The IDS Bulletin has been in continuous publication since 1968 and, during this time, it has been published in several formats, from printed paperback to its current offering of PDF and HTML. Digital publishing has the potential to greatly increase inclusion for people with disabilities. For example, readers can transform the text size and line spacing or listen to the content.

Digital has long been the dominant scholarly journal format; in 2024, it generated over eight times more revenue for UK publishers than print (Publishers Association 2025). But when digital content is not created with accessibility in mind, it can result in significant barriers to accessing knowledge. Much attention has focused on open access in scholarly publishing, i.e. allowing readers to freely access and download information without barriers. In recent years, much more focus has been brought to accessibility, i.e. designing and creating digital content in a way that can be universally accessed by everyone, including people with disabilities. Scholarly publishing has an important role to play in making knowledge available to all on an equitable basis, at the point of publication.