Are you at a scholarly publishing crossroads? Which of these paths will you choose?
What if you didn’t have to choose, and could take all the paths at once?
Guy van der Kolk
Senior Solutions Consultant, Typefi
Almost five years ago, I learned about my first major project as a fresh Typefi employee: I was to implement a multilingual, multi-format accessible workflow at a specialised agency of the United Nations. No pressure!
Fortunately, I am multilingual, and had a lot of experience with multiple formats, but I had no idea what this accessibility thing was all about.
Needless to say, the learning curve was high. However, I did not have to go at it alone: colleagues had done some of this work before, and the internet is a veritable treasure trove of information.
Now, after five years of helping Typefi customers successfully implement accessible publishing workflows, I have learnt a thing or two about accessible publishing challenges—and how to overcome them—that I would like to share with you.
Guy van der Kolk
Senior Solutions Consultant, Typefi
There is absolutely no doubt that Microsoft Word is the most-used word processing application on the planet, especially in corporate environments.
Even though I can’t back that statement up with some relevant statistical data or a beautiful infographic, I can definitely back it up with 20 years of experience dealing with the publishing industry!
However, the fact that something is the most-used application doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is adept at using it. As with all things, we humble users are often pressed for time and use software the way we were taught—if we were lucky enough to have received formal training.
In February 2018, Typefi was shortlisted for an Accessible Books Consortium International Excellence Award—an achievement of which our team is extremely proud!
These annual awards, part of The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards, recognise outstanding leadership and achievements in advancing the accessibility of digital publications for persons who are print disabled.
Two awards are presented each year, one to a publisher and one for a project initiative. Typefi was a finalist for the initiative award, alongside DAISY Forum of India, Dolphin Computer Access in the UK, and Fundação Dorina Nowill para Cegos in Brazil.
