Accessible Books Consortium 

IFLA is a founding partner of the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC).  ABC aims to increase the number of books worldwide in accessible formats – such as braille, audio and large print – and to make them available to people who are blind, have low vision or are otherwise print disabled.  The ABC is a multi-stakeholder partnership, led by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); and includes organizations that serve people with print disabilities such as the World Blind Union, IFLA and the DAISY Consortium; libraries for the print disabled; and organizations representing publishers and authors.  The ABC acts as a complement to the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (the Marrakesh Treaty).  It supports the goals of the treaty through the following three activities:

  • Capacity Building – training in developing countries for local NGOs, government departments, and commercial publishers who want to produce and distribute their books in accessible formats.
  • ABC Book Service (i.e., TIGAR) – a global online catalogue of accessible titles that enables libraries serving the print disabled to share items in their collections, rather than duplicating the costs of producing them in accessible formats.
  • Inclusive Publishing – activities to promote accessible book production techniques within the commercial publishing industry so that e-books are usable by both sighted people and those with print disabilities.

The ABC Secretariat, located at WIPO’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, is responsible for managing the ABC Book Service (also known as TIGAR).  If you are interested in joining the ABC Book Service, or becoming involved in Capacity Building or Inclusive Publishing Activities, please contact Accessible.Books@wipo.int or visit www.AccessibleBooksConsortium.org