Executive summary: More than 500 literary works and 100 K-12 textbooks produced in accessible HTML5 and EPUB 3 for Brazil's PNLD, the national textbook program, meeting the accessibility requirements of the Ministry of Education and the FNDE. Publishers served: Palavras, MLetras, Rocco, Projeto, Iluminuras and MVC.
The challenge
Brazil's PNLD is the largest public program for distributing K-12 educational material in the world, reaching millions of students. The difficulty lies in the scale and the variety of the material: textbooks and literary works with detailed illustrations, charts, maps and interactive activities, all of which have to be delivered as accessible HTML5 and EPUB 3, meeting every technical requirement of the Ministry of Education and the FNDE to the letter, with no room for the kind of slip that triggers a rejection.
Our approach
A production pipeline dedicated to K-12 textbooks, combining automation and AI to speed up the repeatable steps (structure recognition, first-pass alt text, metadata checking) with human editorial review for the decisions that need context. Accessibility is designed in from the start: semantic HTML5, detailed image descriptions, navigation through landmarks, reading order tested with screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver) and validation with Ace by DAISY before delivery.
Result
More than 500 literary works and 100 K-12 textbooks delivered in full compliance, and zero rejections in the official validators over the period of the partnership. Booknando established itself as a reference for accessible digital educational material, with mature processes that can be repeated for each new edition of the program.
Technical stack
- Accessible HTML5 and EPUB 3 compliant with public education procurement requirements.
- Accessibility: EPUB Accessibility 1.1, WCAG 2.2 AA and semantic HTML5.
- Validated with EPUBCheck 5.x and Ace by DAISY.
- Screen reader testing: NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver and TalkBack.
- Pipeline with automation and AI for image description, followed by a final human review.
Case study data
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Program | Brazil's PNLD, the national K-12 textbook program |
| Volume (literary works) | More than 500 books |
| Volume (textbooks) | More than 100 books |
| Publishers served | Palavras, MLetras, Rocco, Projeto, Iluminuras, MVC |
| Highlight | Automation, AI and a focus on accessibility |
Content updated in April 2026.