Open Book for Libraries: May 2023

Open book for libraries

In this issue:

Letter from CELA’s Executive Director

This May feels like a month of celebration for CELA. We are very excited to announce the launch of a new service which allows our users to read audiobooks using Envoy Connect, a new, easy to use, portable and very affordable device. It’s always our goal to offer our users a broad range of choices in both their reading materials, and in the ways they access that material, and Envoy Connect is an excellent option for many of our users. The Envoy Connect offers important flexibility for our users. It can be loaded with books via a home computer and internet access, or it can be returned to CELA for reloading – or both as needs change. We have more information in this newsletter about Envoy Connect, which is now available in Canada, or you can visit our website for more information.

We are also celebrating books for younger readers. Many of the young readers’ choice programs including Forest of Reading, Hackmatack and the Manitoba Young Readers Choice Awards (MYRCA) have announced their winners this month. We are delighted to have so many of the nominees and winners available for young readers. You can find links to these winners on our Kids and Teens Awards Page.

We also want to congratulate the CELA Accessibility Award winners Bibliothèques de Laval for their excellent work in creating an engaging accessible summer reading club for kids in 2022. We can’t wait to see what Bibliothèques de Laval and other libraries do for summer 2023. If your library does a great job, make sure to let them know how valuable their efforts are. Making libraries a welcoming space for all, and providing lots of excellent choices in books for young people, are two crucial ways we can all ensure kids with print disabilities can stay engaged with books and reading.

Over the last few months, CELA has presented and participated at many library conferences across the country. We’ve had the pleasure of meeting up again with friends and colleagues, and of talking about the importance of accessibility in libraries. Our team was so impressed by the interest and dedication public libraries show in learning and offering accessible services. If you are interested in learning more about accessibility, I recommend checking out the Public Library Accessibility Resource Centre (PLARC) and the AccessibleLibraries.ca. There you will find recommended resources to help make your library an inclusive and welcoming space for people with disabilities.

As we celebrate great accessible books, and new ways to read them like the Envoy Connect, I also want to celebrate and thank our member libraries for their ongoing commitment to serving patrons with print disabilities. We hear from our users how valuable your efforts are.

Happy reading!

Laurie Davidson, Executive Director

Envoy Connect Service now available

Front of Envoy Connect deviceWe are delighted to announce a new service which uses the Envoy Connect, a new audiobook player, to read CELA titles.

The Envoy Connect is a portable, affordable, and easy-to-use audiobook player. This device has a simple and intuitive layout and can hold 12 CELA titles. Envoy Connect offers our users lots of flexibility in receiving their books.

  • The Envoy Connect can be mailed to CELA to be reloaded with new titles. Mailing is free thanks to Canada Post’s Literature for the Blind program.
  • It can also be reloaded at home with our new software, CELA Connect. This free software is simple, accessible, and does not require advanced computer skills, allowing users to get new books quickly and easily without having to wait for mail deliveries.
  • Users can choose to use mail reloading, reloading with CELA Connect at home, or both, depending on their needs.

If you would like to try the Envoy Connect, we have a dedicated resource page on our website which includes our User Guide, a Quick Reference Guide, the Audio Quick Start Guide and Audio Demo.

We’ve also created a User Guide, Quick Reference Guide, Audio JAWS Guide and Video Tutorial for CELA Connect, the software used to reload the Envoy Connect at home or in the library.

“When we are asked about why choices are so important to our users I think we can look back to the last few years. Whether it was mail service interruptions, or the unknown of the pandemic and its associated supply interruptions, what we heard from our users was just how important consistent access to books was for their wellbeing. Envoy Connect is one more tool in our toolbox to help our users maintain that consistent access. It gives them lots of choices for ways to receive their books. And that choice is one of the many reasons we are excited to offer this new service” says Laurie Davidson. “I hope those folks who are able to try the Envoy Connect will love it as much as we do.”

To learn more about the Envoy Connect, check out our blog post, or visit our dedicated Envoy Connect resource page.

Spring Award Winners

Cover of the book When We Were Sisters by Fatimah Asghar.The award season continues into the spring and features some excellent books.

Congratulations to Fatimah Asghar who won the inaugural Carol Shields Award for their book When We Were Sisters. Asghar, who is a South-Asian American Muslim, will receive the prize of $150,000 USD and a residency at the beautiful Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland.

The prize, named for one of Canada's most beloved authors, celebrates excellence in fiction written by women and non-binary writers in Canada and the United States.

Congratulations also go to Chris Turner, who won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for his book How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World. Part of the Writer's Trust suite of prizes, this award is presented annually "for an exceptional book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers."

The Canadian Crime Writers awards were also announced. The annual awards were established by the Crime Writers of Canada in 1984, and promote the best in mystery, crime, suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors. Winners include:

Indigenous Voices Award Nominees Announced

Cover of the book Half-Bads in White Regalia by Cody Caetano.Early in May the Indigenous Voices Awards announced the nominees for the 2023 prize. The award was established in 2017 to recognize and celebrate the work of Indigenous writers in eight categories in English, French and Indigenous languages.

The winners will be announced on June 21, National Indigenous Day. CELA is pleased to have some of the featured titles including:

CELA celebrates Pride Month

The words "Happy pride month" in rainbow colours on a dark blue background.June is Pride Month and an excellent opportunity to delve into the stories and the real life memoirs from the LGBTQ2+ community. We've put together some booklists to browse. Choose from one or all of these great lists:

TD Summer Reading Club Accessibility Award Announced

From left to right Ioana Gandrabur and Jessica Desormeaux from CELA present a plaque to Mathieu Tremblay who stands to their right.We are delighted to congratulate the winner of the 2022 CELA Accessibility Award, Bibliothèques de Laval. The award is presented annually to the library that demonstrates excellence in accessible programming supporting their TD Summer Reading Club.

CELA staff Jessica Desormeaux and Ioana Gandrabur presented the award personally to Mathieu Tremblay, Bibliothécaire, Médiation Culturelle from Bibliothèques de Laval who commented “We are very pleased to have won the Club TD Accessibility prize this year. As you probably know, Laval is a big city (almost 450 000 people) with a really nice diversity of citizens and it’s in our library duty and mission to offer culture and literacy programs to everyone from the itinerant, to those with disabilities, or to the LBGTQ+ community. That's why this prize is important to us : it represents a step in the right direction.’’

Congratulations to the team at Bibliothèques de Laval for their hard work and dedication to ensure an accessible and inclusive TD Summer Reading Club program. We can’t wait to see what you do this year.

To learn more about the award, please visit the TD Summer Reading Club Accessibility Award page on our website.

It’s Almost Summer Reading Club Time

Drawing of two people chasing butterflies with nets.The TD Summer Reading Club launches on June 12 and other provincial clubs and libraries are also gearing up to welcome young readers for summer fun.

This summer, support fun activities and encourage a love of reading for kids with print disabilities by ensuring you offer accessible programming and books! Library staff can learn about making their TD Summer Reading Club accessible and access book titles in CELA’s collection on the Plan for Accessibility page.

Visit our Kids and Teens Awards page for links to reading lists for various Summer Reading clubs. We also invite you to browse AccessibleLibraries.ca for resources that cover accessibility in all aspects of library service.

Libraries participating in the TD Summer Reading Club should note that this year, the pre-reader and school-age notebooks have been designed with accessibility in mind so separate accessible notebooks have been discontinued. Audio, accessible text, including in OpenDyslexic font and braille versions of the two notebooks will be available on the TD Summer Reading Club site.

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.

Frontline staff webinar

This webinar will provide an introduction to CELA services for your colleagues who need to understand the basics about your CELA service so they can direct patrons appropriately.

Mon., Jun. 19 3:00-4:00 EDT

Educator Access Program webinar

This webinar will introduce the CELA Educator Access program which allows public libraries to offer educators at the elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels in their community access to CELA services on behalf of students with print disabilities. This webinar is for both educators and public library staff.

Thurs., Jun. 15 3:30-4:30 EDT

Cover of the book Strangers in the Night by Heather Webb.It was the tumultuous romance that scandalized the world: Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner fought, loved, and lived life to the hilt. Now their unbridled story is brought vividly to life by Heather Webb, the bestselling author of Meet Me in Monaco and The Next Ship Home. In the golden age of Hollywood, two of the brightest stars would define—and defy—an era...

She was the small-town southern beauty transformed into a Hollywood love goddess. He was the legendary crooner whose voice transfixed the world. They were Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra. Separately they were irresistible; together they were an explosive combination. Ava's star is rising just as Frank's career—and public image as a family man—is taking a hit. Gone are the days of the screaming bobbysoxers and chart-topping hits. Ava, however, finds herself gracing the front page of every tabloid in America. Jealousy and cheating abound, and when the two succumb to their temperaments and their vices, their happiness is threatened at every turn. As the pair ride the rollercoaster of success and failure, passion and anger, they both wonder if the next turn will be the end of their careers, and most devastating of all—the end of all they've shared. A captivating novel with a star-studded cast spanning continents and decades, Strangers in the Night brings to life the most riveting love story of the twentieth century.

Strangers in the Night: A Novel of Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner by Heather Webb

Top five this month

Cover of the book The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear.Most popular with our readers last month:

  1. The White Lady: A novel By Jacqueline Winspear; Historical fiction
  2. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto; Women sleuths
  3. Spare by The Duke of Sussex Prince Harry; Journals and memoirs
  4. The Boys from Biloxi: A Legal Thriller by John Grisham; Suspense and thrillers
  5. In a Land Without Dogs the Cats Learn to Bark by Jonathan Garfinkel; Historical fiction

Top five for kids

Cover of the book The Secret Seven Win Through by Enid Blyton.Most popular with kids last month:

  1. Secret Seven Win Through: Book 7 (Secret Seven #45) by Enid Blyton Adventure stories
  2. Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder; Family stories
  3. Superfudge by Judy Blume Family stories
  4. Secret Seven On The Trail: Book 4 (Secret Seven #4) by Enid Blyton; Adventure stories
  5. The Secret River by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Leo Dillon, Diane Dillon; Fantasy

Featured title for young adults: She Persisted: Ella Fitzgerald

Cover of the book She Persisted: Ella Fitzgerald by Andrea Davis Pinkney.Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger comes a chapter book series about women who spoke up and rose up against the odds—including Ella Fitzgerald! Having lost her mother at a young age, Ella Fitzgerald struggled as a child, especially during the Great Depression.

But after winning over the audience with her singing at an Amateur Night at the Apollo, Ella's career began, and she eventually went on to become a world-renowned singer known as the First Lady of Song.

In this chapter book biography by award-winning and bestselling author Andrea Davis Pinkney, readers learn about the amazing life of Ella Fitzgerald—and how she persisted. Complete with an introduction from Chelsea Clinton and a list of ways that readers can follow in Ella Fitzgerald's footsteps and make a difference! A perfect choice for kids who love learning and teachers who want to bring inspiring women into their curriculum. And don’t miss out on the rest of the books in the She Persisted series, featuring so many more women who persisted!

She Persisted: Ella Fitzgerald By Andrea Davis Pinkney

Top Five for Teens

Cover of the book One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus.Most popular with teens last month:

  1. One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus; Mysteries and crime stories 
  2. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes; Suspense and thrillers
  3. Firekeeper's Daughter by Ellen Schwartz; Indigenous peoples fiction
  4. Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo; Fantasy
  5. Heartstopper #1: A Graphic Novel by Alice Oseman; LGBTQ+ fiction

On the Blog this month

Check out our blog for the latest CELA news!

In May we featured book recommendations for Asian Heritage Month and we've recently added a story on the new Envoy Connect audiobook player, which includes comments from the team that launched this new service.

Stay connected!

The Twitter and Facebook 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.