Recent accessibility efforts in scholarly publishing are driven in part by acts such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and new Title II regulations requiring digital accessibility, with key compliance deadlines approaching in 2026. PKP shares the work it is doing to ensure accessibility in its publishing platforms.
Accessibility Audit and Voluntary Product Accessibility Template
Under the leadership of Israel Cefrin, Digital Accessibility and Systems Specialist, PKP is commissioning a comprehensive accessibility audit of its software. The audit will provide clear recommendations for remediating accessibility barriers experienced by our users.
Following the implementation of these recommendations, we will produce a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) to support communities and institutions in evaluating the accessibility of our platforms in accordance with their local legislation, policies, and procurement requirements.
This work builds on the detailed workflow mapping completed by Beau Grier, PKP Quality Assurance Analyst, which has provided essential context and clarity for the development of the Statement of Work (SOW) led by PKP’s OMP Coordinator, Zoe Wake Hyde. Their combined efforts ensure that the audit is well scoped and able to meet its intended purpose.
Testing Focus
Because PKP’s three platforms share a substantial proportion of interface components, testing will focus on Open Monograph Press (OMP). Both the reader-facing and administrative interfaces will be evaluated, with the latter involving more complex interactions and workflows.
As the OJS reader interface has already undergone previous assessment, only the OMP pages that differ from OJS will require additional testing during this audit.
PKP’s open infrastructure development has always been community-driven and focused on diverse user needs. Like in the past, we’re including the people we serve in our testing, as Israel emphasizes:
I truly believe that accessibility must be shaped by those it’s meant to serve. By testing with people with disabilities, we’re ensuring our application reflects real-world needs — not assumptions.
— Israel Cefrin, PKP Digital Accessibility and Systems Specialist
Support from the Open Book Collective (OBC)
This project is receiving immediate attention and is a major priority for PKP. Dedicated funding from the Open Book Collective has enabled us to move forward, and the upcoming implementation of ADA Title II in Spring 2026 heightens the urgency of this work.
At the same time, OMP continues to see growing adoption for monograph publishing, and we know that many communities rely on us to ensure our software meets contemporary accessibility standards and best practices.
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