Reflecting Legible’s focus on accessibility and corresponding market opportunity
Legible Inc. (CSE: READ) (FSE: D0T) ("Legible” or the “Company”), a browser-based, mobile-first, globally accessible online eBook reading and publishing marketplace, is excited to welcome Laura Brady, an internationally renowned and respected accessibility, eBook, and publishing professional, as Head of Accessibility.
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Legible’s advanced browser-based eBook reading and publishing platform, Legible.com, has been designed to improve accessibility to eBooks globally - both through its browser-based eBook reading platform, but also in terms of providing improved accessibility to books to those with disabilities. Readers on Legible.com can already use browser-based accessibility solutions, as well as tools in Legible’s reading system for the dyslexic community.
“While accessibility is one of Legible’s four founding values, addressing and improving accessibility also presents a large market opportunity in the world,” commented Kaleeg Hainsworth, CEO and founder of Legible. “Many disabled people are tired of not being considered at all and embrace the opportunity to not only be considered, but also valued and addressed as a powerful segment of the consumer population.”
According to published insights from the Return on Disability Group (ROD Group), a data-driven insights and design firm that leverages disability to help its clients delight their customers and employees, people with disabilities (or PWD) constitute an emerging market larger than the population of China, with their numbers estimated at over 1.85 billion people globally. Friends and family who act on their emotional connection to PWD add another 3.4 billion people globally, and together these groups control over $13 trillion in annual disposable income.
“Legible’s browser-based innovation stack and business model is ideally suited to this emerging market, and in recognizing this opportunity we are also very happy to welcome Laura Brady to Legible as our Head of Accessibility,” stated Hainsworth. “Laura is an eBook accessibility expert and brings to Legible a profound respect for the various needs of readers, a vast experience with print and eBook production, and a gift for sharing her knowledge. Nothing can stop her drive to create accessible content.”
Laura brings twenty-five years of trade publishing experience working for large and small publishers as well as freelancing. She's produced beautiful children's books with eBook and braille editions. Laura’s work has included rendering complex poetics and mathML into digital environments, and she has also worked with Cree syllabics. A sought-after consultant, trainer, and public speaker, Laura has advocated with government funders, accessible library organizations, and publisher associations for disability issues. She serves on the board of directors of eBound Canada and the Accessible Books Consortium, helps to organize ebookcraft and the annual Accessible Publishing Summit, and her blog posts, workshops, and videos have taught hundreds of people to make eBooks more accessible.
"I am truly delighted to join Legible,” said Laura Brady. “I have admired Legible’s mandate and work for some time now, and I very much look forward to joining this passionate and determined team devoted to an inclusive reading experience."
“As a core value, Legible is fully committed to being a globally accessible marketplace for books, and to ensuring that Legible is the first born-accessible platform for all users and reading needs in the twenty-first century,” Hainsworth added. “Access to books and publishing for a globally connected population means access for everyone. The next one billion users of the internet will include 250 million people with disabilities. Ensuring that Legible is a born-accessible platform and working collaboratively with all communities to overcome barriers to access, not only makes sound business sense, but it is manifestly the right thing to do. Welcoming Laura to Legible’s team will help us ensure that we meet the needs of a vibrant and significant market, and that we do so to the highest standards available.”
About Legible Inc.
Legible is a new browser-based eBook reading platform that is revolutionizing how readers, publishers, and authors connect. Founded by a team of authors, digital eBook publishers, designers, and book publishing industry insiders, Legible’s strategy is to offer readers around the globe open access to millions of books on any internet-connected device. Legible’s core values—accessibility, sustainability, beauty, and integrity—inform its ongoing commitment to, and active engagement in, promoting literacy, justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and a climate-conscious future worldwide.
Visit Legible.com and discover the place where eBooks come to life!
Readers are invited to visit Legible’s continually evolving curated Staff-Picks Bookshelf: https://legible.com/ca/list/staff-picks
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements and are prospective in nature. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company’s control and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “should”, “will”, “could”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “believe” or “continue”, or the negative thereof or similar variations. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information and statements are the following: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; changes in applicable laws; and the diversion of management time. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking information and statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.
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