lunchBOX

lunchBOX: For our inaugural lunchBOX interview we’re joined by Huw Alexander from textBOX. Welcome, Huw. Thanks for joining us. You’re interviewing yourself…business going well then?

​

HA: We needed to have a test interview. Also, I was lonely.

​

lunchBOX: So, you’re in lockdown, talking to yourself?

​

HA: Well, yes, but let’s call this beta-testing. That’s Greek for hoping for the best. You should probably start with the questions. Open Pandora’s Box and all that.

​

lunchBOX: LunchBOX. It’s called lunchBOX. I’m beginning to question interviewing you.

​

HA: I’m beginning to question employing you.

​

lunchBOX: Fair play. Let’s get started…

​

 

1. Who are you and what do you do?

​

HA: I should probably know this one as I’m interviewing myself. I’m you. 24 and a half hours a day. I also run textBOX. textBOX describe things for a living. And we’ve built databases that solve the issue of finding accessibility content and contacts, and we’ve developed evaluation services that review  accessibility statements. We’re also working on making breakfasts better for all and a way of closing resealable bags without significant sobbing. We also have cats.

​

lunchBOX: I’m not sure that the whole of that response was entirely true, but let’s move on.

​

HA: Should I move around the other side of the table to ask the questions?

​

lunchBOX: Probably best for authenticity.

​

2. How did you come to be involved in the world of accessibility?

​

HA: Serendipity. Many moons ago, I was Rights Manager at SAGE Publishing, and as part of the role I looked after requests from libraries for accessible content. This was 2003, 2004, so the early days of ebooks. We created a more streamlined system for making the content available and it provided the foundations for our ebook programme. I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of good people in the industry and accessibility as an issue just fascinated me.

​

3. What does accessibility mean to you?

​

HA: Helping people. Is that too much of a marketing censored answer? Helping organizations or institutions make things a bit better. I went to college because I liked history. I left with a degree mainly in Roman history, which is really useful to the world, but I enjoyed it. I got a job in a bookstore because I liked…books. I enjoyed helping people in a bookstore (“You know, that book with the blue cover and the swirls?”) and as a rights manager I liked figuring out which books could sell around the world. I like the world of publishing for both the people and the underlying message. Reading is good. Everyone should have access. I kind of just do things I like. I guess that’s why creating a company was inevitable. I like helping people find the books and images and publishers they love. Do we need to call the jargon police now?

​

4. What has been your biggest challenge in promoting accessibility?

​

HA: Patience. Building a small company enables you to take decisions and develop solutions quickly. I would call it agile, but some people have seen me dance. Those decisions then come up against reality and things…slow…down. Accessibility as an issue has moved front and centre in people’s minds, but sometimes organizations do not have the support they need to achieve their goals. So, learning to be patient has been key. All good things to those who wait. For a little while a least.

​

5. What’s been your biggest success in relation to accessibility?

​

HA: I was once part of a team at SAGE Publishing that won the International Excellence award for accessibility from the Accessible Books Consortium at the London Book Fair. That meant a lot. In recent times, building a company that listens to the community and responds with services that hopefully fix things. Developing the ASPIRE service into a recognized benchmark for accessibility in the industry has been very rewarding.

​

A couple of weeks ago, a visually impaired person in the audience described images as very stressful and that my alt-text was “very soothing.” I had to walk away from my desk for a moment. Little things make all this worthwhile.

 

6. What is the most enjoyable part of your job?

​

HA: An unexpected email containing interesting things. A new book to describe – ask me anything about psychology or American government. Taking part in presentations, even at a socially-distanced distance. I give a presentation once a year about textBOX and publishing and accessibility as part of the City University publishing programme, and that one is particularly enjoyable. Students are just brilliant, refreshing and inspiring.

​