Open Book: January 2024

Open book
In this issue

Letter from CELA’s Executive Director

While the CELA team had a nice break, we have hit the ground running this month with conferences, lots of new books and some plans for the upcoming year.

We started off with a celebration of all things braille in honour of Louis Braille’s birthday. We want to thank the entire team involved in organizing World Braille Month activities for this January, including Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians – Toronto, Alternate Education Resources Ontario, Braille Literacy Canada, Canadian Council of the Blind, CNIB, NNELS, the Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired (PRCVI) and some of our own CELA staff. This year’s theme centred on ways braille is integrated into creativity, with a writer’s festival, a content creators panel and a guest presentation from Chancey Fleet, the Assistive Technology Coordinator at New York Public Library. If you have missed any of these events, recordings will be made available on Braille Literacy Canada’s YouTube channel in the coming weeks. 

We have ended the month with two major events. The Ontario Library Association (OLA) Super Conference, which is the biggest in the country, has just wrapped up. We were delighted to have many of our staff present on topics related to accessibility and to see other accessibility focused sessions on the schedule. Libraries are continuing to share information and expertise with one another, with the goal of continually improving the accessibility experience for people with disabilities.

Immediately following the OLA Super Conference, many of our staff attended the Accessible Publishing Summit. The formal and informal conversations around our tables centered around the experiences of readers with print disabilities and the progress accessible publishing can make to remove barriers.

Around CELA’s own table we’ve been discussing two accessible books in particular: Borders by Thomas King, which is an accessible graphic novel recently added to our collection, and Denison Avenue by Daniel Innes (illustrations) and Christina Wong (text), which is a Canada Reads book that incorporates images into the story. Ioana, one of our Peer Trainers, was delighted by both the story and the accessibility of the images, and she will be sharing her impressions on our blog next month. Many thanks go out to ECW press for their work on this project and their consideration of accessibility in publishing this book.

We are grateful to be working with Canada Reads again this year to have accessible versions of the five featured titles in our collection. I hope you enjoy reading them and participating in the national or community conversations they spark.

Happy Reading!
Laurie Davidson, Executive Director

Canada Reads

Cover of the book Bad Cree by Jessica Johns.Congratulations to the five authors whose books were chosen for this year’s Canada Reads. The theme this year is about finding the resilience and the hope needed to carry on and keep moving forward. The books will be discussed at the debates, which are taking place from March 4 to 7, 2024.

This year the featured titles are:

Check your local library to see if there are discussion groups or debate parties. Or visit the CBC’s page to learn more about upcoming events.

Dublin Literary Awards

Cover of the book Hollow Bamboo by William Ping.The Dublin Literary Awards were announced earlier this month. The long list is very long with more than 70 books nominated, including eight from Canadian authors. The award recognizes novels written in or translated into English with the winner receiving 100,000 Euros in prize money. The winner will be announced Thursday, May 23rd. We’ve collected nominated books from Canadian authors available in accessible formats in case you want to get reading now.

To see the full list of nominees visit the Dublin Literary Awards page.

Read nominated books from Canadian authors in the CELA collection.

Reading in the news

A pile of books on a wood surface and three books lined upright beside them with over-ear headphones over them.Are you a fan of reading challenges? The CBC recently published a story on the growth of reading challenges, how they can be motivating for some, but for others they can take some of the joy out of reading.

Delay in physical braille materials

Due to a mechanical issue there has been a delay in producing physical braille. The braille machine is now repaired. We expect to work through the backlog over the next few weeks and return to regular service times by the end of the month.  Thank you for your patience.

Webinars for you

We host a series of webinars to help users access CELA services, to stay up to date on new technologies and to learn more about accessible reading.

On the Webinars for you page, you will find upcoming webinars, including CELA’s collection for young readers with print disabilities. On that same page you will find links to other CELA video resources available on our YouTube channel.

Deliver Students with Dyslexia Accessible Reading Experiences

Deliver Students with Dyslexia Accessible Required Reading Titles, Textbooks and Educational Materials Using CELA and the EasyReader App.

Open a world of accessible books for students who are neurodiverse using the EasyReader app and CELA. Join MJ Barry from Dolphin who will demonstrate how students and educators can explore required reading books, textbooks through Bookshare titles in CELA’s collection and leisure reading materials. Explore how to use the EasyReader app to read audio and e-text books, including educational-related materials using the free EasyReader app and EasyReader Premium service. This webinar is for educators or others working with students with dyslexia.

This webinar will:

  • provide practical advice on ways to help students with dyslexia read and learn independently
  • demonstrate the app’s accessibility features to change the text size and appearance
  • highlight the features of a Premium subscription

Select the link below to register for this webinar:

Thursday, Feb 1 12:00-1:00pm EST

Ask Us! Come chat with CELA staff and have your questions answered

This hour long interactive conversation gives CELA users an opportunity to ask questions related to using CELA’s library services. We encourage you to bring your questions and learn from CELA staff, as well as share experiences with other CELA patrons in the audience. This Q&A aims to support how you access the books, magazines and newspapers in CELA’s multiple format collections for people with print disabilities.

Select the link below to register for this webinar:

Mon, Feb 12 1:00-2:00pm EST

CCBC launches new resource for accessible books

The words Accessible Books Bank appear in a blue banner above a graphic of 4 people with various disabilities reading their books.Our colleagues at the Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) have been working on an exciting new resource.

They are hosting a webinar to launch their Accessible Books Bank, a new discovery tool to help find Canadian children's books in accessible formats including ebooks, audiobooks, braille and more. 

To learn more, join the CCBC on Wednesday, February 7 at 4:00 pm EST for their free webinar, Finding Accessible Books for Young Readers.

Cover of the book My Effin' Life by Geddy Lee.The long-awaited memoir from the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Rush bassist, and bestselling author of Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass (Bookshare title). Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll's most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band.

Long before Rush accumulated more consecutive gold and platinum records than any rock band after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, before the seven Grammy nominations or the countless electrifying live performances across the globe, Geddy Lee was Gershon Eliezer Weinrib, after his grandfather murdered in the Holocaust. As he recounts the transformation, Lee looks back on his family, in particular his loving parents and their horrific experiences as teenagers during World War II. He talks candidly about his childhood and the pursuit of music that led him to drop out of high school. He tracks the history of Rush which, after early struggles, exploded into one of the most beloved bands of all time. He shares intimate stories of his lifelong friendships with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart—deeply mourning Peart's recent passing—and reveals his obsessions in music and beyond. This rich brew of honesty, humor, and loss makes for a uniquely poignant memoir.

Read My Effin' Life by Geddy Lee

Top five books

Cover of the book The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose.Most popular with our readers this month:

  1. The Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose, General fiction
  2. The Bittlemores by Jann Arden, Gentle mysteries
  3. The Whispers: A Novel by Ashley Audrain, Suspense and thrillers
  4. The Exchange: After The Firm (The Firm #2) by John Grisham, Suspense and thrillers
  5. Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheyney, Politics and government biography

Cover of the book One Million Trees by Kristen Balouch.When Kristen Balouch was ten years old, her parents made a surprising announcement: their whole family was going on a trip to plant trees! Kristen, her sisters, and her mom and dad—and their pet, Wonder Dog—flew from their California home to a logging site in British Columbia.

There, they joined a crew working to replant the trees that had been cut down. In this story, Kristen reflects on the forty days they spent living in a tent, covered in mud and bug bites, working hard every day to plant a new forest. Young listeners will learn a little French, practice some math skills, and learn all about how to plant a tree the right way! This engaging, kid-friendly story ends with a modern-day look at what Kristen's family helped accomplish: a stand of huge trees growing on what used to be an empty, muddy patch of bare stumps. An author's note shares more information about deforestation, sustainable logging practices, and the irreplaceable environmental benefit of old growth forests—plus the amazing things even a small group of people can do when they work together. A fun story with an important environmental message, this story is bound to inspire kids to get their hands dirty to make our planet healthy!

Read One Million Trees: A True Story by Kristen Balouch

Top five for kids

Cover of the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.Most popular with kids this month:

  1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Fantasy
  2. The Barren Grounds (The Misewa Saga, Book #1) by David A. Robertson, Family stories
  3. Castle Avamir (The Unicorn's Secret #7) by Kathleen Duey & Omar Rayyan, Animal stories
  4. Monster Mule Deer (Lucky Luke's Hunting Adventures) by Kevin Lovegreen, General fiction
  5. Cat Kid Comic Club: A Graphic Novel (Cat Kid Comic Club #4) by Dav Pilkey, Adventure stories

Top five for teens

Cover of the book The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.Most popular with teens this month:

  1. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Suspense and thrillers
  2. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks, Romance
  3. Layoverland by Gabby Noone, General fiction
  4. The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott, Adventure stories
  5. The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1) by Lois Lowry, Science fiction

Holiday hours

A family of 4 dressed in winter clothing jump up in the air. They are outdoors in the snow and the mountains are in the distance.CELA and our Contact Centre will be closed on Monday, February 19 to observe Family Day, Nova Scotia Heritage Day, Islander Day in Prince Edward Island and Louis Riel Day in Manitoba. We will reopen with our regular hours on Tuesday, February 20. 

Enjoy your holiday.

Participants requested for research study

A longtime CELA supporter is looking for interview participants for her doctoral research about how readers with disabilities access books. This research has been approved by University of Toronto's ethics committee.

Participants will need to be 18+, live in Canada, have a print disability and be willing to be interviewed via Zoom or email between January and May 2024. If you are interested in participating, please Contact Ellen Forget at ellen.michelle@mail.utoronto.ca.

Have YOUR say in a Barrier-Free Canada!

A person in a wheelchair approaches a yellow sign that shows a person in a wheelchair.New Brunswick Community College has been commissioned by Accessibility Standards Canada to aid their research in identifying, removing, and preventing accessibility barriers. They are inviting people with disabilities or their caregivers to complete an online survey or participate in an online interview about accessibility.

Your participation in this national survey could improve accessibility standards for information and communication technologies, the built environment, and transportation.

Eligibility:
- You are at least 18 years of age.
- You are someone with disabilities or care for someone with disabilities.

If you want to participate in the study, please email
andrew.urquhart@nbcc.ca with “Go Barrier Free” in the subject line. Please include in your email whether you prefer to participate by survey or interview. The survey closes February 29, 2024.

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.