Webinars and teleconferences

Training for library staff

An open laptop on a desk displays the CELA logo. Beside it, a hand holds a pen poised over a notebook. CELA is a public library service offered in most libraries in Canada and provides a collection of reading materials in multiple formats for people with print disabilities. Public libraries play an essential role in ensuring that the approximately 3 million people living in Canada who cannot read regular print due to a learning, physical, or visual disability are able to access published materials in the format of their choice. CELA supports public library staff in fostering accessiblity in all aspects of service. Our webinars provide direct training for library staff to support their users with print disabilities.

Our webinars, presented on Zoom, are designed to meet the training needs of public library services at all levels.

Register for a webinar

To register for a live training session on Zoom, select the link with the webinar date and time and complete the registration form. (You will need to adjust the times for your region - all times given on the website are in Eastern Time).

We offer additional webinars for our patrons on our Webinars for You page. Library staff are welcome to register.

Watch a recording

Our webinars are recorded and you may find a full list of our webinar recordings to watch at any time.

Follow a learning path

We offer learning paths designed to help library staff in different roles understand CELA services and provide it to patrons with print disabilities. Check them out on our Learning Paths for Libraries page.

More training opportunities

Library staff in Ontario can also follow the CELA Service in Ontario Public Libraries Certificate Course. Learn more on the Ontario Library Service website.

Educator Access Program webinar

This webinar will introduce library staff and educators to the CELA Educator Access program. This program is offered through public libraries and gives teachers and other educators access to CELA’s collection to support their students with print disabilities at the elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels.

Audience: Public library staff and educators. Educators can include teachers, teacher librarians, educational assistants, and special education teachers – anyone who supports students with print disabilities in a formal educational setting.

Learning goals:

How to register with the Educator Access program
What alternate formats and reading technologies are available for students at all levels in the CELA collection
What is Bookshare and how can educators get access
How to find, access and read our books, magazines and newspapers in audio, e-text and braille

Length: 60 minutes

Wed, Oct 21 7:00-8:00pm EDT

We offer additional webinars for our patrons on our Webinars for You page. Educators are welcome to register for these webinars.

Getting Started with Accessible Reading Canada: Listen to CELA Audiobooks with Alexa

Join us for a live webinar introducing Accessible Reading Canada, a new way for CELA patrons to enjoy CELA audiobooks using Alexa-enabled smart speakers. This 60-minute session will walk you through how to use voice commands to search, browse, and listen to audiobooks from your CELA Direct to Player Bookshelf using the Accessible Reading Canada Alexa skill.

This webinar will cover:

What Alexa-enabled smart speakers are and how they work
How to set up and use the Accessible Reading Canada skill
How to use voice commands for browsing and reading
Where to find help guides and additional support

After the presentation, there will be a Q&A session to ask additional questions. This session will be recorded.

To register for the online Zoom webinar please select the link below and fill in the registration form. To attend by phone, please call the Contact Centre at 1-855-655-2273.

Tues Oct 27 3:00-4:00pm EDT

Demystifying Print Disabilities & Copyright: An Overview for Libraries & Alternate Format Producers

The exceptions in the Copyright Act for persons with perceptual or print disabilities (section 32) recognize fundamental human rights in the copyright regime, such as the rights to access works, to education, and to cultural participation. Libraries, alternate format producers and educators work hard to ensure that accessible content is made available to users with perceptual or print disabilities by producing and distributing works in the alternate formats their users need. Understanding and navigating the requirements set forth by the Act is not always easy; confusion about what is allowed, and fear of getting it wrong, can create real barriers to providing timely, accessible content for users.

The presenters, Laurie Davidson, Executive Director, CELA and Daniella Levy-Pinto, NNELS Manager, National Network for Equitable Library Service, will discuss a new guide called “Accessible Content: A Guide to the Canadian Copyright Act on Searching for Accessible Formats and Producing and Distributing Alternate Format” designed to clarify common misconceptions and offer straightforward, realistic best practices. This presentation will introduce the major copyright considerations in alternate format production, provide some context on the creation of the guide and walk the audience through the guidelines.

Audience: Library staff & educators primarily, but applicable to all alternate format producers

Thurs Nov 26 2:00-3:00pm EST

Bridges to braille: Developing braille reading skills through printbraille picture books

Are you supporting someone learning braille, or would like to know where to start? In this hour-long webinar, you will learn how printbraille, which are children’s picture books with braille, can build the bridge to learn how to read braille. We will be joined by Marisa Parker, Educational Coordinator at W. Ross MacDonald School for the Blind who has over 20 years of experience teaching children who are blind or have low vision. Participants will also learn about the value of braille at any stage of life, as well as about CELA’s collection of printbraille titles from fairy tales, popular series and stories about social skills.

This webinar will be recorded.

You will learn about:

What is braille and its role in literacy development for people with visual impairments
How printbraille can lead to learning braille
What is in CELA’s printbraille collection
How to access CELA’s printbraille and braille collection by mail or using braille displays
General resources for supporting braille learning