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By David Rothman

An IDPF Press release follows, including the italicized text. Let’s hope that shared annotations and reliable interbook linking are high on the list. What do you think should be the maintenance group’s priorities? – D.R.

image The EPUB standards are open and living specifications, rapidly gaining momentum. The members of the working group are committed to assisting with corrections and improvements to the EPUB standards that will lead to wider adoption and greater accessibility.

The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), the standards and trade association for digital publishing, announced that the maintenance activities associated with the EPUB standards will start this month. The DAISY Consortium has stepped forward to provide leadership and resources to assist in the maintenance for the EPUB standards. The working group charter was unanimously approved by the IDPF membership.

"It is essential that everybody in the eBook ecology work together to maintain and evolve the EPUB Standards," said George Kerscher (who is blind) Chair of the maintenance working group.

The EPUB standards are open and living specifications. The members of the working group are committed to assisting with corrections and improvements to the EPUB standards that will lead to wider adoption and greater accessibility.

One of the long-term goals of the IDPF is to achieve content interoperability between Reading Systems. Wide, complete and correct adoption of the EPUB standards will provide a significant boost for all involved: publishers, conversion companies, distributors, sales channels, interface developers, and consumers. All of these constituencies depend on the adoption, maintenance, and enhancement of a robust set of standards for digital publishing – EPUB is this standards suite.

"As EPUB is rapidly gaining momentum, it’s great to see such wide industry interest in performing the technical work to keep the trio of standards that make up EPUB error free and modern. This effort will serve the industry well," stated Garth Conboy Vice Chair of EPUB Standards Maintenance Working Group.

About the DAISY Consortium
The DAISY Consortium embraces the principles of collaboration and transparency that define open standards development. With its member organizations literally spanning the globe, the DAISY Consortium is able to build project teams of talented administrators, software architects, and implementers that are representative of the global population served by both the DAISY multimedia standard and the EPUB standard. Collaborative efforts result in accessible standards and systems that reflect the needs of persons with disabilities, while providing the richest reading experience for the whole population. More information about the DAISY Consortium and the DAISY multimedia Standard is available at http://www.daisy.org/.

About the International Digital Publishing Forum
The International Digital Publishing Forum is a non-profit trade and standards organization for the digital publishing industry representing over 120 companies and organizations. Participation in the Working Group is open to IDPF members and invited experts (invited at the discretion of the chairs of the working group). If you have any questions, please contact the IDPF. Further information about the organization and industry, including membership information, can be obtained by visiting http://www.idpf.org.

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