Investigating an accessible and usable ePub book via VoiceOver: A case study

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the opportunities and limitations for blind and visually impaired people when reading an ePub document via VoiceOver for mobile devices. The ePub format is based on an (x)html structure; organizing and handling its source code is therefore very important in order to guarantee satisfactory interaction with the eBook. In this work we analyze the main accessibility and usability issues when interacting with an ePub document via VoiceOver, in order to evaluate possible solutions to source code difficulties. We have considered several accessibility requirements for the use of eBooks in order to focus on the potential technical solutions which were evaluated. From this perspective, we considered two eBooks in order to apply our methodology. Comments and suggestions were provided by eight blind users who evaluated the eBooks via iPhone and iPad devices. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.