It has long been important to help users find the “right content”. With the incredible diversity of the people who use the Web, and the devices they are using it from, it is more important than ever to find the content that works best for a given user’s current situation.

Content metadata has an important role to play in this regard. So we’re very happy to announce the inclusion of several Accessibility properties into schema.org, published this week. These additions to CreativeWork make it easier for publishers and webmasters to connect end-users with the most useful content, and help users with special needs locate and consume content that is most appropriate for their specific needs. For example a blind user may want to locate a text-book that is available with particular accessibility features and formats, or a user with hearing impairments may need to locate a captioned version of a video.

This work draws upon many collaborations and projects including the IMS Global Learning Consortium’s Access For All specification (http://www.imsglobal.org/accessibility/), the work of the Accessibility Metadata Project (http://www.a11ymetadata.org/), alongside many discussions that helped ensure the work integrated well into schema.org.

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed!
TV Raman (Google)
Chaals (Yandex)
for schema.org