Nordic EPUB Evaluation

Evaluate unzipped EPUBs against Nordic accessibility standards. Validate only against the guideline version the EPUB declares; do not apply requirements from other versions. Evaluation can include validation against the Daisy Pipeline (nordic-epub3-validate); this skill covers manual evaluation and reporting against Nordic/WCAG/MathML, and can be used to interpret or supplement automated Pipeline reports.

Before Starting

Important: This skill assumes the EPUB is unzipped. Ask the user for the path to the unzipped EPUB directory before proceeding.

All files must be systematically checked. Do not rely on sampling: every content document (XHTML), the navigation document, and the package document must be included in the evaluation. Report which files were examined and ensure checks (images, tables, MathML, page breaks, structure) cover all relevant files.

You (the evaluator) must perform the full evaluation yourself. Run the complete checklist for the declared guideline version (package, navigation, content structure, images, tables, page breaks, and when present MathML) and report concrete findings in the report. Do not state that “a full review is recommended” or that “a checklist review should be carried out” — carry out the review and document the results.

Reports are for production operators. Each finding must be actionable: include file path, line number (where applicable), what the file currently contains (snippet or short quote), and how it differs from the checklist requirement. Present all findings in the Detailed findings table (see Report template) so operators can fix issues systematically; one row per finding.

Typical EPUB structure:

epub-directory/
├── mimetype
├── META-INF/
│   └── container.xml
└── EPUB/
    ├── package.opf
    ├── nav.xhtml
    ├── content files (.xhtml)
    ├── css/
    ├── images/
    └── fonts/ (optional)

Evaluation Workflow

Phase 0: Identify declared guideline (do this first)

1. Locate package document: Read META-INF/container.xml to find package.opf path.
2. Read package.opf metadata and determine which Nordic guideline set the EPUB declares:
   • <meta property="nordic:guidelines">2025-1</meta> or <link rel="dcterms:conformsTo" href=".../2025-1"/> → validate against 2025-1 only
   • <meta property="nordic:guidelines">2020-1</meta> or <link rel="dcterms:conformsTo" href=".../2020-1"/> → validate against 2020-1 only
   • <meta property="nordic:guidelines">2015-1</meta> or <link rel="dcterms:conformsTo" href=".../2015-1"/> → validate against 2015-1 only
   • If none of the above is present: state in the report that no guideline was declared, and default to 2025-1 for the evaluation.
3. Record the target version and use only the requirement set for that version in Phases 1–3. Do not report as failures requirements that apply only to a different version (e.g. do not require 2025-1 nav roles when the EPUB declares 2015-1).

Phase 1: Structural Analysis

1. Analyze package.opf: Check metadata, manifest, spine (against the identified guideline).
2. Check navigation: Review nav.xhtml structure (see version-specific requirements below).
3. Check all content files: Examine every XHTML content document in the EPUB (per spine/manifest). Do not sample; systematic coverage of all files is required.

Phase 2: Compliance Checks (version-specific)

You must perform all of the following checks yourself, applying only the requirements for the declared guideline version. Use the version-specific checklist (nordic-epub-checklist.md, nordic-epub-checklist-2020-1.md, or nordic-epub-checklist-2015-1.md) as the source of requirements and run through it; report concrete findings, not a recommendation that “a checklist review be done”. Apply each check to all relevant files (every content document where the element type appears): do not sample.

1. Package metadata – Dublin Core and any accessibility metadata required by that version.
2. Navigation document – TOC, page-list, landmarks per version (see table below).
3. Content structure – Semantic HTML, heading hierarchy (in every content file).
4. Images – Alt text, figure markup in every file that contains images (all versions).
5. Tables – Headers, captions, scope in every file that contains tables (all versions).
6. MathML (if present) – You must perform a full validation against the mathml-checklist-nlb-production.md (NLB MathML Guidelines, 2022) for every file that contains MathML. Apply all checklist items (structure/semantics, alttext, altimg, display, mfenced, invisible operators, decimals in a single <mn>, comparison operators, etc.) to each MathML expression; do not recommend that “a review is recommended” — carry out the review and report findings. See the addendum below for changes required to upgrade to the newer MathML guideline version.
7. Page breaks – Markers and page-list alignment per version in every paginated content file (see table below).

Phase 3: Report Generation

Generate the report using the template below. Guidelines in the report must list only the identified version (e.g. “Nordic EPUB 2015-1”) and WCAG 2.2. The report is for production operators and must be actionable. For every finding, record: file path, line number, current content (snippet or summary), checklist requirement not met, and concrete action. Put all findings in the Detailed findings table (one row per finding); do not only list issues in prose or recommend that “a review be done”. When MathML is present, add one table row per MathML finding (file, line, current markup/attribute, NLB checklist requirement, action). If relevant, add a note on what would need to change for the newer MathML guideline version (see addendum). References section should include the URL for that Nordic version plus WCAG and MathML.

Quick Reference

Version-specific requirements (validate only the row for the declared version)

When the EPUB declares 2015-1 or 2020-1, do not report missing 2025-1-only requirements (e.g. nav roles, doc-pagebreak role) as failures; you may mention them as optional improvements if desired.

Required Package Metadata (all versions)

<dc:title id="title">[title]</dc:title>
<dc:language>[language code]</dc:language>
<dc:identifier id="pub-identifier">[production number]</dc:identifier>
<dc:source>[ISBN]</dc:source>
<dc:creator>[author]</dc:creator>
<dc:publisher>[ordering agency]</dc:publisher>
<dc:date>[completion date]</dc:date>
<meta property="dcterms:modified">[completion date]</meta>
<meta property="nordic:supplier">[supplier name]</meta>
<meta property="nordic:guidelines">[2015-1|2020-1|2025-1]</meta>

Required Accessibility Metadata (2025-1; check 2015-1/2020-1 spec for older versions)

For EPUBs declaring 2025-1, minimum for simple book:

<meta property="schema:accessMode">textual</meta>
<meta property="schema:accessModeSufficient">textual</meta>
<meta property="schema:accessibilityFeature">displayTransformability</meta>
<meta property="schema:accessibilityFeature">structuralNavigation</meta>
<meta property="schema:accessibilityFeature">tableOfContents</meta>
<meta property="schema:accessibilityFeature">readingOrder</meta>
<meta property="schema:accessibilityHazard">none</meta>
<link rel="dcterms:conformsTo" href="https://format.mtm.se/nordic_epub/2025-1"/>
<meta property="a11y:certifiedBy">[ordering agency]</meta>

For 2015-1 or 2020-1, consult the official guideline document for the required accessibility metadata set; do not require the full 2025-1 set unless the EPUB declares 2025-1.

Navigation and content (apply only the row for the declared version)

Navigation: see version-specific table above. Content document checks below apply to all versions except page breaks (role=”doc-pagebreak” required only for 2025-1).

Image Alt Text Values

Use these default values when meaningful alt text is not provided:

MathML validation (required when MathML is present)

When MathML is present, you (the evaluator) must run the full NLB MathML Guidelines checklist (mathml-checklist-nlb-production.md, 2022) on every content file that contains MathML. Do not state that “a full review is recommended” — perform the review yourself and report concrete findings (e.g. missing semantics/mrow, missing or invalid alttext/altimg, display, mfenced vs mo, invisible operators, decimals split across elements, etc.). Use the checklist as the single source of truth; apply all applicable rules from the full checklist.

Addendum — upgrading to the new MathML guideline version: To evaluate against the newer MathML guidelines (or to report what would need to change for an EPUB to comply), use mathml-guidelines-differences.md, which describes the differences between the 2022 checklist and the newer requirements (structure/semantics, display, mfenced vs mo, invisible operators, alttext/altimg, etc.).

Report Template

# EPUB Accessibility Evaluation Report

**File**: [EPUB directory path]
**Evaluated**: [date]
**Declared guideline**: [version from package.opf, or "none declared"]
**Guidelines used for validation**: Nordic EPUB [2015-1 | 2020-1 | 2025-1] only, WCAG 2.2

(If no guideline was declared, state "No nordic:guidelines/dcterms:conformsTo found; validated against 2025-1 by default.")

## Summary

| Category | Status | Issues |
|----------|--------|--------|
| Package Metadata | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [count] |
| Accessibility Metadata | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [count] |
| Navigation | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [count] |
| Content Structure | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [count] |
| Images | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [count] |
| Tables | ✅/⚠️/❌ | [count] |
| MathML | ✅/⚠️/❌/N/A | [count] |
| Page Breaks | ✅/⚠️/❌/N/A | [count] |

**Overall**: [PASS/NEEDS WORK/FAIL]

## Detailed findings table

List **every** finding in the table below. One row per finding. Include file path (relative to EPUB root), line number, exact or summarised current content, the checklist requirement it fails or differs from, and a concrete action. If there are no findings in a severity group, state "Ingen" / "None" under that severity and leave the table body with zero rows for that group, or omit the subsection.

| Severity | Category | File | Line | Current (what is in the file) | Checklist requirement | Action |
|----------|----------|------|------|-------------------------------|------------------------|--------|
| 🔴/🟡/🟢 | Package / Navigation / Content / Images / Tables / MathML / Page breaks | e.g. 590233-007-chapter.xhtml | e.g. 42 | Quote or short description of the current markup or value | Exact requirement from the version-specific or MathML checklist | What the operator should change (e.g. "Add `<thead>` with `<th scope=\"col\">` for each column") |
| … | … | … | … | … | … | … |

Add more rows as needed. Group by severity (Critical first, then Warnings, then Recommendations) if you prefer, or keep one table sorted by file/line. Ensure every deviation from the checklists is listed.

### MathML: Addendum for upgrading to the new guideline version

(Include when MathML is present and relevant.) Validation was run against the Nordic MathML checklist (2022). For changes required to upgrade this EPUB to the newer MathML guideline version, add rows to the table above or a separate short list with file, line, current, new guideline requirement, and action.

## Files examined

- package.opf
- nav.xhtml
- [list of content files checked]

## References

- Nordic EPUB Guidelines [version used]: https://format.mtm.se/nordic_epub/[2015-1|2020-1|2025-1]
- NLB & Nordic MathML Guidelines: https://github.com/nlbdev/mathml-guidelines
- WCAG 2.2: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
- DAISY Knowledge Base: https://kb.daisy.org/publishing/docs/

Severity Classification

Apply severity only for requirements of the declared guideline version. Do not treat “missing 2025-1 requirement” as critical when the EPUB declares 2015-1.

Additional Resources

• Daisy Pipeline: Nordic validation uses the job nordic-epub3-validate; the official validator is nordic-epub3-dtbook-migrator.
• For detailed structural requirements, you must run the checklist for the declared version only and report findings (do not recommend that someone else run it):
  • 2025-1: nordic-epub-checklist.md (2025-1)
  • 2020-1: nordic-epub-checklist-2020-1.md
  • 2015-1: nordic-epub-checklist-2015-1.md
• For MathML validation: mathml-checklist-nlb-production.md (NLB MathML Guidelines, 2022). For new MathML validation: mathml-checklist.md (Nordic MathML Guidelines). For changes required to upgrade to the newer MathML guideline version: mathml-guidelines-differences.md.
• For WCAG mapping: wcag-mapping.md