In this issue
- Letter from CELA’s Executive Director
- Awards update!
- How Springwater Library supports people with dyslexia
- Audiobook readers needed!
- Reading for Truth and Reconciliation
- Update on access to The Globe and Mail
- Authors in the news
- Webinars for you
- Featured title for adults: I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music as Medicine
- Top five books
- Featured title for kids: Birds on the Brain
- Top five for kids
- Top five for teens
- CELA welcomes new board members
- Service Tip: More than audiobooks
- Holiday hours
- Stay connected!
Letter from CELA’s Executive Director
As students head back to their classes this fall, we wanted to make it as easy as possible for students, parents and teachers to find the information they need from us. Our new Back to School page collects all the information educators need to get started with CELA in one easy to find place. In October, we are also celebrating Dyslexia Awareness Month with a preview of what one Ontario library is doing to support people with dyslexia in their community.
Earlier this month, CELA held its Annual General Meeting. It’s a great time to review the year and everything that the board and staff team have accomplished in the last year, and look forward to the coming year. This year, we also had the pleasure of welcoming three new board directors, Mary Chevreau, Sarah Gallagher and Vicky Varga, and had the bittersweet task of saying thank you and goodbye to Peter Bailey and Heather Scoular, board directors who are retiring from our board. Learn more about these board directors in this newsletter.
We are also delighted to have nominated titles for many of the recently announced awards. Check out our Awards page to find the nominees in our collection from the Writer’s Trust and Toronto Book Award prizes. More awards will be announcing their shortlists in October.
Like many organizations, people often learn about CELA thanks to comments passed on by friends, acquaintances or colleagues. If you know of someone who could benefit from CELA services, or if you know of an educator who isn’t aware of us, please pass on our information. We want everyone who might need CELA services to know we are looking forward to supporting them.
And as we pause for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, we want to acknowledge and share our gratitude for the Indigenous, Metis and Innu writers who share their stories so that we can learn and reflect.
Laurie Davidson, Executive Director
Awards update!
Fall brings a slew of literary awards, and we are delighted to have so many to share with our users.
The Giller Prize has released its long list, as has the Toronto Book Awards.
The Writer's Trust has released shortlists for both the Atwood Gibson Prize for Fiction and the Hilary Weston Prize for nonfiction.
Congratulations to Canadian writer Anne Michaels who has been shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. Michaels is recognized for her novel Held, which weaves together historical figures and events.
Watch our Awards page for updates as more award announcements are made.
How Springwater Library supports people with dyslexia
At Jodie Delgado’s library in Springwater, Ontario, you’ll find lots of great resources for people with dyslexia, especially young people who are learning to read. It offers everything from decodable books to scanning pens and interesting outreach events.
And Jodie’s commitment to providing these resources comes not only from being the CEO of the library, but also because she is a former teacher and the parent of a child with dyslexia. “I understand the struggles of a family dealing with dyslexia. And I want our library to be a place where they can get some help," says Jodie.
Read more about how this small library is making a big difference.
Audiobook readers needed!
CELA has recently begun an Accessible Commercial Audiobooks Research Project, funded by Accessibility Standards Canada, which is designed to help create accessibility guidelines and resources for publishers, audiobook producers and others in the audiobook industry.
We are now recruiting individuals to participate in the user testing phase of the project.
We are seeking a total of 50 participants, 25 who live with a print disability, and 25 who do not. All study participants must live in Canada. Those selected to participate in the study will be asked to read audiobooks and/or excerpts of audiobooks and answer questions about their experiences. Participants will also be asked general questions about audiobooks and to provide demographic information. Providing detailed demographic information will be optional.
To learn more about this project, visit our Audiobook Project page and our recent blog post describing the work we are doing.
Reading for Truth and Reconciliation
Two recently added books would be excellent reads to recommend for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
The Knowing by Tanya Talaga is a riveting exploration of her family's story and a retelling of the history of the country we now call Canada
A Season in Chezgh'un is Darrel J. McLeod's first novel and the follow-up to his memoir Mamaskatch and Peyakow. McLeod sadly passed away earlier this month.
Update on access to The Globe and Mail
Our current newspaper supplier lost access to The Globe and Mail newspaper earlier this month. We know how much our users rely on access to newspapers, particularly The Globe and Mail.
We have been exploring other options to provide an accessible version of this newspaper and we will update our users as soon as we have information to share.
Authors in the news
Lucy Maud Montgomery has been in the news lately for both her birth and her death. On the 150th anniversary of her birth CBC's The Current talked about why people still love Anne of Green Gables.
And on World Suicide Prevention Day, a memorial bench was unveiled at the childhood home of L.M. Montgomery. Placed by the P.E.I. chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association, under the apple tree where Lucy Maud Montgomery often sat to write, the bench honours the struggles of those who have died by suicide and those who continue to face mental illness. Lucy Maud Montgomery "brought much joy to the world through her Anne of Green Gables books, dealt with mental health struggles during her life."
Webinars for you
We host a series of webinars on Zoom 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. On that same page you will find links to other CELA video resources available on our YouTube channel.
Envoy Connect: An accessible and affordable audiobook player
In May 2023, CELA launched our new service which uses the Envoy Connect audiobook player to read books in CELA’s collection. This webinar will provide a basic introduction to the Envoy Connect player, a portable, affordable and easy-to-use device. This webinar is for anyone who prefers listening to audiobooks using self-contained players with a tactile interface, rather than through computers, smartphones or tablets.
This webinar will cover:
- Background and context to explain how and why the Envoy Connect became an option for accessing audio books.
- Basics of the Envoy Connect Player: what it is, how it works, etc.
- How to manage books on the Envoy Connect with the CELA Connect software.
Where to find learning resources or purchase the player.
Select the link below to register for this webinar:
Thursday Oct 24 1:00-2:00pm EDT
Accessing CELA using a Victor Reader Stream DAISY Player
Do you own a Humanware Victor Reader Stream? Are you considering getting one to access reading materials from CELA? Join us for this hour-long webinar about how this versatile device lets you read CELA’s books and magazines in audio and e-text formats. This webinar is for new Victor Stream users or those interested in learning new tips. By attending this webinar, you will learn about:
- General features of the Victor Stream, and what’s new with the latest model
- Configuring the device for use with CELA
- How to navigate and manage your Direct to Player bookshelf
- Reading a title and playback options
- How to find help in using the Victor Stream with CELA
Select the link below to register for this webinar:
Featured title for adults: I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music as Medicine
Neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music Daniel J. Levitin reveals how the deep connections between music and the human brain can be harnessed for healing. Music is perhaps one of humanity’s oldest medicines as well as its most universal: from China to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and pre-colonial South America, cultures have developed rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, spur healing, and calm the mind.
Despite this history, musical therapy has long been considered the remit of ancient practice and alternative medicine, if not outright quackery and pseudoscience. In the last decade, however, an overwhelming body of scientific evidence has emerged that persuasively argues music can offer profoundly effective treatment for a whole host of ailments, from Alzheimer’s to PTSD, depression, pain, and cognitive injury. It is, in short, one of the most potent and remarkably promising new therapies available today.
A work of dazzling ideas, cutting-edge research, and joyful celebration of the human mind, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord explores the critical role music has played in human evolution, illuminating how the story of the human brain is inseparable from the creative enterprise of music that has bound cultures together throughout history. Music insinuates itself into our earliest memories; it is intimately connected to our emotional regulation and cognition; its shared rhythms and sounds are essential to our social behaviors. As neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin demonstrates in this mind-expanding follow-up to This Is Your Brain on Music—which revolutionized our understanding of the neuroscience of song—medical researchers are now finding that these same deep connections can be harnessed to create profound benefits for those both young and old.
Read I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music as Medicine by Daniel J. Levitin.
Top five books
Most popular with our readers this month:
- A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue by Dean Jobb, True crime
- The Briar Club: A Novel by Kate Quinn, Suspense and thrillers
- Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton, Biography
- The Whispers: A Novel by Ashley Audrain, Suspense and thrillers
- The Book of Elsewhere: A Novel by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville, Fantasy
Featured title for kids: Birds on the Brain
The sequel to the award-winning Book Uncle and Me features bird lover Reeni and her quest to save her city's bird count event when the mayor tries to shut it down. Reeni is wild about birds! So when she and her best friend, Yasmin, have to pick a survey topic for a school project, asking their neighbors what they know about birds is an obvious choice. They are shocked to learn that no one - not one single person - has heard about Bird Count India and the major event it is about to launch all over the country.
Thousands of birdwatchers will be out counting birds as part of a global movement. Global means world, and isn't this city part of the world? How come people don't seem to care about the threats to city birds? And why is the mayor intentionally thwarting their city's bird count event? Reeni and Yasmin enlist help from Book Uncle, Reeni's family and even their school bus driver. They must get people interested in the bird count - get them to ask the city government to support the event. A funny, triumphant story about learning to advocate for both the human and non-human inhabitants of your community.
Read Birds on the Brain by Uma Krishnaswami.
Read the first book in this series: Book Uncle and Me.
Top five for kids
Most popular with kids this month:
- The Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, Fantasy
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Fantasy
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #6) by Jeff Kinney, Family stories
- Dangerous Gift: Wings of Fire Series, Book 14 by Tui T. Sutherland, Adventure stories
- The City of Ember: The First Book of Ember by Jeanne Duprau, Science fiction
Top five for teens
Most popular with teens this month:
- World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks, Ghost and horror stories
- The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings #1) by J. R. R. Tolkein, Fantasy
- 1984: A Novel by George Orwell, Classic fiction
- Funeral Song for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline, General fiction
- The Cousins by Karen M. McManus, Mysteries and crime stories
CELA welcomes new board members
CELA’s Board of Directors is made up of dedicated library colleagues from across the country. Their commitment to accessibility and wealth of experience in libraries helps guide CELA’s work. We are excited to welcome Vicky, Sarah and Mary to our board.
Vicky Varga is the Executive Director of Collections, Marketing, and Technology at the Edmonton Public Library where she has worked for over 24 years in a wide variety of roles. She is responsible for the strategic leadership of the technology, research, collections and marketing functions at the library. Vicky’s current professional interests include advocacy for fair ebook and audiobook pricing for public libraries, and developing strategies for expanding awareness of the breadth of library services.
Sarah Gallagher is a librarian working on the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, also known as Whitehorse, Yukon. Sarah has been part of the library management team at Yukon Public Libraries Branch since 2014 and has represented the Yukon on several committees over the years, including the CELA Advisory Committee. She is the past president of the Yukon Library Association.
Mary Chevreau is the Executive Director of CULC (Canadian Urban Libraries Council). Mary has over 25 years of leadership experience, with excellent skills in strategic planning, advocacy, governance and policy development. Before her role at CULC, Mary was the Chief Executive Officer of Kitchener Public Libraries, responsible for all aspects of service. She has led large scale projects including establishing new funding strategies for special projects and creating exceptional programming and service in response to community need.
And as we say hello to new board members, we want to thank outgoing Directors Heather Scoular and Peter Bailey, who have both offered insight and guidance over their terms. Peter was one of the founding board Directors of CELA and has helped lead CELA as we have grown and evolved over the past decade. We offer both Heather and Peter our gratitude and wish them well.
Service tip: More than audiobooks
Did you know that the favourite format of CELA patrons is audiobooks?
We love audiobooks too but we also offer so much more!
Check out our Accessible Formats page to learn more about the various ways you can read our books and what technology works with which formats.
Holiday hours
CELA and its Contact Center will be closed on Monday, September 30th to recognize the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
We will also be closed on Monday, October 14 for Thanksgiving and will return to regular hours on Tuesday, October 15.
Stay connected!
Visit CELA's social media, including X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, YouTube and our blog, for more news about what's happening in the world of accessible literature.