Reading Systems

Introduction

EPUB reading system is a generic term for the apps and software programs that people read EPUB files with. Retail operations, library distributors, and organizations serving persons with disabilities ingest an EPUB and change it to restrict its use to their proprietary reading systems. The content is then called protected. In most cases, the HTML files inside the title are unchanged, but there are exceptions. Amazon processes the .EPUB file into a .kfx file, which differs significantly from the original, and works only on Kindle. One goal of the EPUB standard was to enable publishers to create a single e-book file they could distribute to all outlets, instead of having to create multiple files of the same content. This has been phenomenally successful, but the reading systems differ in their implementation. They have different features and accommodations. Hence, the reader’s experience differs depending on the reading system. In addition, when used with assistive technology, the reading experience varies significantly.

Testing reading systems with Assistive Technology or evaluating the accommodations they provide, such as reading aloud, requires technical expertise with AT, reading systems, and their expected behaviors. To organize testing, the DAISY Consortium built EPUBtest.org to manage it. Members of the publishing community, including publishers, reading system developers, and persons with disabilities, volunteer to improve the EPUB ecosystem. We will look at this resource in detail. We will also look at the Reading System Roundup, a publication designed to summarize the results from EPUBtest.org and provide easy-to-use recommendations on selecting reading systems.

 

 

Examples of EPUB Distributors

Many companies distribute EPUB content, including Apple Books, Google Play Books, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, VitalSource, RedShelf, OverDrive, Bookshare, Follet, EBSCO, Fulcrum, and ProQuest. Amazon Kindle recommends the EPUB 3 format for their system, but the .kfx file Amazon delivers to readers differs from other systems. However, the criteria for evaluating the accessibility of the Kindle platform are the same.

Some distributors of digital books also offer PDF editions. This is most common in higher education, but libraries frequently make PDF versions available. PDF is a fixed layout format without options for reflow, color, font, or other personalization. A few reading systems support PDF alongside their EPUB rendering and provide some accommodations, such as reading aloud, with the PDF view.

 

 

Evaluating Reading Systems: The Approach Used at EPUBTest.org

The team that created EPUBtest.org was made up of experts who had participated in developing the EPUB standard and had experience in reading system design. In addition, many of the volunteers are experts in accessibility, and several have disabilities and use the assistive technology being assessed in their daily lives. The team developed a testing method. To test accurately, each reading system feature and interaction with AT had to be tested separately.

First, the team created EPUB 3 test books that were error free, so a system’s behavior on each test could be graded pass or fail.
Next, the test books needed to be loaded into the reading system under evaluation. Many reading systems allow books to be imported directly (sideloaded). For instance, if you download an EPUB from Project Gutenberg to your Mac and double-click it, Apple Books automatically sideloads it. Thorium and EasyReader both allow sideloading. Nook and Kindle are examples of systems that do not. You can use them to read books you buy from Barnes & Noble or Amazon, but nothing else. For these systems, their owners had to ingest the test books into their systems. We are grateful to those who collaborated in the testing by ingesting the test files into their systems. 

Next, the results had to be replicated on several hardware systems to make sure any reported errors were reproducible.

 

 

Fundamental Accessibility EPUB Test Titles

The initial goal of EPUBtest.org was to perform fundamental testing and report the results. The fundamental test books are unprotected, and anyone can download them from: EPUBtest.org/test-books. There are six titles that cover specific fundamental areas:

  • Basic Functionality: Evaluates the basic features necessary for anybody to use a reading system effectively.
  • Non-Visual Reading: Tests performed with screen readers to see if the EPUB is accessible to people with low or no vision. Normally, a blind person conducts them.
  • Visual Adjustments: People with low vision or dyslexia need to make visual adjustments, such as enlarging text and change colors, to make the text readable.
  • Read Aloud: Read aloud evaluates TTS with simultaneous highlighting of the text.
  • Mathematics: Mathematics is essential for STEM content. EPUB supports MathML, and these tests evaluate the visual presentation and compatibility with screen readers.
  • Extended Descriptions: Publishers, especially educational, provide long descriptions for graphic content, which is essential for understanding the material. Because most people can see these images, publishers normally allow readers with a disability to read the description but hide it from others. This provides a better reading experience while making the graphic accessible. The downside is for readers with cognitive disabilities. Few of them use screen readers and therefore don’t have access to these extended descriptions, which could benefit them. These tests make sure the AT can use the technique employed.

 

 

Results from EPUBtest.org

There are many permutations of reading systems, platforms, and assistive technology. When you visit the results, you find that when a screen reader is used, there are no results for visual adjustments or read aloud, because this must have visual analysis. Likewise, where screen readers are not used, the non-visual reading is not reported. Take a look now by visiting: https://EPUBtest.org/results. Reviewing the results, you find that there is a wide range of differences between the various combinations. In most cases, the reading system with the highest scores provides a better reading experience than one with a lower score. However, personal preferences and user interface design are not factored into the reporting. If a reading system has a horrible score, we would not recommend suggesting it to your patrons. However, between systems that are similar, a person may just prefer one system over another. It may be helpful to review the notes associated with an evaluation by following the links to the specific report.

Not Finding a Reading System?

If a reading system developer is not participating in EPUBtest.org, they can contact EPUBtest.org and ingest the fundamental test titles. If library staff want to get involved and do testing, they are welcome.

What Features Are Common in Reading Systems

Of course, displaying the text of a title and turning the page is accommodation that all reading systems support. To learn more about the fundamental features in reading systems, follow the link in the report to read what each test is all about.

 

 

Reading Systems Accessibility Support Roundup

The method for testing reading systems for accessibility is sophisticated. Most people just want a recommendation and a summary of what to expect. The reading systems Accessibility Support Roundup is provides this at: https://inclusivEPUBlishing.org/rs-accessibility/

Inclusive Publishing Logo.png


The Inclusive Publishing website is a wonderful resource essential to the publishing community. Librarians should bookmark this site and turn to it to get your questions answered. You can also subscribe to their newsletter. We suggest bookmarking the Roundup, and here are a few examples of the guidance that is provided. These are updated quarterly, and new reading systems are added as they become available. We are only providing a few examples so you can get a feel for the guidance provided.

Thorium Reader Logo.png


Thorium Reader is a desktop reading app available for Windows, macOS and Linux. It is developed with a focus on great support for the EPUB standard and a highly accessible user experience. Thorium also supports DAISY 3 and PDF publications. The app is free and does not require a user account.

Our evaluators liked: Thorium offers lots of features and works well for people with and without print disabilities. Adding books into the library is simple, and organizing books is helped by adding tags and using the search facility. More than one title can be displayed side by side for comparison. There are plenty of options for visual adjustments such spacing and margins, and you can choose from any font installed on your system. Thorium Reader has strong screen reader support and a neat read-aloud feature offers good control and a couple of different read aloud display modes.

Be aware: Only three-color themes are provided. More information: Thorium Reader Getting Started Guide

Vital Source Logo.png


VitalSource is a platform for textbooks and other educational titles. The reading apps are available for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and via a browser. In addition to titles that you download from VitalSource, your own unprotected EPUB files can be sideloaded into the app.

Our evaluators liked: This is a suite of stable reading apps across many platforms with good support for screen reader and refreshable braille users. Notes and highlights are synchronized across devices for books from the VitalSource Store. The Bookshelf reader offers a Read Aloud feature, and the ability to change fonts, colors, margins, and line-height.

Be aware: On Windows, the app will prompt JAWS users to download scripts for a better experience.

More information: VitalSource Bookshelf App for Android: Quick Start Guide and VitalSource Bookshelf App for iOS: Quick Start Guide

RedShelf Logo.png


The RedShelf platform offers textbooks, novels, and other consumer titles, with a special emphasis on education. At this time, the RedShelf reading apps can only be used with titles purchased from the RedShelf store.

Our evaluators liked: Choice of using the browser on your computer, tablet, or phone, or using the native RedShelf apps on iOS and Android. Colors, font, spacing and margins can be personalized. Read aloud highlights the current paragraph and underlines each word as it is spoken. Word definitions are one step away, and it is easy to add highlights and create flashcards which are instantly stored in the cloud. RedShelf publishes a roadmap for the accessibility issues they are working on.

Be aware: You need to set up an account to access titles on this platform. You cannot sideload your own EPUB files.

Adobe Digital Reader logo.png


Adobe’s reading software is widely used for reading PDF files, but Digital Editions reads EPUB as well. The app is available on most phone and computer platforms. It is often recommended by public and academic libraries. Indeed, it is the only option for titles from some library systems because they use Adobe copy protection. Sadly, it is hard to recommend due to poor stability and lack of fundamental accessibility features.

Our evaluators liked: it is convenient to have PDF and EPUB reading in the same app.

Be aware: Our evaluators found Digital Editions on Windows to be unstable and it struggled with larger books. Reliability issues are also reported on iOS and Android. Navigating the table of contents with a screen reader was unsatisfactory. There is no function to change the screen colors or font, and no built-in read-aloud feature, limiting the appeal to people with learning differences such as dyslexia.

 

 

Summary

We now know that most commercial distributors of digital books support the EPUB standard, and it is the preferred format for digital reading. Many of the reading systems also support PDF and audio books. We found the testing methodology for accessibility at EPUBtest.org to be extensive, but not all systems used in the library space have been evaluated. There is a wide range of features or affordances that the reading systems provides, and the fundamental features are being evaluated. We learned that inclusivEPUBlishing.org is a great resource for all the publishing industry, and this is where the reading system Accessibility Roundup is located. The Roundup is updated on a regular basis and provides excellent summaries of the most popular reading systems librarians might recommend to their patrons.

 

 

Conclusion

Librarians who work with patrons with disabilities have excellent resources available to them to suggest a reading system that should provide for a rich reading experience. Providing several suggestions will show that there are choices on what the patron may use for reading digital books. The recommendations should take into consideration where the digital content will be obtained, i.e., if the titles are downloaded, the reading system must support sideloading. If a library is already distributing digital books, the system being used should be evaluated for accessibility, and this may mean advocating to the distributor that they work with EPUBtest.org. If the system in use is not accessible, the librarian should explore alternative sources of content, such as Bookshare, which will work with any reading system that supports side loading.

 

 

References


Thorium Reader Getting Started Guide

Reading Systems Accessibility Support Roundup

EPUBTest.org Reading System Results