It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but without alt text, that value can be limited. Research papers, especially, often rely heavily on images to explain complex concepts. And when alt text isn’t utilized well, it can create obstacles for people with print disabilities—this includes those with visual, physical, cognitive, or learning challenges, as well as users of assistive technologies trying to access information. In our digital age, where inclusivity is becoming a standard practice, alt text isn’t just a nice addition; it’s also essential for ensuring that every image, chart, or graphic conveys its complete message to all audiences.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is encouraging many in the scholarly publishing industry to rethink accessibility, with clear and meaningful alt text for images being one of the highlights. Not only does alt text provide valuable information for those who may face difficulties accessing visual content, but it also enhances the user experience for everyone, including those without fast internet connections.
Key factors affecting the addition of alt text in scientific publications
While images play a key role in enhancing research content, there are some factors to take into account while adding appropriate alt text to optimize their accessibility. For instance, some images provide critical information, while others serve only aesthetic purposes. Recognizing these differences is key to providing effective alt text and ensuring accessibility. Images included purely for aesthetic purposes typically don’t add useful information, so they may not require alt text. And they’re usually marked as decorative in software. On the other hand, informative images give some extra context and need a brief alt text to explain what they show. Complex images, such as diagrams and detailed photos, require both a short alt text and a longer description to ensure clarity. Moreover, the short alt text and the longer description shouldn’t just repeat what’s already been said—they should add missing details and make sure people who can’t see the image still get the full picture. For something simple, like an image of a test tube, writing alt text is straightforward. But when it comes to a more complicated image, like a diagram of a complex biochemical pathway with many reactions and molecules, it can get a bit tricky to describe it in a way that fits with the rest of the content.
Another factor to consider is how the image is referenced in the supporting text. Usually, images in scholarly publications go along with the information discussed in the text. Sometimes, just a brief citation is enough to talk about the image. One way to ensure understanding is to describe the content and purpose of each image in the text. While this can be done easily for informative images, it can be a tough task for more complex ones. For example, in the case of a detailed map showing various routes, the author may need to carefully assess the image to identify which key routes are necessary to mention in the alt text and ensure they provide all the relevant information. There are a few other factors to consider when adding alt text, including clearer guidance and a better understanding of how to write alt text, particularly for complex images. Time constraints for both authors and journal staff during the production process can pose difficulties. Additionally, there are considerations regarding the costs of creating alt text and determining whether responsibility lies with authors or editorial teams.
Since images are a common feature of research articles, providing consistent alt text will be as challenging as it is important. So how can publishers accomplish this? Here, we’re exploring approaches for publishers to ensure compliance with the EAA regarding alt text.
- Integrating alt text into workflows: There are many ways to incorporate alt text into the publication process. In some cases, vendors take care of creating alt text during ePub conversion, but it could also make sense to have authors provide alt text when they submit their work. For some publishers, the task may fall to the editorial staff. Regardless of the approach, the editorial team plays a critical role in ensuring that alt text meets accessibility standards, making it essential for journals to integrate this task into their workflow and ensuring that alt text is thoughtfully addressed at every phase of content development.
- Providing training and clear guidelines: To ensure consistency, publishers should provide training resources and actively support authors in creating high-quality alt text. If the process involves authors providing alt text, journals should integrate alt text requirements into submission workflows, providing authors with practical tools like decision trees and checklists, and offering clear, standardized guidelines and examples tailored to various types of images. Early training can help avoid errors and improve the process.
- Collaborating with accessibility experts: Engaging with professionals who specialize in digital accessibility could be a great way to ensure your content and alt text meet all the necessary standards. It might also be helpful to create an internal accessibility lead or advocate role within your organization, who can act as a dedicated point of contact to provide practical guidance and training for your staff and create guidelines. They can also champion accessibility, raise awareness, and keep you updated on future changes in accessibility requirements. For example, the Web Accessibility Office at Duke University ensures compliance and supports accessibility efforts across the institution.
- Conducting regular audits: Conducting regular audits of your digital content is key, especially to ensure that alt text is included consistently and effectively. Proactively identifying accessibility challenges at an early stage can help identify and address potential compliance issues before they become problematic. This task can be handled by specialized experts or by using accessibility compliance tools. For example, SPIE leverages resources like Ace, Web Accessibility, and Accessi.org to perform accessibility audits and maintain continuous compliance.
- Leveraging technology for compliance: Scientific publications are associated with numerous images, and in addition, EAA also requires backlist content to eventually include alt text—all of which can seem daunting. Leveraging technology like AI can help streamline the process, but it does come with risks. For instance, AI can sometimes lack the necessary context needed for different images or articles. Alt text may also require editorial decisions that AI cannot make on its own. A balanced approach would involve using AI alongside human supervision.
Accessibility is a competitive edge publishers can’t afford to ignore. Incorporating alt text also offers scholarly publishers and journals an opportunity to enhance accessibility, thereby increasing their visibility and impact. However, it will require publishers to make changes to their workflow and consider the task in their budgets and how they allocate resources.
Discover our alt-text solutions designed to help you comply with regulations such as the EAA—contact us to learn more.