Open Book: March 2023

Open book
In this issue

 

Letter from CELA’s Executive Director

As we move towards spring, I’m so excited for all of the new and ongoing work at CELA. Our staff has grown as our services have evolved, and we’re very lucky to have the expertise of so many staff, both long-term and new.

Thanks to many of our partnerships, our collection is now over 1.2 million titles. New titles from Audible.ca are being added to our collection this week. And we have more than 30 new magazines in our collection.

With new technology emerging, we are assessing ways to continue to offer as much choice as possible for our readers, and in the coming months, we will be able to offer even more ways to read accessible books. Our list of member libraries continues to grow and now includes all the libraries in Manitoba. And we’ve been delighted to be welcomed as partners by literary awards, festivals and reading programs that want to ensure that everyone, regardless of how they read, can take part in important national conversations.

One of our favourite things to support are reading programs for young readers, including the TD Summer Reading Club, the BC and NB summer reading clubs. Offering choices in reading materials for young people is one way to help them develop a lifelong love of reading.

Whether you are reading to the kids in your life, choosing one of the nominees from the LAMDA awards, or digging into the Canada Reads books I hope you are enjoying the books in our collection.

Happy reading!

Laurie Davidson

Lambda Awards

Lambda awards logo: A red, yellow, green, blue, purple and orange graphic of a square with two triangles overlapping it and the words Lambda Literary to the right of it.For over 30 years, the Lambda Literary Awards (or “Lammys”) have maintained a proud tradition of celebrating vibrant, dynamic LGBTQ storytelling. 

Today, the Lammys celebrate more than 150 LGBTQ writers across 25 categories, and include several cash prizes for writers at all stages in their careers. The categories include fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry and drama as well as categories for young adults, middle schoolers and children.

CELA is pleased to have more than 50 titles in our collection, and more will be added over the coming weeks. We’re also excited for the Canadian authors on the list. We are highlighting just a few here, but check out our full list to find all the nominees in our collection.

The winners of the Lambdas will be announced in June.

The Festival of Literary Diversity

The Festival of Literary Diversity Logo: the words "The FOLD" written in upper-case with the letters of Fold in red, orange, green and blue and a graphic of an open book in the middle of the O.CELA is proud to be associated with the Festival of Literary Diversity. The Festival of Literary Diversity (The FOLD) is Canada’s first festival for diverse authors and storytellers.

The FOLD provides one-of-a-kind events for kids and adults that engage readers, inspire writers, and empower educators by highlighting important and underrepresented voices, including those from the disability community. In response to the pandemic, The FOLD has been offering events both online and in-person. This year The FOLD takes place from April 30 – May 7.

CELA works with The FOLD to offer as many of the books by featured authors in accessible formats as possible.

Read accessible FOLD titles.

Learn more about the FOLD and its programming this year.

New Magazines in the CELA Collection

We are delighted to offer new magazines for our readers. These new magazines cover a wide range of interests, from sports to gardening to food and science. You can find the most recent issues of these magazines in our collection now and visit our Magazines page for the complete listing of magazines we offer.Multiple magazines fanned out and overlapping on a flat surface.

Some magazines we think might be future reader favourites:

And for kids and teens:

It’s easy to subscribe to your favourite magazines. New issues are delivered via Direct to Player service. Visit our tutorial: How to subscribe to a magazine.

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize Nominees Announced

Book cover How to be a Climate Optimist by Chris Turner.Congratulations to the five authors nominated for the Writer's Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.

We are pleased to already have four of the titles in our accessible collection for people with print disabilities and the fifth is on its way!

Welcome to Creston Valley Public Library

Logo for Creston Valley Public Library.CELA has recently welcomed Creston Valley Public Library as one of our member libraries. We had the chance to speak with Cassandra Viers, the Accessible Services Coordinator, to find out more about this library and how the addition of CELA services is helping Creston Valley Library meet the needs of the community it serves.

CELA:  Tell us a bit about your library and your community.
Cassandra: Creston Valley Public Library serves a population of just over 13,000 people within the beautiful Town of Creston and Regional District of Central Kootenay.

CELA:  We were delighted to see a recent update on your library’s Facebook page featuring CELA resources. How are things going with the process of adding CELA to your library’s accessibility services?
Cassandra: It’s going well! Our current outreach patrons, who have deteriorating abilities to read traditional print books and had been transitioning to regular audiobooks, were thrilled with the increased availability and ease of use. These people are our largest patron base for CELA services. They are so happy that they can continue to ‘read’ even though they can’t manage print books anymore. And patrons who move here from other areas served by a CELA member library are pleased to have the choice and service they have been accustomed to.

CELA:  What would you want your patrons/users to know about your accessibility services and the benefits CELA adds to those services?
Cassandra: We’re here to help! Our patrons can get CELA materials through the library, or call CELA to set up automatic delivery services. Family members or friends can act as a designate with CELA to help people get the books they want in the format they need.

Thanks, Cassandra, for sharing Creston Valley’s experiences. Read more of this interview on our blog.

Welcome to Chetwynd Public Library

Chetwynd Public Library logo, which includes the text "your library passport to anywhere" and the url for the library's website.CELA recently welcomed Chetwynd Public Library as a new member library. Chetwynd is located in the foothills of the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, and the library serves a population of about 3,100. 

The library is located next to the recreation centre, high school and one of the local elementary schools, which keeps the library bustling at all times of the day, filled with laughter and conversation, and acts as a safe place for all.

The library is known as the hub of the community, and has many community partnerships to be proud of. They host a wide variety of programs dedicated to all ages, from birth to the golden years, with a focus on all types of literacy.

Assistant Director Kayla MacDonald is pleased to now be able to offer CELA services. “The Chetwynd Public Library is excited to offer CELA services in our community. Our goal as a library is to service our community members, throughout the ages, to reduce barriers and fill gaps within our community,” says MacDonald.

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.

Featured title for adults: On the Ravine

Book cover of On the ravine by Vincent Lam.From the bestselling, Giller Prize-winning author of Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures comes an exquisitely crafted novel, piercing in its urgency and breathtaking in its intimacy, about the devastating experience of addiction. In his downtown Toronto condo, Dr. Chen awakens to the sound of streetcars below, but it is not the early morning traffic that keeps him from sleep. News banners run across his phone: Fentanyl Crisis; Toxic Drug Supply; Record Number of Deaths. From behind the headlines, on the same screen, glow the faces of his patients, the faces of the what-ifs: What if he had done more, or less? Or something different? Would they still be alive? 

Claire is a violinist; she feels at one with her music, taking flight in its melody, free in its movement. But now she rises and falls with the opioids in her system, becoming increasingly reckless. After two overdoses in twenty-four hours, she sits in the blue light of her computer, searching a notice board for recommendations: my doctor saved my life; my doctor is just another dealer. And then another message catches her attention, about Chen’s clinic: be a guinea pig—why not get paid to take it? When Claire’s life intersects with Chen’s, the doctor is drawn ever more deeply into the complexities of the doctor-patient relationship, the implication and meaning of his intention to treat. Chen must confront just how far he would go to save a life. Combining the depth of his experience as a physician with the brilliance of his literary talent, Vincent Lam creates a world electric in its precision, radiant in its detail. On the Ravine is a gripping novel of profound emotional force, a soaring achievement from a singular voice in Canadian fiction.

Read On the Ravine by Vincent Lam.

Top five books

Cover of the book The house in the pines by Ana Reyes.

Most popular with our readers this month:

  1. Spare by The Duke of Sussex Prince Harry Journals and memoirs
  2. The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes Suspense and thrillers
  3. The Boys from Biloxi: A legal thriller by John Grisham Suspense and thrillers
  4. A World of Curiosities (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #18) by Louise Penny Mysteries and crime stories
  5. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune Contemporary romance

Featured title for children: Fighting for yes! : The story of disability rights activist Judith Heumann

Cover of the book Fighting for yes! : The story of disability rights activist Judith Heumann by Maryann Cocca-Leffler.From a very young age, Judy Heumann heard the word NO. When she wanted to attend public school, the principal said NO. When she wanted her teaching license, the New York Board of Education said NO. Judy and people with disabilities everywhere were tired of hearing "NO."

In the 1970s, an important disability rights law, Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, was waiting to be signed. Judy and other disability-rights activists fought for "YES!" They held a sit-in until Section 504 was signed into law. Section 504 laid the foundation for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was established thanks in large part to the ongoing work of Judy and her community. Along with a personal reflection from Judy herself, this biography captures the impact and influence of one of America's greatest living activists.

Read Fighting for yes! : The story of disability rights activist Judith Heumann.

Top five for kids

Most popular with kids this month: Cover of the book Bear in the Family by Eric Walters.

  1. Bear in the Family (Orca Echoes) by Eric Walters
  2. See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
  3. Matilda by Roald Dahl
  4. The Secret River by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
  5. Secret of the Water Dragon (Dragon Masters #3) by Tracey West

Top five for teens

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

  1. Orchid Beach: a novel (Holly Barker #Bk. 1) by Stuart Woods
  2. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  3. The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1) by Lois Lowry
  4. Hunting by Stars: A Marrow Thieves Novel by Cherie Dimaline
  5. Scythe (Arc of Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman

Service tip: Accessing Books in the EasyReader App

In the EasyReader application, books should be managed from the CELA Direct to Player bookshelf. To access the Direct to Player bookshelf in the EasyReader app:

  1. Go to Manage Libraries in the Side menu and select CELA Library.
  2. Select Direct to Player bookshelf.

From here, you will be able to view the books you have borrowed, download or stream them, and return them when you have finished with them.

For more detailed information on Dolphin EasyReader, check out our Quick User’s Guide to EasyReader and our webinar on Accessing CELA Library Using VoiceOver with the Free Dolphin EasyReader App.

April Holiday Hours

CELA and our Contact Centre will be closed Friday April 7, and Monday April 10 for the Easter weekend. We will resume regular hours on Tuesday, April 11.

Stay connected!

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