Add test: Get current page number for direct quote #55
Comments
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The issue of the reading system knowing the location of the screen reader cursor is an issue for sure. It can also be an issue for a sighted user where more than one page is on displayed. No obvious test we can include for this. It requires some experimentation of where a scrolling view includes many pages, is there an approach that means a screen reader user can reliably identify the current page they are reading. |
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Project Muse has a design that solves the problem that can be tried. If there is version given to non-print disabled readers that has page numbers (i.e., PDF), then they inject the page number marker into the HTML code. This removes the disadvantage for print-disabled readers. SAGE also has a solution that removes the disadvantage too, as the images below show. If there is a version of the book with page numbers given to non-print-disabled readers, then they give the user of the HTML version the option to toggle on or off the page numbers. The page numbers appear in the same spot as they do in the print version given to users without print disabilities.
Page numbers off
Page numbers on
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Is the showing and hiding of the print page numbers a function of the Reading System, or is the publisher providing javascript that is doing this? |
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In the case of SAGE, the book is only available on the publisher's website and so the toggle feature is provided via them, presumably through JavaScript. One could imagine a similar toggle feature on any reading system, though. If the EPUB has page numbers, then the Reading System allows the user to toggle the page numbers on or off. |
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It seems that more than one issue is going on here. There is the problem of knowing what page you are on, and there is the problem of creating a citation. The Reading System should have a function to generate a citation. This would need to be linked to a passage. So the screen reader user would need to highlight a passage and probably copy it to the clipboard, which generates an event the Reading System could track. Then the RS would generate the citation using a standard format that the user has pre-selected. |
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Keep in mind that there's a difference between a citation and a reference. Citations are added in the text and reference appear at the end, in the bibliography. They are very different. A reference doesn't need a specific page number for a quote. At most, it would need the start and end page of the journal article or book chapter. A get citation function might be useful. If it follows the APA style, it would need to generate something like:
It might be helpful if Reading Systems had utility functions, like: However, more useful would probably be a composite function, get reference, which outputs a reference according to a style guide, like APA or MLA. However, I think the most pressing problem is getting the current page number as it is required for citing quotations. |
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Three new issues relating to this issue have been created. Issue 85, 86, and 87. |
This test is described and motivated here
Test
If ePub readers cannot support getting the current pagination number of a passage, as it would appear in a book or journal article (e.g., PDF) available to sighted readers, then there is a problem.
As this is an essential task in academia, the mechanism should be efficient (i.e., fast), effective (i.e., free from risk of error), and satisfying to screen reader users. These are the 3 attributes of usability according to the International Standards Organization's standard for Ergonomics of human-system interaction — Part 11: Usability: Definitions and concepts (ISO 9241-11:2018). Search for labels 3.1.12, 3.1.13, and 3.1.14 for definitions of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction.
Motivation
This issue was drawn to my attention by blind undergraduate, masters, and PhD students, as well as a faculty member. It was unequivocally a problem and a very significant one at that. It affects how blind users formulate their thoughts and share their knowledge in higher education.
In post-secondary settings, from under grad to full faculty, students and researchers are expected to quote journal articles or books and include page numbers. While some publishing manuals may have some esoteric exceptions that don't require page numbers, this is just one of those extremely powerful norms that if not followed will have souring effects on a person's academic path or career.
Until the day comes when the norm of having page numbers with direct quotes is no longer expected of anyone in academia, then we need to ensure blind screen reader users can get page numbers without being slowed down an iota.
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