Inclusive Publishing and the Quest for Reading Equity

Summary

Despite unprecedented opportunities to publish content in accessible formats, most books remain inaccessible to people with print disability. Technological advances and new legal frameworks are creating a transition toward inclusive publishing practices, but systemic barriers continue to limit equitable access to books for millions of individuals worldwide. Scholarship has also moved slowly, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of the strategic, technological and ethical dimensions of inclusive publishing. This Element offers the first holistic examination of this landscape, and argues for the need to move away from ad hoc remediation of books towards the commercial production of 'born-accessible' content. Through policy research, industry case studies, and strategic partnership mapping, it critically examines the rationale, implementation, and potential of inclusive publishing. By articulating both business imperatives and social responsibilities, it proposes a transformative framework for understanding accessibility that offer valuable insights for researchers, industry professionals, and advocacy groups.