Accessibility at University of Hawai‘i Press
At University of Hawai‘i Press we strive to ensure that every book we publish is fully accessible to the widest possible audience.
Our commitment begins at the manuscript stage, as editorial and production teams work collaboratively with authors to ensure all content is structured in ways that support digital accessibility.
Our new books are published in both PDF and EPUB 3.0 formats, and we specifically recommend our EPUB editions for use with assistive technologies like screen readers, magnifiers, and speech recognition software. We aim to meet or exceed the guidelines set by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA and EPUB Accessibility 1.1.
All EPUB files published since 2024 and going forward are checked in the industry standard Ace by Daisy software software (version 1.3.6. or later) in May 2025 or later with zero violation.
All these EPUB files include the following accessibility features:
- Accessibility Summary
- No reading system accessibility options are actively disabled
- Interactive table of contents navigation (and Index navigation when applicable)
- Single logical reading order and proper tagging for headings, etc
- Full and/or short descriptive alternative text for all applicable visual elements
- Print-equivalent page numbering
- Landmark Navigation
- All textual content can be modified, there are no known hazards or warnings in the ebooks, and all non-decorative content supports reading without sight (meaning nothing in the digital publication prevents or blocks the use of alternative reading modes).
The accessibility metadata is included in the individual EPUB files as well as in our ONIX feeds to vendors.
Books published prior to 2024 may be available with various levels of accessibility, and we are in the process of updating these to fully accessible EPUB files. To request a fully accessible version of such a title, or to request permission to use and obtain an electronic file on behalf of a student with a verified print disability, please complete our Request for Student with a Print Disability Form or send any request, concern or question about accessibility to uhpbooks@hawaii.edu.
Open Access
We also understand that accessibility includes affordability and linguistic inclusivity. By publishing open access titles and multilingual works, we expand accessibility across economic and cultural barriers. Our open access initiatives particularly benefit global readers who may face economic, infrastructural, or technological constraints.
University of Hawaiʻi Press has participated in several open access initiatives, with projects like the digitization of backlist titles for open access, as supported by grants from the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, highlighting a strategic move towards broader availability. We have also worked with Sustainable History Monograph Pilot (SHMP) and Knowledge Unlatched, as well as with individual institutions to make more of our books open access, both for existing works and forthcoming publications. The underlying principle to make scholarly content freely and widely available informs the approach to new publications, encouraging formats that lend themselves to accessibility from the outset. So far (May 2025) close to 150 titles have been published in open access formats, and are all available on this website, as well as with leading aggregators, platforms and distributors.
Looking ahead, University of Hawai‘i Press is developing formal policies and measurable goals for universal accessibility across all book formats. We are committed to transparency and accountability in our progress and will regularly evaluate our workflows, systems, and outreach to ensure we are meeting the needs of all readers. Ultimately, our vision is to make every book we publish not only a contribution to scholarship but also a model of inclusive, equitable communication. In doing so, we reaffirm our belief that knowledge should be available and accessible to everyone—regardless of ability.