March 2021
In the context of the overall renewal of their technological infrastructure, Casalini Libri has recently embarked on an important collaboration with the LIA Foundation for Accessible Italian Books in order to achieve and ensure full compliancy with the European Accessibility Act when it comes into force in 2025.
“Ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to use Torrossa for study and research is an absolute priority for us”, affirms Michele Casalini. “Thanks to the experience of the LIA Foundation, this year we will acquire the skills necessary to make Torrossa accessible also to users with visual disabilities. From next year we will look to strengthen our synergy with publishers with the aim of seeing new digital content published natively in accessible formats”.
The LIA Foundation for Accessible Italian books was established in 2014 from the shared desire of the Italian Publishers Association and the Italian Blind and Visually Impaired Union to make digital content accessible to all potential readers. Today it plays a leading role in accessibility at an international level as a member of W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), EDRLab (European Digital Reading Laboratory) and DAISY Consortium and participant in the definition of metadata accessibility standards, with EDItEUR, and accessible reading solutions.
“We are enthusiastic about this collaboration with Casalini Libri”, declares Cristina Mussinelli, Secretary General of the LIA Foundation. “Accessibility is an increasingly strategic issue for publishing, in terms of both content creation and its distribution. The partnership with Casalini Libri aims to involve other Italian and international realities, allowing us to work together to build an increasingly accessible publishing ecosystem in line with recent regulations”.
Casalini Libri web developers and programmers have already begun specialised training with the LIA team of accessible publishing and assistive technologies in order to adapt the Torrossa platform to conform with accessibility standards by the end of 2021, referring to internationally recognized requirements for rendering Web content and reading solutions as accessible as possible.
The project includes an intense programme of activies over a three year period. Full details are available online, at the accessible and constantly updated web page www.casalini.it/accessibility.asp.