about the publishing industry. The service provides accessibility information such as links to accessibility statements and involvement with organisations such as RNIB Bookshare, so that librarians can efficiently source accessible content for their students. The searchBOX Finder service has been embedded in universities across the country, including University of Kent, City University of London, and UCL. Everyone likes a list, so we've been exploring the page search data for searchBOX and the following vendors rank highest in searches by librarians from June 2023 to June 2024. Are you on the list? 1.  JSTOR 2.  Ovid 3.  VLEbooks 4.  ProQuest Platform 5.  Ebook Central (ProQuest) 6.  Elsevier ScienceDirect 7.  Kortext 8.  MathSciNet 9.  EBSCO Ebooks 10. BibliU 11. Gale Academic 12. SpringerLink 13. Cambridge Core 14. ABI/INFORM 15. Oxford Academic 16. Taylor & Francis Ebooks 17. Sage Journals 18. Taylor & Francis Online 19. OECD Library 20. De Gruyter 21. O'Reilly for Higher Education 22. Emerald Insight 23. The Economist Online 24. Office for National Statistics 25. ClinicalKey Student (Elsevier) 26. Scopus (Elsevier) 27. Cambridge Higher Education 28. Bloomsbury Collections 29. Brill 30. International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (ProQuest) Is your accessibility information reaching your users? Check your searchBOX entries and let us know if your information needs updating. Explore the searchBOX Directory: https://lnkd.in/ezVyBuW Explore searchBOX Finder: https://lnkd.in/gpcAwRQg #AccessiblePublishing #MakeADifference

"An accessibility statement is a window on a publisher's content." The ASPIRE project has been reviewing publisher + publishing platform accessibility statements since 2018. As the European Accessibility Act approaches in June 2025, we have prepared a reference guide to writing user-focused statements that tells the story of your content + platform. The reference guide provides a detailed walkthrough of every aspect of statement creation, and maps to the Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG) charter. From contact details and response times to image descriptions and developing a roadmap, the guidelines will help you tell your publishing story and engage with your readers + users. Explore the ASPIRE paper: https://lnkd.in/egYhUPYW Learn more about the ASPIRE project: https://lnkd.in/eyjVq_d #ASPIRE #MakeAStatement

We're delighted to announce that the ProQuest LibCentral platform has recorded a gold rated, 100% ASPIRE score for the quality of its accessibility statement in 2024. The LibCentral statement joins the statements for Ebook Central and the ProQuest Platform in the ASPIRE 100 Club. Many congratulations to the whole ProQuest team for your continued commitment to inclusive publishing + learning. Fantastic work! Explore the ProQuest Accessibility Directory + learn more about ProQuest's accessibility work: https://lnkd.in/eag2Benp Explore the ASPIRE list for platforms: https://lnkd.in/eueuKhn #MakeAStatement

We're delighted to announce that Ebook Central from ProQuest has achieved a gold rated, 100% ASPIRE score for the quality of its accessibility statement. This is Ebook Central's fourth 100% ASPIRE score since 2020 and it underlines ProQuest's continued commitment to inclusive publishing + learning across their platforms. Congratulations to the whole team at ProQuest for your fantastic work! Explore the ASPIRE list for platform vendors: https://lnkd.in/eueuKhn Explore the ProQuest accessibility directory: https://lnkd.in/eag2Benp Learn more about the ASPIRE project: https://lnkd.in/eyjVq_d #MakeAStatement

We're delighted to announce that ProQuest have achieved a gold-rated, 100% ASPIREreview for the quality and user focus of their accessibility statement for the ProQuest platform. The ProQuest platform becomes the first platform to achieve four 100% ASPIRE scores (2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024). In addition, ProQuest have previously achieved 100% scores for both the Ebook Central and LibCentral platforms. ProQuest continue their commitment to accessibility in publishing, and the ProQuest Accessibility Directory is a fantastic example of this thoughtful commitment. Many congratulations to the whole team! Explore the ProQuest accessibility statement: https://lnkd.in/ej8z7kP7 Explore the ProQuest Accessibility Directory: https://lnkd.in/eag2Benp View the ASPIRE list for platforms: https://lnkd.in/eueuKhn