The Secret of NIMAS Opportunities with XML-Based Accessibility Specifications for Pre K-12 and Higher Education Content

The Secret of NIMAS Opportunities With XML-Based Accessibility Specifications for Pre K-12 and Higher Education Content

by John Parsons

A white paper from ABOUT US

Cenveo Publisher Services provides content and technology solutions and services to publishers. Serving the publishing industry for more than 125 years, CONTENTS Cenveo delivers a full-range of technology, content, and delivery 3 One Source; Many Outcomes solutions that escalate revenue 3 Enter NIMAS and streamline workflows while ensuring editorial integrity. Cenveo 4 Creating NIMAS File Sets Publisher Services is an industry 5 Long-Term Benefits for Publishers leader in XML-early workflow solutions, content development, 5 Collaboration project and author management, 6 A Continuing Journey editorial, production, automated 6 Conclusion transformations, delivery services for print and on-line products, and 7 What About EPUB? so much more. 8 Resources

To learn more about Cenveo and schedule a personal consultation with a publishing specialist, please visit cenveopublisherservices.com.

John Parsons ([email protected]) is a writer and consultant based in Seattle, WA. Formerly the Editorial Director of The Seybold Report, he is the author of numerous articles, white papers, and research reports on publishing and digital media. ince the early nineteenth century invention of text-to-speech variety—is third, followed by “digital braille, the concept of making written content text,” a general category encompassing any text and Savailable to the blind or visually impaired has image descriptions that can be rendered by specialized been a noble aspiration of civilized society. Making or even general-purpose digital devices. that concept a practical reality is another matter. Even as new, more automated, technologies arise, the Since each of these four output choices follows challenges of accessibility remain formidable. predictable rules and logic, there is a definable way to use a structured “master file” approach—creating the The rise of digital media has made the problem more content once, and outputting as needed to as many acute because digital is an intensely visual medium. formats as the market requires, with minimal manual In his 2012 book Accessible EPUB 3 (O’Reilly/Tools intervention. of Change), author Matt Garrish cites the phrase “digital famine,” meaning that only about 5% of books Enter NIMAS produced are ever made available in an accessible format. “Although there are signs that this rate is AEM is the developer of the National Instructional beginning to tick upward with more ebooks being Materials Accessibility Standard or NIMAS (pronounced produced, the overall percentage of books that “nye-mas”), an XML-based specification for organizing become available in accessible form remains abysmally and structuring textbook and other educational content. small.” NIMAS is in turn a subset of an older XML standard known as Digital Accessible Information SYstem, or For pre K-12 and higher education, the accessibility DAISY, used to create Digital Talking Books or DTBs. gap has dire consequences. Print-only educational Books stored in NIMAS XML can be easily rendered materials can be a significant barrier to participation in any of the four basic output formats, and made and achievement. However, accessibility can mean available to schools or programs for visually impaired. significantly different approaches. According to a Since 2006, NIMAS data have been stored in a recent report from the American Foundation for the federally mandated repository, the National Instructional Blind (AFB), not all those aged 21 and younger who Materials Access Center, or NIMAC. The files are not are legally blind use the same reading medium. Only available directly to the public, but are provided by 9% use braille, while 29% are visual readers, 9% are NIMAC to authorized entities within each state, who auditory readers, and 18% are pre-readers; alarmingly, work with teachers and parents at the local level. 35% are non-readers. In other words, compensating for visual impairment can take many forms: tactile, In the U.S., schools receiving federal funding support auditory, and assisted or enhanced visual techniques are required to provide materials in NIMAS format, for those with partial sight. and to facilitate the resulting output formats for their students. Educational publishers must also meet that One Source; Many Outcomes requirement, in order to sell to institutions bound by the federal mandate. Increasingly, publishers are looking Thankfully, these differences all point to a data-centric for ways not only to meet the compliance requirement approach, which can resolve the accessibility issue but also to increase the output flexibility of their overall for publishers. Content, including images with rich, operations. descriptive metadata, is almost all created digitally. By authoring or converting this digital source data to a structured, machine-readable format, publishers can output to multiple formats as a matter of economic feasibility and even profitability—not just because accessibility is a compliance mandate.

According to the National Center for Accessible Educational Materials (AEM), there are four major specialized output formats for adapting printed instructional material to the diverse needs of the visually impaired. The first is braille, an alphabet of dot patterns that can be embossed on paper or rendered via a display device. Large print is self-explanatory—and theoretically most adaptable to ebooks and other digital display media. Audio—particularly the computerized

© 2015 Cenveo Publisher Services 3 Creating NIMAS File Sets then uses tools to validate the resulting XML against the NIMAS schema, as well as against a series of business Because the intent of NIMAS is to facilitate the rules, which are designed to check the file beyond accessibility of textbooks and other printed materials, simple compliance with the NIMAS standard. it has naturally fallen to content service providers to do the NIMAS conversion work. Yogesh Jedhe, Business The team works with subject matter experts to make Manager at Cenveo Publisher Services, outlined the sure that image description fields are populated with basic process. “The input is often a combination of alternate text that truly help a visually impaired student. Word files, hard copy, PDFs, application files, or XML— Other elements, such as math equations in MathML, depending on the publisher,” he said. “We also receive are captured in such a way that they accurately and existing metadata for the publication.” Paralleling the effectively convey information to the visually impaired. print production process, Cenveo teams leverage our robust transformation technology tools to extract data NIMAS compliant files created by Jedhe’s group are from the source files, apply and edit XML as needed, rigorously tested and refined using a Cenveo-developed and process and tag images. Finally, a team of content tool. However, the company stresses that the object analysts at Cenveo will spend the time to make sure is not simply to create technically valid files, but to that the elements that require human judgment, like ensure that the resulting content will communicate image descriptions, are created in a way that aligns information to a visually impaired student as effectively with the true intent of the NIMAS standard. The team as its core counterpart does to other students. So far,

the company has converted more than 5000 books for discoverable, down the road.” He noted that while all publishers like Cengage Learning, Carnegie Learning, publishers believe that serving the needs of visually Goodheart-Willcox, and others. disabled individuals is the right thing to do, it can create budget concerns. Long-Term Benefits for Publishers One key factor for publishers to measure the value of Cenveo’s Senior Vice President of Content Solutions, great NIMAS compliant files is the discoverability of their Kevin Burns, reiterated the importance of creating content. “Search engines are visually disabled too,” he “great” NIMAS compliant files instead of “good enough” said, pointing out that enormous costs can be incurred files. “There is a distinction between a valid NIMAS by publishers simply because the limited metadata for compliant file and a great one,” he said. “You can a particular asset is insufficient to find it for subsequent have a NIMAS compliant file that is valid but doesn’t re-use—or for developing related content. “Having really achieve the spirit or the goal of what the content content that is easily discoverable, especially non-text is supposed to be. What happens too often is that content, is all about making the meaning and context budgets demand, or conversion teams choose to do for an asset discoverable, which is exactly what things whatever is easiest (i.e., cheapest) instead of doing the like long descriptions in NIMAS compliant files are all right thing to create a good NIMAS compliant file.” about.”

A common example is the long description for Discoverability and content repurposing may well be images—a NIMAS requirement for any visual element the financial drivers for managed content practices in a book. If the published caption or call-outs in the that will—as a side benefit—result in better NIMAS main text (words meant to enhance a sighted person’s compliant files. “Large publishers can realize seven- understanding of an image) is simply copied and pasted figure savings if their content is more broadly into the long description field, it isn’t truly meaningful for discoverable and easily repurposable,” Burns said, someone visually impaired. Although this certainly saves “avoiding the need to re-create content for each new on costs, and the resulting file will be NIMAS compliant product.” because there is something in that field, but in some cases words could have little or no utility to someone Collaboration who cannot see the image clearly, or at all. Clearly, the NIMAS compliant file creation process has This need, to have additional content in a NIMAS highlighted the need for a team approach to content compliant file that is actually helpful for someone with a creation – finding the right partner to create NIMAS visual disability, requires an understanding of the subject compliant files means finding a collaborative partner on the part of the team creating the NIMAS compliant that understands the difference between creating a file. Burns stressed that the right conversion team to NIMAS compliant file and an XML conversion project. create great NIMAS files for publishers needs to have “Each publisher and each product is different,” Burns enough cognitive horsepower to create this additional noted. “It’s all about using the right process and the content that needs to really make images accessible right person—the right blend of capability, knowledge, to the visually disabled individual, or to systems that and cost—to do the work. Sometimes that person is in can’t understand visual content. “This is not just about the middle of Pennsylvania, and sometimes that person a NIMAS compliant file,” he said. “Every publisher is in Mumbai. That person doesn’t have to be a world- I’ve worked with has some sort of digital asset renowned scholar, but he or she does have to take the management initiative. Those long alternate descriptions time to understand the content.” Team composition can for images are vital to making that content usable, and include those with basic comprehension skills (for some

© 2015 Cenveo Publisher Services 5 projects) or subject matter experts (for other, more driven by the changing nature of publishing itself. “If specialized projects). publishers are only producing print products,” he said, “then having those converted to NIMAS would be Successful NIMAS compliance must also include fine. However, they should consider going directly to accurate comprehension of visual design elements EPUB 3 and create a digital product. Where contracts used in print products. Without a certain level of visual demanded NIMAS compliance, I would down-transform literacy—such as the use of sidebars, bullet lists, to that file format.” or call-outs—the resulting NIMAS compliant output will lack the granularity and nuance of its printed Kersher cautioned that the current NIMAS counterpart. “NIMAS is capable of conveying this implementation could be a mixed blessing. “The level of meaning,” Burns said, “but where conversions implementation and licensing through NIMAC placed often fail is where an attempt is made to include style severe restrictions on the use of the files,” he said. information. It will come out badly when people fail to “The restrictions went beyond the Chafee copyright separate content from presentation.” exemption. Organizations that are set up to use the copyright exemption, now had to further restrict Overall, Burns maintained that the state of the original distribution, if they wanted to use the files. As a result, source material will have a significant impact on the it was difficult for organizations like Learning Ally to take potential for automation—and reduced costs—of advantage and use the files in their organization. There conversion to NIMAS or any accessible format. “There are alternative material producers that are using the files will always be a need for subjective judgment,” he said, to speed up braille production.” “but when the original content is normalized, the cost of converting it—or even finding and re-using it—will go Federal complications aside, however, adopting a down.” sound NIMAS compliant workflow—based on well- managed content—is a positive for publishers. “When A Continuing Journey publishers produce NIMAS files, all the techniques in the EPUB 3 best practices apply,” Kersher said. “In A sound content strategy is essential to any conversion addition, the publishers benefit by getting terrific EPUB process. Chuck Hitchcock, the Co-Director of National 3 from the process.” AEM Center (the body that oversees NIMAS), cautioned that there is no “quick and easy” automation path Conclusion for NIMAS compliance. A great deal of content is still designed primarily for print, in programs like Adobe Surveys by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) InDesign. Editing can occur at many points—from the and others have firmly established that Learning original Word files to the InDesign document itself— Management Systems are revolutionizing our approach making manual conversion from PDF files more likely. to curriculum. Textbooks (print or digital) are being Often, viable “alternate text” descriptions needed augmented—not replaced—by a more interactive for images, are not included in the typical content content approach. BISG’s ongoing Student Attitudes workflow. Toward Content in Higher Education study found that LMS adoption—including tighter integration with Despite these challenges, Hitchcock maintains that textbooks—is on the rise, as is the use of tablets and NIMAS has proven to be a reliable and high-quality other devices. These mobile devices are becoming standard from which braille, large print, audio (including more ubiquitous—especially in the developed world. As text-to-speech), and accessible HTML can be derived. such devices become better at conveying sound, large By including subject matter expertise in the content print, and even tactile data, the potential for accessibility workflow, NIMAS compliant files meet the immediate increases. need for making printed materials accessible to the visually impaired. The key of course is in the content. From well- structured, managed digital assets, presented in a Hitchcock and others are not standing still, however. robust XML framework, a virtually unlimited number The emergence of EPUB 3 bodes well for publishers— of output options are available. As expert-led systems including those with a successful history with NIMAS. evolve—along with common data standards like George Kersher, Secretary-General of the DAISY NIMAS—it will be increasingly possible for publishers Consortium, was instrumental in the creation of the to cost-effectively overcome the “digital famine” EPUB 3 specification, and is a staunch advocate of a of accessible materials, while also making content global standard for accessible publishing. For him, the viable, and especially searchable, for all educational need for continued evolution on accessibility is being applications.

The issue of accessibility highlights the is designed to deliver on key accessibility importance of a well-structured data mandates.” infrastructure for all publishers—particularly This begs the question, are EPUB 3 and DAISY/ those focused on education. From the outset, NIMAS mutually exclusive approaches when proponents of DAISY/NIMAS standards it comes to accessibility? Technically, their cited the benefits not only for the visually structures and vocabulary are different— impaired individuals but also for publishers in although logical mapping is certainly possible. general. NIMAS brings a new opportunity for The conflict is more about the resources educational publishers and as a catalyst for required by a publisher to support two formats improvements to and implementation of XML in that ostensibly accomplish the same thing. publishing workflows. Publishers and their infrastructure and supply However, in the fast-moving world of digital chain partners ultimately must follow a data publishing, innovations in data technology strategy that serves all output needs at the emerge faster than their specifications and lowest cost. standards committees—and certainly faster The good news is that the same best practices than the governments trying to promote or involved in creating high quality (as opposed to enforce them. One such innovation is EPUB, simply valid) NIMAS compliant files are equally the broadly adopted ebook format. applicable to creating high quality EPUB 3 Managed by the International Digital Publishing files, according to IDPF Executive Director Forum (IDPF), EPUB is based on HTML, CSS, Bill McCoy. “Ultimately, working with EPUB 3 and other Web standards. It was originally is easier because publishers can standardize focused on “reflowable content”—primarily text on one mainstream format,” he said, “but that could be user-optimized for viewing on publishers and their service providers still have any device. However, the latest version, EPUB to structure the data intelligently—to meet the 3, which is based on HTML5, encompasses accessibility needs of students.” far more including fixed layout, audio/video, In the meantime, NIMAS is not going away and interactivity. Recently published as an ISO anytime soon. As a U.S. government mandate, technical specification, EPUB 3 provides many it will continue to be a requirement for of the same benefits to the visually impaired publishers selling to schools receiving federal as DAISY and NIMAS, and many additional funding. Whether or not EPUB 3 is added to benefits for both print and digital publishing. that mandate someday is immaterial. The Commenting on the ISO milestone, George real issue is publishers’ ability to intelligently Kerscher, IDPF President (and Secretary- manage their own content infrastructure. Doing General of the DAISY Consortium), noted, “An so—with the help of reliable partners—will ISO designation for the EPUB Standard will make the format decision less formidable. further aid global adoption of EPUB, which

Action for Blind People | https://actionforblindpeople.org.uk American Foundation for the Blind | http://www.afb.org/default.aspx British Blind Sport | http://www.britishblindsport.org.uk National Instructional Materials Access Center | http://www.nimac.us National Center on Accessible Educational Materials | http://aem.cast.org National Federation of the Blind | https://nfb.org Royal National Institute of Blind People | http://www.rnib.org.uk/about-rnib

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