Published
The latest change to the Digital Hub updates some metadata fields to match the current standards and pass multiple versions of the EPUBCheck validator. The Hub has been updated to use the latest version of EPUBCheck (version 5.2.1).
Additional Conformance Metadata
In addition to the ability to add a Conformance Description and a Certifying Organization to ebooks, projects that have both fields filled out can now include the following metadata:
- Certifier Credential: A credential or badge that establishes the authority of the certifying organization
- Certifier Report: A link to a detailed report about a publication’s certification
- Evaluation Date: The date that a publication was evaluated
If available, this information should typically be supplied by the certifying organization. Scribe does not certify ebooks and is not a certifying organization.
The Digital Hub retains the ability to use a URL in place of a description. This was standard as part of the EPUB Accessibility 1.0 specification. However, Scribe recommends following the newer EPUB Accessibility 1.1 standard, which suggests using a short statement instead of a URL link. The DAISY Accessible Publishing Knowledge Base contains a list of valid statements depending on the level of conformance achieved. For example, a book published conforming to WCAG 2.2 Level A should have the conformance description listed as EPUB Accessibility 1.1 - WCAG 2.2 Level A.
If all of the steps have been done to produce a valid file in the WFDW, including the use of alt text and making the proper accessibility selections, books typically reach WCAG Level A. If granular language tagging is applied, books will typically also reach WCAG Level AA. At a minimum, ebooks should be checked for known WCAG violations through the Ace App, which can find certain common accessibility issues.
Pagination Source Metadata
This update changes how the print ISBN is captured in ebook metadata. Some distributors (including Apple Books and BiblioVault) do not yet support the recommended pageBreakSource property, preventing the ebook from being uploaded. The new markup will pass the latest version of EPUBCheck as well as some older versions used by certain platforms.
BISAC Code Update
The Digital Hub has been updated to reflect the latest edition of the BISAC Subject Headings List (2024). Some subject titles have been modified in minor ways. Review the subject list before processing ePub files for both new and existing Hub projects.