Our Auditing Tool - OARC
OARC
The Open Accessibility Review Checker
Our custom auditing tool has been developed by Open Book Futures to help small presses audit their static eBook files for accessibility. There are 40 points on the checklist, split into 5 sections: Text Features, Non-Text Features, Semantic Tagging, Reading Order and Navigation, and Metadata. There is an optional 6th section for if your book involves Pre-recorded Media, and for that there are 2 points. To determine these checklist points, we took out just the elements of WCAG that apply to static eBook files, removing those that apply to dynamic and interactive web pages, and adding in some additional EPUB or PDF specific points. Therefore the checklist is not suitable for auditing websites.
You can also access OARC formatted as a spreadsheet: OARC [Google Sheets]
On the spreadsheet you can find some additional context including whether each feature can be audited by a machine or needs to be done manually, and our approximation of how complicated each task is. Therefore, below, we present the checklist 3 times, in section order, and then split by human or machine audit and then by complexity.
View this information as a video.
OARC
A Text Features
Text is actual text; not images of text.
Colours of text has contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1
Headings are descriptive of the content they contain
Text is reflowable without causing horizontal scrolling or other problems
Text can be resized without causing horizontal scrolling or other problems
Line height and spacing, letter spacing and word spacing can all be changed without problems
Orientation can be changed without problems
Fonts are coded correctly
B Non-Text Features
Non-text features (figures, graphics, captions, links, mathematical expressions) have meaningful ALT text
Colours of non-text features (figures, graphics) has contrast ratio of at least 3:1
Non-text features (figures, graphics, captions, links, mathematical expressions) have multiple ways of conveying meaning
Links are accessible and meaningful
Other clickable elements are 24 x 24 pixels
Other clickable elements have visible text that matches the text in the underlying code
A list's numbers, letters or bullets are displayed and tagged correctly
A tables's headers, rows and columns are tagged correctly
C Semantic Tagging
Non-decorative/real and decorative/artefact content is all tagged correctly
Non-text features (figures, graphics, captions, links, mathematical expressions) are tagged and grouped correctly
Lists, tables and TOCs are tagged correctly
Headers, footers, notes and references are tagged correctly
Headings are tagged as headings
Headings have just 1
, at the beginning
Headings - don't skip levels
No headings or higher
Other non-PDF structure elements tagged correctly (EPUBs)
PDF tags support the separate reading order (PDFs)
PDF role mapping is correct (PDFs)
Other structure elements in PDF tagged correctly (PDFs)
D Reading Order and Navigation
Multiple ways to navigate
Static page breaks are present (EPUBs)
Static page breaks are navigable (EPUBs)
Navigation consistent throughout
Reading/focus order retains meaning when using tabs or a screenreader
Repeating blocks of content can be skipped
E Metadata and Conformance reporting
File has metadata
File metadata has a title that is used instead of file name
File metadata has a valid language
Where the language changes, individual parts have a valid language
Source of static page breaks/pagination is identifiable (EPUBs)
File metadata includes full accessibility conformance information
F Pre-recorded Media (optional)
All audio only content has an alternative suitable for individuals with a hearing impairment
All video only content has an alternative suitable for individuals with a visual impairment
OARC by auditing type
Machine/Automated Auditing
A2. Colours of text has contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 A8. Fonts are coded correctly
B2. Colours of non-text features (figures, graphics) has contrast ratio of at least 3:1 B5. Other clickable elements are 24 x 24 pixels B6. Other clickable elements have visible text that matches the text in the underlying code
C6. Headings have just 1 , at the beginning C7. Headings - don't skip levels C8. No headings or higher C10. PDF tags support the separate reading order C11. PDF role mapping is correct C12. Other structure elements in PDF tagged correctly
D1. Multiple ways to navigate D2. Static page breaks are present D3. Static page breaks are navigable
E1. File has metadata E2. File metadata has a title that is used instead of file name E3. File metadata has a valid language E4. Where the language changes, individual parts have a valid language E6. File metadata includes full accessibility conformance information
Human/Manual Auditing
A1. Text is actual text; not images of text A3. Headings are descriptive of the content they contain A4. Text is reflowable without causing horizontal scrolling or other problems A5. Text can be resized without causing horizontal scrolling or other problems A6. Line height and spacing, letter spacing and word spacing can all be changed without problems A7. Orientation can be changed without problems
B1. Non-text features (figures, graphics, captions, links, mathematical expressions) have meaningful ALT text B3. Non-text features (figures, graphics, captions, links, mathematical expressions) have multiple ways of conveying meaning B4. Links are accessible and meaningful B7. A list's numbers, letters or bullets are displayed and tagged correctly B8. A tables's headers, rows and columns are tagged correctly
C1. Non-decorative/real and decorative/artefact content is all tagged correctly C2. Non-text features (figures, graphics, captions, links, mathematical expressions) are tagged and grouped correctly C3. Lists, tables and TOCs are tagged correctly C4. Headers, footers, notes and references are tagged correctly C5. Headings are tagged as headings C9. Other non-PDF structure elements tagged correctly
D4. Navigation consistent throughout D5. Reading/focus order retains meaning when using tabs or a screenreader D6. Repeating blocks of content can be skipped
E5. Source of static page breaks/pagination is identifiable
F1. All audio only content has an alternative suitable for individuals with a hearing impairment F2. All video only content has an alternative suitable for individuals with a visual impairment
OARC by complexity
Easy wins
A1. Text is actual text; not images of text A2. Colours of text has contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 A4. Text is reflowable without problems A5. Text can be resized without problems A6. Line height and spacing, letter spacing and word spacing can all be changed without problems A7. Orientation can be changed without problems
B5. Other clickable elements are 24 x 24 pixels B6. Other clickable elements have visible text that matches the text in the underlying code B7. A list's numbers, letters or bullets are displayed and tagged correctly
C1. Non-decorative/real and decorative/artefact content is all tagged correctly C2. Non-text features (figures, graphics, captions, links, mathematical expressions) are tagged and grouped correctly C3. Lists, tables and TOCs are tagged correctly C4. Headers, footers, notes and references are tagged correctly C5. Headings are tagged as headings C6. Headings have just 1 , at the beginning C7. Headings - don't skip levels C8. No headings or higher C9. Other non-PDF structure elements tagged correctly
D1. Multiple ways to navigate D4. Navigation consistent throughout D6. Repeating blocks of content can be skipped
Medium
A3. Headings are descriptive of the content they contain A8. Fonts are coded correctly
B2. Colours of non-text features (figures, graphics) has contrast ratio of at least 3:1 B4. Links are accessible and meaningful B8. A tables's headers, rows and columns are tagged correctly
D2. Static page breaks are present D3. Static page breaks are navigable D5. Reading/focus order retains meaning when using tabs or a screenreader
E1. File has metadata E2. File metadata has a title that is used instead of file name E3. File metadata has a valid language E5. Source of static page breaks/pagination is identifiable E6. File metadata includes full accessibility conformance information
Complicated
B1. Non-text features (figures, graphics, captions, links, mathematical expressions) have meaningful ALT text B3. Non-text features (figures, graphics, captions, links, mathematical expressions) have multiple ways of conveying meaning B10. PDF tags support the separate reading order B11. PDF role mapping is correct B12. Other structure elements in PDF tagged correctly
Variable
E4. Where the language changes, individual parts have a valid language
F1. All audio only content has an alternative suitable for individuals with a hearing impairment F2. All video only content has an alternative suitable for individuals with a visual impairment