The state of scientific PDF accessibility in repositories: A survey in Switzerland
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This survey analyzed the quality of the PDF documents on online repositories in Switzerland, examining their accessibility for people with visual impairments. Two minimal accessibility features were analyzed: the PDFs had to have tags and a hierarchical heading structure. The survey also included interviews with the managers or heads of multiple Swiss universities' repositories to assess the general opinion and knowledge of PDF accessibility. An analysis of interviewee responses indicates an overall lack of awareness of PDF accessibility, and showed that online repositories currently have no concrete plans to address the issue. This paper concludes by presenting a set of recommendations for online repositories to improve the accessibility of their PDF documents.
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