CELA collection
Through your public library you have access to CELA’s growing collection of 1 million items, which include newspapers, magazines, and books in accessible formats such as audio, e-text and braille.
If there is a book you would like to read but it’s not available through CELA, please fill out our title suggestion form to recommend we add it to our collection.
Bookshare
You may also have access to books from Bookshare, a US-based accessible online library for people with print disabilities. Bookshare offers more than 1 million titles, including books for all ages, best sellers, and more. The books are available in e-text and e-braille. Most of the audio book versions are in synthetic speech (computer voice) and some are human-narrated.
Bookshare creates its accessible books by automatically converting book files provided by publishers. This automatic process makes large numbers of books available quickly and in a wide variety of accessible formats. However, because humans do not check the books, you may find errors in the synthetic audio or computer-generated braille. In addition, books which rely heavily on illustrations, charts, and graphs may not be usable because this material is generally presented by the publishers as images which cannot be converted automatically.
Proof of disability
If you wish to access the Bookshare collection, you must provide a proof of disability, as required by Bookshare's agreements with publishers. CELA manages the proof of disability process and ensures the privacy of your personal information. If you prefer not to submit a proof of disability, you will still have access to the CELA collection.
Download the proof of disability form, complete it, and upload the form within the My Account section of the CELA website. CELA will confirm with you when the form is processed.
Educators: Download the Educator Terms of Use form, complete it, and upload the form within the My Account section of the CELA website. CELA will let you know when the form has been processed.
