Accessible
Digital Design
Publishing Formats
e-books and Audiobooks
What are e-books?
An e-book is a digital representation of a printed book. The text is presented in a format which allows it to be read on a computer or handheld device. Many books available in printed versions can be read as e-books, including bestselling fiction, classics, and reference texts.
If e-books are accessible, they can be read as audio, braille, or large print. You can use a dedicated e-book reader such as a Kobo opens in new window or a Kindle opens in new window or an iPad opens in new window or Android tablet (such as a Samsung Galaxy Tab opens in new window) or by using screen reading software such as JAWS opens in new window or Kurzweil on a computer. You can also download the free Dolphin EasyReader opens in new window app designed for readers who are blind, have low vision or with dyslexia.
What is an audio book?
Audiobooks are voice recordings of the text of a book that you listen to rather than read. Audiobooks can be exact word-for-word versions of books or edited, abridged versions. You can listen to audiobooks on a smartphone, tablet, computer, home speaker system. They can be enjoyed with or without headphones or ear buds, or on an in-car entertainment system. Audiobooks are usually purchased and downloaded in the same way as digital music and video are, and they can also be purchased from online bookstores or downloaded free from public domain sites. Most public library systems offer audiobook downloads online—all you need is a library card (Livewire, 2020).
Audiobooks are often narrated by professionally trained actors, who may have to adjust their acting style in order to remain very still while narrating. Any movement in a sound booth can create extra and unwanted noise including fabric rustling, foot tapping, chair creaking, and before the advent of a tablet, page turning. Most narrators will spend as much time preparing for the recording as the time spent in the recording studio. This means character and accent research, checking pronunciations, and making many notes on the scripts. Good narrators might have to become several different characters while recording 100 pages of text a day (Guardian, 2019).
Listen to an audiobook sample of the book Follow the Drinking Gourd, narrated by actor Morgan Freeman opens in new window (Audible, 2017).
What does ‘born accessible’ mean?
"Born accessible" refers to books that are accessible-by-design right from the beginning, books that build access into current book production workflows, rather than as an afterthought where books are updated in post-production to make them accessible (BookNet Canada, 2019).
“Born accessible” books encourage book publishers to make their content available to all readers at the same time. Often if you want an accessible version of a book, you must make a request to the publisher, and it can take a while. If a book is “born accessible”, it means that there are accessible versions of the book available at the time as the publication of the printed book including print, large print, braille, audio, e-book and more.
