The London Mathematical Society has collaborated with three other mathematics societies to address the challenges in publishing accessible mathematics content, given requirements related to the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and the update to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Society worked with the American Mathematical Society (AMS), European Mathematical Society (EMS), and SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) to prepare a joint set of “Author Guidelines for Preparing Accessible Mathematics Content” to assist mathematicians in making their articles as accessible as possible.
“As society publishers, our first commitment is to the mathematics community, so it was important to come together to work on these guidelines that take into account the needs of our authors and readers,” said Robert Harington, Chief Publishing Officer, American Mathematical Society.
“While each publisher will adapt the guidelines slightly to fit their publication process, we believe it is important to provide our authors with consistent guidance as they begin work on their manuscripts, to avoid significant changes later in the production workflow,” said Simon Buckmaster, Head of Academic Publications, London Mathematical Society.
“The heart of the idea is to avoid confusion on the authors’ side by establishing a unified baseline standard regardless of where they publish,” EMS Press CEO André Gaul said. “The guidelines help authors prepare their manuscripts efficiently while giving the publisher all necessary details to produce publications that are truly accessible to all mathematicians.”
In the spring of 2025, the publications offices of the four societies convened a cross-functional working group composed of staff from editorial, production, marketing, and sales, with the support of publishing leadership and society leadership.
“Along the way, we gathered input from our colleagues, volunteers from our societies, and mathematicians with a visual impairment as the working group held regular conference calls to work through various aspects of the guidelines in detail,” said SIAM Publications Director Kivmars Bowling. “Accessibility is an incredibly nuanced subject and so we continue to welcome further feedback from the community now that these guidelines have been launched.”
An accessible PDF of the guidelines is hosted on the SIAM website. An HTML version with special instructions for LMS authors can be accessed on the LMS website lms.ac.uk/publications/accessiblemaths.