# Accessible Books Consortium

The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) is a public-private partnership which was launched in 2014 by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The ABC was created with the intent of being "one possible initiative, amongst others, to implement the aims of the Marrakesh VIP Treaty at a practical level." ABC's goal is "to increase the number of books worldwide in accessible formats - such as braille, audio, e-text, and large print and to make them available to people who are blind, have low vision or are otherwise print disabled."

## Context

The World Health Organization estimated in 2018 that worldwide 253 million people are visually impaired, with more than 90% of them living in developing and least developed countries. The World Blind Union (WBU) estimates that only 10% of people who are blind are able to go to school or have employment. World Blind Union (WBU) estimates that less than 10% of all published materials can be read by people who are blind or visually impaired, with the lack of accessible books being a significant barrier to getting an education and leading an independent life.

## Work

The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) operates through three channels:
* The ABC Global Book Service: hosting an online platform that allows for the cross-border exchange of books in accessible formats. The Service contains titles in over 80 languages, with English, French and Spanish being the predominant languages.
* Training and Technical Assistance: establishing projects in developing and least-developed countries to "provide training and funding for the production of educational materials in accessible formats in national languages for students who are print disabled."
* Accessible Publishing: promoting the production of "born accessible" publications by all publishers. Born accessible books are usable by both people who are print disabled or sighted. ABC encourage accessible publishing through the ABC Charter for Accessible Publishing and the ABC International Excellence Award, which 'recognizes outstanding leadership and achievements in advancing the accessibility of digital publications'.

## Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) Global Book Service

The ABC Global Book Service is a free service that puts into practice the provisions of the Marrakesh Treaty. It allows participating libraries for the blind, referred to in the Marrakesh Treaty as Authorized Entities (AEs), to search, order and exchange books in accessible digital formats across national borders. Through the Service, Authorized Entities that are located in countries that have implemented the provisions of the Marrakesh Treaty are able to perform these exchanges without requiring further authorization from rights holders.
Through their participation in the Service, AEs are able to make the accessible books that are shared by all other AEs available to their own patrons. By pooling their collective resources in this way, libraries can vastly increase their selection of books in large-print, audio books, digital braille and braille music.
In April 2021, ABC launched an additional application that allows individuals who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled to have direct access to search and download books in accessible formats from the ABC Global Book Service. This new application is offered to Authorized Entities located in countries that have ratified and implemented the provisions of the Marrakesh Treaty.

### List of authorized entities that have joined the ABC Global Book Service

| Country | Organization |
| Antigua and Barbuda | The Unit for the Blind and Visually Impaired (UBV) |
| Argentina | Asociación Civil Tiflonexos (Tiflonexos) |
| Australia | VisAbility |
| Australia | Vision Australia (VA) |
| Austria | Hörbücherei (HBOE) |
| Bangladesh | Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) |
| Belgium | Luisterpuntbibliotheek previously known as Flemish Library for Audiobooks and Braille LPB |
| Belgium | L'CEuvre Nationale des Aveugles (EQLA) |
| Belgium | Ligue Braille (LBB) |
| Bhutan | The Muenselling Institute (MI) |
| Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | Instituto Boliviano de la Ceguera (IBC) |
| Brazil | Fundação Dorina Nowill para Cegos |
| Bulgaria | The National Library for the Blind "Louis Braille 1928" |
| Burkina Faso | Union Nationale Des Associations Burkinabé pour la Promotion des Aveugles et Malvoyants (UNABPAM) |
| Canada | BC Libraries Cooperative 2009, National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS) |
| Canada | Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec (BAnQ) |
| Canada | Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) |
| Canada | Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) |
| Chile | Biblioteca Central para Ciegos (BCC) |
| Chile | Fundación Chile, Música y Braille |
| Colombia | Instituto Nacional para Ciegos (INCI) Archived 2017-03-13 at the Wayback Machine |
| Croatia | Croatian Library for the Blind (CLB) |
| Cyprus | Pancyprian Organization of the Blind |
| Czech Republic | Czech Blind United (SONS) |
| Denmark | Danish National Library for Persons with Print Disabilities (NOTA) |
| Dominican Republic | Asociación de Ciegos del Cibao de la República Dominicana (ACICIRD) |
| Dominican Republic | Biblioteca Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (BNPHU) |
| Dominican Republic | Fundación Francina Hungría (FFH) |
| Egypt | Biblioteca Alexandrina (BA) |
| Estonia | The Estonian Library for the Blind (EPR) |
| Finland | Celia Library (CELIA) |
| France | Accompagner Promouvoir et Intégrer les Déficients Visuels (previously known as Groupement des Intellectuels Aveugles ou Amblyopes) (apiDV) |
| France | Association Valentin Haüy (AVH) |
| France | BrailleNet |
| France | Groupement des Intellectuels Aveugles ou Amblyopes (GIAA) |
| Germany | German Center for Accessible Reading (previously known as German Central Library for the Blind) (DZB) |
| Greece | The Hellenic Academic Libraries Link (HEAL-Link) (AMELIB) |
| Guatemala | Benemérito Comité Pro Ciegos y Sordos de Guatemala (BCPCSG) |
| Hungary | The Hungarian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted (MVGYOSZ) |
| Iceland | The Icelandic Talking Book Library (HBS) |
| India | DAISY Forum of India (DFI) |
| India | Chennai Publishing Services |
| Ireland | NCBI Library and Media Center (NCBI) |
| Israel | The Central Library for Blind and Reading Impaired People (CLFB) |
| Jamaica | Jamaican Society for the Blind (JSB) |
| Japan | National Diet Library (NDL) |
| Japan | National Association of Institutions of Information Service for Visually Impaired Persons (NAIIV) |
| Kazakhstan | The Republican Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired Citizens |
| Kenya | Kenya Institute for the Blind (KIB) |
| Kyrgyzstan | The Library and Information Consortium (AFB) |
| Latvia | Latvian Library for the Blind (LNerB) |
| Lithuania | Lithuanian Library for the Blind (LAB) |
| Malawi | University of Malawi, Chancellor College (UOFM) |
| Malaysia | St. Nicholas' Home, Penang (SNH) |
| Malta | Malta Libraries (ML) |
| Mexico | Discapacitados Visuales I.A.P. (DIVIAP) Archived 2019-08-09 at the Wayback Machine |
| Republic of Moldova | National Information and Rehabilitation Center of the "Association of the Blind People of Moldova" |
| Mongolia | The Mongolian National Federation of the Blind (MNFB) |
| Mongolia | The Braille and Digital Library for Blind, Metropolitan Library of Ulaanbaatar (UBPL) |
| Myanmar | Myanmar National Association of the Blind (MNAB) |
| Nepal | Action on Disability Rights and Development (ADRAD) |
| Netherlands | Bibliotheekservice Passend Lezen (BPL) |
| Netherlands | Dedicon |
| New Zealand | Blind Low Vision NZ previously known as Blind Foundation (BLVNZ) |
| Niger | L'Union Nationale des Aveugles du Niger (UNAN) |
| Nigeria | Books and Gavel |
| Norway | Norwegian Library of Talking Books and Braille (NLB) |
| Pakistan | The Pakistan Foundation Fighting Blindness (PFFB) |
| Palestine | Palestine Association of Visually Impaired Persons (PAVIP) |
| Poland | Central Library of Labour and Social Security (DZDN) |
| Portugal | Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (BNP) |
| Qatar | Qatar National Library (QNL) |
| Republic of Korea | National Library for the Disabled in Korea (NLD) |
| Romania | Fundația Cartea Călătoare (FCC) |
| Republic of Moldova | National Information and Rehabilitation Center of the "Association of the Blind People of Moldova" |
| Russian Federation | Bashkir Republican Special Library for the Blind named after Makarim Husainovich Tukhvatshin |
| Russian Federation | Russian State Library for the Blind (RGBS) |
| Russian Federation | St. Petersburg Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired (SPB) |
| Saint Lucia | St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association (SLBWA) |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | The National Public Library of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (NPLSG) |
| Sierra Leone | Educational Centre for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ECBVI) |
| South Africa | South African Library for the Blind (SALB) |
| Spain | Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE) |
| Sri Lanka | Daisy Lanka Foundation (DLF) Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine |
| Sweden | Swedish Agency for Accessible Media (MTM) |
| Switzerland | Biblioteca Braille e del libro parlato della Unitas (UNITAS) |
| Switzerland | Association pour le Bien des Aveugles et malvoyants (ABA) |
| Switzerland | Bibliothèque Sonore Romande (BSR) |
| Switzerland | SBS Swiss Library for the Blind, Visually Impaired and Print Disabled (SBS) |
| Tajikistan | The National Library of Tajikistan |
| Thailand | National Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, TAB Foundation (TAB) Archived 2022-04-18 at the Wayback Machine |
| Thailand | The Christian Foundation for the Blind in Thailand (CFBT) |
| Tunisia | Loisirs et Cultures pour les Non et Malvoyants (IBSAR) |
| Tunisia | Bibliothèque nationale de Tunisie (BNT) |
| Uganda | Uganda National Association of the Blind (UNAB) |
| Ukraine | Ostrovskyi Central Specialized Library for the Blind (CLBU) |
| United Kingdom | Torch Trust for the Blind (TT) |
| United States of America | California State Library, Braille and Talking Book Library (CSL) |
| United States of America | The Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) |
| United States of America | American Printing House for the Blind (APH) |
| United States of America | Braille Institute of America (BIA) |
| Uruguay | Fundación Braille de Uruguay (FBU) |
| Viet Nam | Sao Mai Vocational and Assistive Technology Center for the Blind (SMCB) |
| Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe National League of the Blind (ZNLB) |

## Training and Technical Assistance

The Accessible Books Consortium provides training and technical assistance to organizations in developing and least developed countries on the production of accessible format books. According to the ABC: "the ABC model for capacity building aims to equip organizations in developing and least developed countries with the ability to produce educational materials in national languages to be used by primary, secondary and university students who are print disabled." This allows participating organizations to convert textbooks into accessible formats, such as DAISY, ePUB3, and digital braille. Such assistance has been provided to organizations including in Argentina, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.
In February 2021, ABC launched an online course providing similar training on the production of books in accessible formats, in part to 'ensure the continuation of its assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic'.

## Accessible publishing

The Accessible Books Consortium encourages the production of accessible eBooks through the use of the accessibility features of the EPUB3 standard.

### ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing

List of winners:
| Year | Winner Publisher Category | Winner Initiative Category |
| 2022 | Kogan Page (UK) | Mr. Ashoka Bandula Weerawardhana (Sri Lanka) |
| 2021 | Taylor & Francis Group (UK) | National Network for Equitable Library Services (NNELS, Canada) |
| 2020 | Macmillan Learning (USA) | Fondazione LIA (Italy) |
| 2019 | EDITORIAL 5 (ED5) (Brazil) | eKitabu (Kenya) |
| 2018 | Hachette Livre (France) | DAISY Forum of India (India) |
| 2017 | SAGE Publishing (UK) | Tiflonexos (Argentina) |
| 2016 | Elsevier (UK) | Action on Disability Rights and Development (ADRAD) (Nepal) and DK Braille Concept Development Team (part of Penguin Random House) (UK) |
| 2015 | Cambridge University Press (UK) and Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) (Bangladesh) | Cambridge University Press (UK) and Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) (Bangladesh) |

### ABC Charter for Accessible Publishing Signatories

The Accessible Books Consortium Charter for Accessible Publishing contains eight principles designed to encourage publishers are following accessibility best practices. The Accessible Books Consortium partners include
| Country | Organization |
| Argentina | Ediciones Godot |
| Argentina | Ediciones Santillana |
| Argentina | Gerbera Ediciones |
| Australia | Sydney University Press |
| Brazil | Associação Religiosa Editora Mundo Cristão |
| Brazil | Brinque-Book Editora de Livros Ltda |
| Brazil | Distribuidora Record de Serviços de Imprensa S.A. |
| Brazil | É Realizações, Editora, Livraria e Distribuidora Ltda |
| Brazil | Ediouro Publicações Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Albanisia Lúcia Dummar Pontes ME |
| Brazil | Editora Arqueiro Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Atlas S/A |
| Brazil | Editora Bertrand Brasil Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Best Seller Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Biruta Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Bonifácio Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Carambaia EIRELI |
| Brazil | Editora Casa da Palavra Produção Editorial Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Claro Enigma Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora de Livros Cobogó Ltda (Brazil) |
| Brazil | Editora e Produtora Spot 1 Ltda (Brazil) |
| Brazil | Editora Filocalia Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Fontanar Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Forense Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Gaivota Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Globo S.A. |
| Brazil | Editora Guanabara Koogan Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Intrínseca Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Jaguatirica Digital Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora José Olympio Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora JPA Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Jurídica da Bahia Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Lendo e Aprendendo Ltda ME |
| Brazil | Editora Manole Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Nova Fronteira Participações S/A |
| Brazil | Editora Original Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Paz e Terra Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Pequena Zahar Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Prumo Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Record Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Reviravolta Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Rocco Ltda |
| Brazil | Editora Schwarcz S/A |
| Brazil | Editorial 5 / ED5 |
| Brazil | Elsevier Editora Ltda |
| Brazil | GEN – Grupo Editorial Nacional Participação S/A |
| Brazil | GMT Editores Ltda |
| Brazil | Imago Editora Importação e Exportação Ltda |
| Brazil | J.E. Solomon Editores Ltda |
| Brazil | Jorge Zahar Editor Ltda |
| Brazil | Livraria do Advogado Ltda |
| Brazil | LTC – Livros Técnicos e Científicos Editora Ltda |
| Brazil | National Union of Book Publishers |
| Brazil | NC Editora Ltda |
| Brazil | Pallas Editora e Distribuidora Ltda |
| Brazil | Petra Editorial Ltda |
| Brazil | Pinto e Zincone Editora Ltda |
| Brazil | Publibook Livros e Papéis Ltda |
| Brazil | Saber e Ler Editorial Ltda |
| Brazil | Sociedade Literária Edições e Empreendimentos Ltda |
| Brazil | Starlin Alta Editora e Consultoria EIRELI |
| Brazil | Summus Editorial Ltda |
| Brazil | Verus Editora Ltda |
| Canada | House of Anansi Press |
| Canada | Invisible Publishing |
| Canada | J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing |
| Canada | Signature Editions |
| Canada | Book*hug Press |
| Canada | Cormorant Books |
| Canada | Guernica Editions |
| Canada | ECW Press |
| Canada | Studio C1C4 |
| Colombia | Editorial El Manual Moderno Colombia S.A.S. |
| Colombia | Santillana Colombia |
| Egypt | Al-Balsam Publishing House |
| France | Hachette Livre |
| France | Groupe Editis |
| Georgia | Artanuji Publishing |
| Georgia | Bakur Sulakauri Publishing |
| Georgia | Intelekti Publishing |
| Germany | Verlag Barbara Budrich |
| India | PHI Learning Private Limited |
| India | Chennai Publishing Services |
| Italy | Edizioni Piemme |
| Italy | Giulio Einaudi Editore |
| Italy | Sperling & Kupfer |
| Japan | Discover 21, Inc. |
| Jordan | Al Salwa Publishers |
| Mexico | Editorial el Manual Moderno, S.A. de C.V. |
| Mexico | Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial México |
| Mexico | Santillana México |
| Mexico | SM México |
| Mexico | Constantine Editores |
| Mexico | Editorial Mango Manila |
| Mexico | Editorial Sélector |
| Netherlands | AMN |
| Netherlands | Gottmer Uitgevers Groep |
| Netherlands | Singel Uitgeverijen |
| Netherlands | ThiemeMeulenhoff |
| Netherlands | Veen Bosch & Keuning Uitgeversgroep B.V. |
| New Zealand | Oratia Media |
| Nigeria | Nigerian Publishers Association |
| Nigeria | Books and Gavel |
| Nigeria | Rasmed Publications |
| Nigeria | Evans Brothers Nigeria Publishers Limited |
| Nigeria | West African Book Publishers LTD |
| Nigeria | Babcock University Press |
| Saudi Arabia | Kadi and Ramadi |
| South Africa | New Africa Books |
| South Africa | Wits University Press |
| Spain | Planeta de Libros |
| Spain | Santillana Educación S.L. |
| Thailand | Silkworm Books Ltd |
| United Arab Emirates | Al Fulk Translation and Publishing |
| United Arab Emirates | Al Fulk Translation and Publishing (United Arab Emirates) |
| United Arab Emirates | Dar Al Aalam Al Arabi Publishing and Distribution |
| United Arab Emirates | Hudhud Publishing and Distribution |
| United Arab Emirates | Kalimat Group |
| United Arab Emirates | Sama Publishing, Production and Distribution |
| United Arab Emirates | Wahat Alhekayat Publishing and Distribution |
| United Arab Emirates | Waw Publishing |
| United Kingdom | Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |
| United Kingdom | Bristol University Press |
| United Kingdom | British Dyslexia Association |
| United Kingdom | Elsevier |
| United Kingdom | Kogan Page |
| United Kingdom | SAGE Publications Ltd |
| United Kingdom | HarperCollins Publishers |
| United Kingdom | Taylor & Francis Group |
| United Kingdom | Cambridge University Press & Assessment |
| United States of America | Macmillan Learning |
| WIPO | |

## Accessible Books Consortium advisory board members

The ABC has an advisory board which provides technical expertise, transparency and communication with stakeholders. Its members are:
* African Union for the Blind
* Blind Citizens of New Zealand
* DAISY Consortium
* Dedicon
* eBound Canada
* Government of Australia
* International Authors Forum (IAF)
* International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment
* International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
* International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO)
* International Publishers Association (IPA)
* Manual Moderno
* Sao Mai Vocational and Assistive Technology Center for the Blind
* World Blind Union (WBU)
* World Intellectual Property Organization