Open Book for Libraries: December 2023

Open book for libraries

In this issue:

Letter from CELA’s Executive Director

The new year is just around the corner and it’s a great time to look back at what has been a very full year. This year, CELA has launched our new Envoy Connect and Preloaded Envoy Connect services to give our users another option for reading their books. We’ve just completed our Braille Survey, which will help guide our work to enhance braille services. Our thanks to all of you who responded. Our team has also been hard at work adding nearly 100,000 National Library Service (NLS) audio and braille titles to our collection and look forward to adding more titles as our exchange with NLS continues in the coming years.

As our collection grows, we are pleased to continue with important partnerships in the literary world, including major Canadian awards, and right now, we are gearing up for the Canada Reads. We are so appreciative of the awards which work with us to ensure that timely access to these books is available to our users.

There is incredible work happening in accessible publishing, and this year, we’ve had the opportunity to take part in interesting collaborations and conversations with colleagues in both the accessible publishing and the accessible library services communities around the world. These exchanges have enhanced our own work, and we are grateful for the chance to share ideas and learn from others in this industry.

Our collaboration with NNELS continues as we support the Public Library Accessibility Resource Centre. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the resources available, I invite you to visit. There is a wealth of information available on the AccessibleLibraries.ca website.

And as we head into conference season, we are looking forward to meeting many of you at the OLA Super Conference and at other conferences across the country. Please stop by our booth to say hello. Our work would not be possible without your support.

This year, we have also welcomed new Board members and new staff. All the incredible work we are able to do is made possible because of the dedication, commitment and expertise of all our staff and our Board. On behalf of all of us, I want to wish you a beautiful holiday season and a wonderful new year.

Happy Reading!
Laurie Davidson, Executive Director

Canada Reads

Covers of the 15 books on the Canada Reads longlist are show in 2 rows against a blue background. The Canada Reads logo and the text 2024 Longlist appear above the book covers.The longlist for the 2024 edition of Canada Reads has been revealed. The books were selected to reflect the theme of "resilience and the hope needed to carry on and keep moving forward."

On January 11, the 5 books selected for the shortlist, and the panelists who will champion them, will be revealed. Until then, there is lots of time to enjoy the longlist! 

Read books from the Canada Reads longlist.

Best books of the year

Cover of the book Spare by Prince Harry.Newspapers, libraries and bookstores often release lists of their favourite, best selling or most read books at this time of the year. We’ve checked out a few to select some of our favourites.

And we’ve also reviewed our own records to see which books have been the CELA books most read by our users.

Let us know what you think of the lists on our social media! Check out these links for accessible versions of:

Audiobooks in the news

What happens if you love literature, but a diagnosis robs you of the confidence for reading and finishing a print book? Read one woman’s perspective.

“Giving myself permission to stop reading books has stopped the cycle of shame, and has allowed me to refocus my attention on what has become one of my favourite things – the audiobook.”

Come learn with us in the new year!

A woman sitting at a table with headphones on writes in a notepad and smiles at a laptop open in front of her.New CELA Training

We are delighted to offer a full schedule of training webinars and  workshops in the new year. We are combining brand new programs with some popular webinars to provide useful training for our users so that you can make the most of your CELA accounts.

In January, library staff are invited to a brand new workshop about registering patrons with print disabilities for CELA. This workshop, which had to be postponed in November, will now be taking place on January 16th. This is perfect for staff at all levels.

In February, we are pleased to offer our popular Envoy Connect for Libraries webinar. Come learn all you need to know to help your library and patrons take advantage of our newest reading device and service option. Coming in March, we will be presenting a new webinar on outreach and communications for libraries, packed full of ideas and resources to help you reach more potential patrons in your community. Also in March, we will offer our Orientation webinar, which is an excellent opportunity both for library staff who need to familiarize themselves with CELA services and for those who need a refresher.

Our Educator Access webinar will be returning in April with some important updates since the last time we offered it. Also coming in April will be a brand new webinar all about CELA and braille! This webinar is for anyone using braille or supporting new or experienced braille readers, including CELA users, library staff or educators. Stay tuned for more details!

To learn more about these webinars and to register, keep checking the Webinars page for the latest updates.

CELA books to promote

A hand holds up a megaphone on a blue background.In your newsletters, social media and in branch display spaces, don't forget to promote new and relevant accessible books for people with print disabilities.

Check out our Printable List of new books recently added to the CELA collection.

We've also created a list of new holiday titles - perfect to promote in December!

Outreach tool tip: Inclusive language best practices

Pictogram of people of different shapes and sizes, each in a different colour, including a person with glasses and a cane and a person in a wheelchair.When planning for your outreach activities to community groups representing people with disabilities, it is important to use appropriate language in your invitations, promotions and conversations.

We can help with that! Our Outreach Tool Kit includes, among many other things, a guide to inclusive language. This section has great tips and suggested resources to help you craft messages which are inclusive and respectful of the various communities, to help you avoid problematic terms and to give you some different perspectives on person first versus identity first language. There’s also a section to help you create accessible documents to ensure that your messages can be delivered in ways that are inclusive and accessible. You can find the Outreach Toolkit on our For Libraries page.

CELA at the OLA Super Conference

OLA Super Conference Get Loud logo.We are looking forward to seeing our colleagues at the upcoming OLA Super Conference. Some of CELA staff are presenting at the OLA Super Conference and other staff will be at our booth. Please come and say hi and learn more about what's happening with CELA.

Is Your Public Library Accessible? Raising the Voices of Those with Disabilities with Laurie Davidson
Thursday, January 25, 2024  10:45 AM - 12:00 PM

Accessibility Metadata 101: Creation, Usage and Display with Megan Toye
Thursday, January 25, 2024  2:15 PM - 3:30 PM

Amplifying Accessibility Through Collaboration - Connecting Public and School Libraries in Your Community with Rachel Breau
Friday, January 26, 2024  10:45 AM - 12:00 PM

There are also some other great accessibility sessions. Check them out! 

Opening the World of Reading to Everyone: Accessible Books for Young Readers
Thursday, January 25, 2024 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Empowering Equity: Libraries' Role in Dyslexia Awareness, Outreach, and Support
Friday, January 26, 2024 9:15 AM - 10:30 AM

Celebrating Years of Service for CELA

Many hands of different skin tones reach in to touch in the middle of a circle.This fall, two of the founding members of CELA’s Board of Directors completed their terms and stepped down after 10 years of service.

We asked Catherine Biss, the outgoing Chair and Jefferson Gilbert, the outgoing Secretary/Treasurer to share some thoughts about the changes they’ve seen over the past 10 years and what their hopes are for CELA in the future.

CELA: Tell us a bit about why and how CELA was formed.

Jefferson Gilbert: CELA came to be because of the dedication of a number of committed individuals. The public library community and the CNIB realized that people with print disabilities deserved equitable access to reading materials. The CNIB did an admirable job for more than 100 years and we were grateful for their support as CELA was established as a model that allowed more users with different types of disabilities to access the same standard of library service across the country.

I remember clearly the meeting where one of our colleagues stood up after some energetic discussion and said, “We have an obligation to provide equitable library service to our community members”. That comment really became the mission for CELA going forward.

CELA: What changes have you seen over your tenure on the Board?

Catherine Biss: Since I began working with CELA in 2014, services for all people with print disabilities have expanded immensely. The CELA collection has grown by more than 1 million titles and services have expanded to meet users' increasingly diverse needs. Libraries across the country now rely on CELA to provide collections and services which would be impossible for them to offer individually.

Just as importantly, there has been a growing awareness in and outside of libraries about the importance of access to reading material for people with print disabilities.

CELA: What were some of the challenges for the Board in getting CELA to where it is today?

Jefferson Gilbert: I think it has been two main challenges. The first is simply the amount of work it takes to get a national not for profit up and running. The second was stable funding. Part of our work was to convey the importance of a higher, more equitable level of service to all the jurisdictions which now fund CELA. I am proud of the work the Board did, especially in the early years, to steward CELA through those challenges and bring CELA to the place it is now as an autonomous organization which works directly with various levels of government and collaborates with innovative partners to serve people with print disabilities.

CELA: What are your hopes for CELA for the next ten years and beyond?

Catherine Biss: Going forward, with the support of funders who commit to offering sustainable, ongoing funding for accessible reading material production and distribution, I believe CELA and public library partners across the country can realize the goal of a fully equitable library service, where people with print disabilities have timely access to the same reading material and resources as their neighbours. That was always our motivation and the CELA team, both the Board and the staff, have done an excellent job in moving us so much closer to that reality.

Jefferson Gilbert: There are some incredible opportunities ahead for CELA. The equitable reading landscape is evolving, in part because technological advancements are shifting our understanding of what is possible for libraries serving people with print disabilities. There are important conversations and collaborations happening between all aspects of the publishing and library communities. One of the most impressive things about the CELA team has been its ability to retain so many talented and committed staff members for so long. I know that with the Board and the staff, CELA is in good hands to make the most of these opportunities for its users.

Webinars

Are there topics related to accessibility that you would like to see included in our webinars? We regularly update our content and always appreciate hearing ideas from library staff. Send your suggestions to members@celalibrary.ca.

CELA Workshop for Libraries: Registering library patrons with print disabilities

This workshop will walk public library staff through the process of registering their patrons with print disabilities for CELA. Participants will observe as CELA staff demonstrate how to complete the form and the next steps once the person is registered. The registration demonstration will be done as a group through the presenter sharing their screen.

Why take this workshop? Whether you are new to registering patrons for CELA or are experienced, you will learn about:

  • CELA’s reading formats (audiobooks, e-text and braille) and book and magazine delivery options to match the patron’s reading needs
  • Eligibility criteria, how to upload a patron’s Proof of Disability form for access to Bookshare and about CELA’s Terms of Use
  • What happens after the person is registered
  • Helpful registration guides and scripts on CELA’s site

Register using the link below:

Tues, Jan 16 2:00-3:00pm EST

Featured title for adults: Endgame: Inside the royal family and the monarchy's fight for survival

Cover of the book Endgame by Omid Scobie.Endgame, the explosive book from longtime royal journalist Omid Scobie and author of the international blockbuster Finding Freedom, is a penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy—an unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to dangerous lengths to preserve her image, and a prince forced to start a new life after being betrayed by his own family.

Queen Elizabeth II's death ruptured the already-fractured foundations of the House of Windsor—and dismantled the protective shield around it. With an institution long plagued by antiquated ideas around race, class and money, the monarchy and those who prop it up are now exposed and at odds with a rapidly modernizing world. Relying on his vast experience as a royal reporter and over a decade of conversations and interviews with current and former Palace staff, trusted friends of the royals and even the family members themselves, Scobie pulls back the curtain on an institution in turmoil to show what the monarchy must change in order to survive. This is the monarchy's endgame. Do they have what it takes to save it?

Read Endgame: Inside the royal family and the monarchy's fight for survival by Omid Scobie

Top five books

Cover of the book The Whispers by Ashley Audrain.Most popular with our readers this month:

  1. The Whispers: A Novel by Ashley Audrain, Suspense and thrillers,
  2. Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page, Biography
  3. The Exchange: After The Firm (The Firm #2) by John Grisham, Suspense and thrillers
  4. The Armor of Light: A novel (Kingsbridge #4) by Ken Follett, Historical fiction
  5. The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike #7) by Robert Galbraith, Gentle mysteries

Featured title for children: The Superteacher Project

Cover of the book The SuperTeacher Project by Gordan Korman.Oliver Zahn is not a fan of his new Brightling Middle School homeroom teacher, Mr. Aidact. But as the weeks go by, Oliver and his best friend, Nathan, realize that Mr. Aidact is not what they expected.

Read The Superteacher Project by Gordan Korman.

 

Top five for kids

Most popular with kids this month:

  1. Cover of the book The Secret Pocket by Peggy Janicki.Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Fantasy
  2. The Secret Pocket by Peggy Janicki, Alphabet, number and picture books
  3. Ways to Make Sunshine (A Ryan Hart Story Series #1) by Renée Watson, School stories
  4. The Lemonade War (The Lemonade War Series #1) by Jacqueline Davies, Family stories
  5. Snow Day: A Graphic Novel (Mr. Wolf's Class) by Aron Steinke, General fiction

Top five for teens

Most popular with teens this month:

  1. Cover of the book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins.The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins, Adventure stories
  2. The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) by J. R. R. Tolkien, Fantasy
  3. Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley, Suspense and thrillers
  4. Hunger Games 4 Book Digital Collection (The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins, Adventure stories
  5. Down Came the Rain: My journey through postpartum depression by Brooke Shields, Health and medicine

Service tip: Year end statistics

Just a friendly reminder to libraries to run your end-of-year statistics as close as possible to the period for which you will need them. For example, if you need January 1 – December 31, 2023 data, please run your reports as early as possible in January. If you encounter any issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

Holiday hours

Two white lit candles are surrounded by pine branches, pinecones, and a white blanket.CELA and our Contact Centre will be closed Monday, December 25, Tuesday, December 26 and Monday, January 1, 2024. We will be open and available on Wednesday, December 27-Friday, December 29 and will resume regular hours on Tuesday, January 2.

Stay connected!

Facebook and twitter logos.Visit CELA's social media, including Twitter, Facebook and our blog, for more news about what's happening in the world of accessible literature.