Alt text for accessibility
Alt text (often referred to as 'alt attributes', 'alt descriptions', or 'alt tags') is crucial for web accessibility, making content usable by people with visual impairments.
When users access content using a screen reader, such as read mode in Book Creator or VoiceOver on iPads, it will read the descriptive alt text on images for them, which ensures the user has access to all written and visual content on the page.
Adding alt text in Book Creator
Adding alt text on images in Book Creator is simple. From inside a book in edit mode, users will select the image (or visual element) on the page to get the blue border around it, and then select the Inspector (i) button in the toolbar.
With the Inspector opened, there will be a text box for adding an Image Description or Alternative text for an image. Many times visual elements added onto a page from inside Book Creator (such as icons, emojis, or images) may already have Alt text included from the original source, so please review to ensure it is accurate.
Alt text best practices
When adding alt text to visual elements, it is important to follow best practices:
Specific: provide brief, accurate descriptions of the image's content and purpose
Concise: Keep alt text short with a few words each sentence, to avoid interrupting the reading flow
Repetition: Don't state it's an image or a picture, the screen readers already will identify that for the user
Context: Give the image's purpose on the page or in the article
Decorative: Don't add alt text on elements that are added onto a page for design purposes only
Using AI to generate accurate alt text
At Book Creator we understand the importance of alt text, but also realize that it must be crafted in a very specific way. To ensure the best possible alt text is available for our readers, we've added the ability to allow AI to generate the image descriptions for our users.
With the image selected and the inspector menu open, click on the image icon within the Image Description field. This will auto-generate an editable image description for the image. Users have the option to edit the alt text and then press the Save button to keep any changes. The alt text will then be saved to the image and able to be read aloud on a screen reading device.
We recommend adding alt text to all images and visual elements in published books that may have wider audiences to ensure content accessibility for all readers.
Providing AI safely for all users
We integrate with Google's Gemini AI for the alternative text that auto-generates for images. Gemini AI includes built-in guardrails for generative alt text, helping ensure that descriptions remain appropriate for all users, especially students. More information about Gemini AI's policy and guidelines are available here.
For iPads
For iPad users, the process for adding alt text is similar. When the image is selected, click on the Inspector and under Accessibility add in the alt text for the image.
Users will then turn on VoiceOver in the iPad settings so the Alt text will be read when viewing the book in Apple Books.
Note: To activate VoiceOver on your iPad: Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver
