On March 4th, 2026, the Institute of Professional Editors and the Australian Publishers Association co-published the second edition of their accessibility report entitled, Books without barriers: A practical guide to inclusive publishing. This report is a resource for understanding and preventing barriers to reading that people with print disabilities often encounter throughout the publishing process. It is organized into four parts: planning for inclusive publishing, developing content, describing images and tables, and producing accessible books.
Building on the first edition of the report, published in 2023, this second edition of Books without barriers has a broader scope, focusing on the global publishing industry. Crucially, it reflects recent developments in the sector, including applications of emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence. The authors characterized the focus of the report as “moving beyond techno-solutionism to examine the organisational practices, workflows and editorial decisions that create content that is both accessible and usable.”
This new edition features a foreword written by IPA’s President, Gvantsa Jobava, on the importance of prioritizing accessibility in the publishing industry. In her foreword, Jobava described the report as a “clear, practical, hands-on guide, which should be on every publisher’s reading list – from those who have already started making progress to those unsure where to start.”
You can read the report at the following link: https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/34940