[Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Project MUSE is NOT moving to EPUBS only

Wed Mar 11 13:32:18 PDT 2026

Spelling correction on my end - sorry!

 ...stating "Project Muse is* doing xyz"..

On Wed, Mar 11, 2026, 3:46 PM Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion
list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org> wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> Thank you for chiming in from the vendor perspective and to alleviate some
> concerns we're sharing. I want to note that the assertion made from a
> colleague on this thread was not necessarily them stating "Project Muse
> issue doing xyz", but more that they were sharing their
> understanding/interpretation of the information they had at the time. This
> thread acts as a collaborative space for us to find answers to questions we
> may have. We really appreciate the clarity on this!
>
> While we are here, could you also offer some clarity on the choice to move
> away from chapter PDFs? That's also been something that has appeared on
> listservs.
>
> Thank you!
> Erika Boardman, UNC Charlotte
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 11, 2026, 2:33 PM Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion
> list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org> wrote:
>
>> [Caution: Email from External Sender. Do not click or open links or
>> attachments unless you know this sender.]
>>
>>
>> Thank you all for your comments and questions regarding Project MUSE
>> books! We'd like to first stress that, no, Project MUSE is not moving away
>> from PDF. That assertion on the listserv post was not factual.
>>
>> As many may know, Project MUSE is an aggregator. Which means we receive
>> files from our university press and non-profit publishers in many different
>> configurations. We work diligently and as quickly as we can to ensure that
>> the EPUB and PDF are available for our end users to access. PDF files can
>> be created from EPUBs if not provided alongside them.
>>
>> In some instances, there may be a specific book that is not accessible in
>> PDF - this is not intentional. In the process of working with the files
>> that are sent to us, there can be file errors that prevent a PDF
>> conversion. We do make the effort to fix those we find, and we're in the
>> process of a more thorough search for these books on the platform.
>>
>> Would also like to highlight our accessibility standard, which is
>> included in all of our license agreements:
>> Project MUSE and Johns Hopkins University Press (JHUP) complies with the
>> Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), by supporting assistive software or
>> devices such as large print interfaces, text-to-speech output,
>> voice-activated input, refreshable braille displays, and alternate keyboard
>> or pointer interfaces, in a manner consistent with the Web Accessibility
>> Initiative Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 and 2.2) and EN
>> 301 549 Accessibility Standard (V3.2.1), and follows the technical
>> specifications of the Revised Section 508 Standards (published January 2017
>> and corrected January 2018). (http://www.w3.org/WAI/guid-tech.html).
>> JHUP maintains an Accessibility web page, including downloadable copies
>> of current Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) documentation,
>> at https://muse.jhu.edu/accessibility. JHUP shall ensure that product
>> maintenance and upgrades are implemented in a manner that does not
>> compromise product accessibility.
>>
>> Our new VPAT will be live by May 1, which will immediately be posted on
>> the link listed above.
>>
>> We hope we've been able to clear up any miscommunication, and welcome
>> additional questions.
>>
>> Tricia Chareun
>> she/her/hers
>> Senior Manager, Sales & Library Relations
>> Project MUSE, Johns Hopkins University Press
>> Tmiller.muse at jhu.edu
>>
>> I respectfully acknowledge that the land upon which I live and work, in
>> Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, is on the unceded, ancestral land of the Ho-Chunk
>> Nation.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org> On Behalf Of
>> eril-l-request at lists.eril-l.org
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2026 3:02 PM
>> To: eril-l at lists.eril-l.org
>> Subject: Eril-l Digest, Vol 136, Issue 6
>>
>>
>>       External Email - Use Caution
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>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Message: 4
>> Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:10:32 -0400
>> From: Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list
>>         <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
>> To: eril-l at lists.eril-l.org
>> Subject: [Eril-l] Project Muse moving to EPUBS only? Accessibility
>>         question
>> Message-ID:
>>         <
>> mailman.2195.1773169996.388437.eril-l-eril-l.org at lists.eril-l.org>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> Hi all
>> So today we ran into our first Project Muse ebook that was only available
>> to be read as an EPUB - it can't be read at all without using ADE.    This
>> poses a huge problem for us, as ADE is not available on our campus
>> computers and frankly, our university patrons by and large have found the
>> use of ADE on personal devices to be more hoops to jump through and
>> complicated then they wish to deal with.
>>
>> Looking at the Project MUSE FAQs, it appears that they are moving towards
>> EPUB over PDF format and do not have an in-brower reader available.   So,
>> this leaves their collections potentially off the table for us, as we
>> would not want to purchase books that are not able to be read on campus
>> machines.
>>
>> I also have concerns about the Accessibility of EPUB files going forward
>> and the April 26th requirements;  as Project Muse does not provide
>> accessibility information by title  (the title I am looking at is a 2026
>> published title) .
>>
>> Has anyone addressed any of these concerns with PM -- the move to EPUBs
>> (without a readable version, even by chapter, on screen) and / or the
>> accessibility issues with EPUBs?
>>
>>
>> Sarah Maximiek *(her/she)*
>> Assistant Director of Acquisitions and Contracts Subject Librarian for
>> Human Development, Public Administration and Social Work Binghamton
>> University Libraries
>> 607.777.3941 / maximiek at binghamton.edu
>> Schedule a meeting: https://libcal.binghamton.edu/appointments/sarah
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>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 5
>> Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:33:07 -0400
>> From: Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list
>>         <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
>> To: Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list
>>         <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
>> Subject: Re: [Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Project Muse moving to EPUBS only?
>>         Accessibility question
>> Message-ID:
>>         <
>> mailman.2196.1773171465.388437.eril-l-eril-l.org at lists.eril-l.org>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> Hi Sarah,
>>
>> This is something my institution noticed a couple of weeks ago and we
>> quickly contacted our Vendor Rep about it. I emphasized how problematic it
>> is for only EPUBs to be available for the same reasons you've pointed out.
>> >From what was shared with me, this (i.e. eBooks only providing EPUB
>> >access
>> and not PDFs) is a technical issue that they weren't aware of.
>>
>> I would highly recommend contacting Support or your Vendor Rep about it
>> to make them aware of it as well.
>>
>> Erika Boardman, UNC Charlotte
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 10, 2026, 3:20?PM Electronic Resources in Libraries
>> discussion list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org> wrote:
>>
>> > [*Caution*: Email from External Sender. Do not click or open links or
>> > attachments unless you know this sender.]
>> >
>> > Hi all
>> > So today we ran into our first Project Muse ebook that was only
>> available
>> > to be read as an EPUB - it can't be read at all without using ADE.
>> This
>> > poses a huge problem for us, as ADE is not available on our campus
>> > computers and frankly, our university patrons by and large have found
>> > the use of ADE on personal devices to be more hoops to jump through
>> > and complicated then they wish to deal with.
>> >
>> > Looking at the Project MUSE FAQs, it appears that they are moving
>> towards
>> > EPUB over PDF format and do not have an in-brower reader available.
>>  So,
>> > this leaves their collections potentially off the table for us, as we
>> > would not want to purchase books that are not able to be read on campus
>> machines.
>> >
>> > I also have concerns about the Accessibility of EPUB files going
>> > forward and the April 26th requirements;  as Project Muse does not
>> > provide accessibility information by title  (the title I am looking at
>> > is a 2026 published title) .
>> >
>> > Has anyone addressed any of these concerns with PM -- the move to
>> > EPUBs (without a readable version, even by chapter, on screen) and /
>> > or the accessibility issues with EPUBs?
>> >
>> >
>> > Sarah Maximiek *(her/she)*
>> > Assistant Director of Acquisitions and Contracts Subject Librarian for
>> > Human Development, Public Administration and Social Work Binghamton
>> > University Libraries
>> > 607.777.3941 / maximiek at binghamton.edu Schedule a meeting:
>> > https://libc/
>> > al.binghamton.edu%2Fappointments%2Fsarah&data=05%7C02%7Ctmiller.muse%4
>> > 0jhu.edu%7C408fa8a367ce4169a32508de7ee5a320%7C9fa4f438b1e6473b803f86f8
>> > aedf0dec%7C0%7C0%7C639087721983318018%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0
>> > eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIl
>> > dUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Ddq1jI2j31oc1QTKVDD4AoJIPWXPyfmuKGgK
>> > XyXRuJI%3D&reserved=0 _______________________________________________
>> > Eril-l mailing list
>> > Eril-l at lists.eril-l.org
>> > http://lists/
>> > .eril-l.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Feril-l-eril-l.org&data=05%7C02%7Ctmiller.
>> > muse%40jhu.edu%7C408fa8a367ce4169a32508de7ee5a320%7C9fa4f438b1e6473b80
>> > 3f86f8aedf0dec%7C0%7C0%7C639087721983336716%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8ey
>> > JFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFp
>> > bCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=5GlUvfMd%2F5WsO1HKajW2NRq%2BE0
>> > kgqwv7%2Fwh3rKIhbEA%3D&reserved=0
>> >
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>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Message: 6
>> Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:33:07 -0400
>> From: Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list
>>         <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
>> To: Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list
>>         <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
>> Subject: Re: [Eril-l] [EXTERNAL] Project Muse moving to EPUBS only?
>>         Accessibility question
>> Message-ID:
>>         <
>> mailman.2197.1773171608.388429.eril-l-eril-l.org at lists.eril-l.org>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>>
>> Hi Sarah,
>>
>> This is something my institution noticed a couple of weeks ago and we
>> quickly contacted our Vendor Rep about it. I emphasized how problematic it
>> is for only EPUBs to be available for the same reasons you've pointed out.
>> >From what was shared with me, this (i.e. eBooks only providing EPUB
>> >access
>> and not PDFs) is a technical issue that they weren't aware of.
>>
>> I would highly recommend contacting Support or your Vendor Rep about it
>> to make them aware of it as well.
>>
>> Erika Boardman, UNC Charlotte
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 10, 2026, 3:20?PM Electronic Resources in Libraries
>> discussion list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org> wrote:
>>
>> > [*Caution*: Email from External Sender. Do not click or open links or
>> > attachments unless you know this sender.]
>> >
>> > Hi all
>> > So today we ran into our first Project Muse ebook that was only
>> available
>> > to be read as an EPUB - it can't be read at all without using ADE.
>> This
>> > poses a huge problem for us, as ADE is not available on our campus
>> > computers and frankly, our university patrons by and large have found
>> > the use of ADE on personal devices to be more hoops to jump through
>> > and complicated then they wish to deal with.
>> >
>> > Looking at the Project MUSE FAQs, it appears that they are moving
>> towards
>> > EPUB over PDF format and do not have an in-brower reader available.
>>  So,
>> > this leaves their collections potentially off the table for us, as we
>> > would not want to purchase books that are not able to be read on campus
>> machines.
>> >
>> > I also have concerns about the Accessibility of EPUB files going
>> > forward and the April 26th requirements;  as Project Muse does not
>> > provide accessibility information by title  (the title I am looking at
>> > is a 2026 published title) .
>> >
>> > Has anyone addressed any of these concerns with PM -- the move to
>> > EPUBs (without a readable version, even by chapter, on screen) and /
>> > or the accessibility issues with EPUBs?
>> >
>> >
>> > Sarah Maximiek *(her/she)*
>> > Assistant Director of Acquisitions and Contracts Subject Librarian for
>> > Human Development, Public Administration and Social Work Binghamton
>> > University Libraries
>> > 607.777.3941 / maximiek at binghamton.edu Schedule a meeting:
>> > https://libc/
>> > al.binghamton.edu%2Fappointments%2Fsarah&data=05%7C02%7Ctmiller.muse%4
>> > 0jhu.edu%7C408fa8a367ce4169a32508de7ee5a320%7C9fa4f438b1e6473b803f86f8
>> > aedf0dec%7C0%7C0%7C639087721983517107%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0
>> > eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIl
>> > dUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=a%2BhN%2BcH8fQeX6RtUjYuLNKxUyI%2Fi7f
>> > cIDNKt7fsYZzo%3D&reserved=0
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Eril-l mailing list
>> > Eril-l at lists.eril-l.org
>> > http://lists/
>> > .eril-l.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Feril-l-eril-l.org&data=05%7C02%7Ctmiller.
>> > muse%40jhu.edu%7C408fa8a367ce4169a32508de7ee5a320%7C9fa4f438b1e6473b80
>> > 3f86f8aedf0dec%7C0%7C0%7C639087721983541079%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8ey
>> > JFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFp
>> > bCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=v%2Bd2QqFGAQewEEeOozYqYO3R58a%
>> > 2B3NAjAlTeN5UNl6s%3D&reserved=0
>> >
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