HTML as an accessible format for papers
Accessibility barriers in research are not new, but they are urgent. The message we have heard from our community is that arXiv can have the most impact in the shortest time by offering HTML papers alongside the existing PDF.
arXiv has successfully launched papers in HTML format. We are gradually backfilling HTML for arXiv's corpus of over 2 million papers over time. Not every paper can be successfully converted, so a small percentage of papers will not have an HTML version. We will work to improve conversion over time.
The link to the HTML format will appear on abstract pages below the existing PDF download link. Authors will have the opportunity to preview their paper’s HTML as a part of the submission process.
The beta rollout is just the beginning. We have a long way to go to improve HTML papers and will continue to solicit feedback from authors, readers, and the entire arXiv community to improve conversions from LaTeX.
Why "experimental" HTML?
Did you know that 90% of submissions to arXiv are in TeX format, mostly LaTeX? That poses a unique accessibility challenge: to accurately convert from TeX—a very extensible language used in myriad unique ways by authors—to HTML, a language that is much more accessible to screen readers and text-to-speech software, screen magnifiers, and mobile devices. In addition to the technical challenges, the conversion must be both rapid and automated in order to maintain arXiv’s core service of free and fast dissemination.
Because of these challenges we know there will be some conversion and rendering issues. We have decided to launch in beta with “experimental” HTML because:
Accessible papers are needed now. We have talked to the arXiv community, especially researchers with accessibility needs, and they overwhelmingly asked us not to wait. We need your help. The obvious work is done. Reports from the community will help us identify issues we can track back to specific LaTeX packages that are not converting correctly.
Error messages you may see in HTML papers
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