In this issue:
- Letter from CELA’s Executive Director
- Denison Avenue available in accessible formats
- Register for One eRead Canada now!
- Audie Awards nominees announced
- Hackmatack turns 25!
- Printable lists of promotable books
- Webinars
- A webinar for library staff in Quebec
- CCBC launches new resource for accessible books
- Featured title for adults: Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada's Telecom Empire
- Top five books
- Featured title for children: The Curse of Eelgrass Bog
- Top five for kids
- Top five for teens
- Reading in the news: Romance!
- Holiday hours
- Service tip: Envoy Connect
- Stay connected!
Letter from CELA’s Executive Director
The Canada Reads debates are just a few days away. We’ve been delighted to work with Canada Reads over the years and this year in particular with some of our colleagues in accessible publishing to bring you accessible versions of the shortlisted titles. One title in particular this year has been a real collaboration. Denison Avenue, published by ECW Press has a number of illustrations crucial to the story. Thanks to the publisher, the author and illustrator who were involved in creating the ALT text for the illustrations, and some of our colleagues in accessible publishing, we have this title in three formats in our collection. We look forward to more collaborative work to make illustrated books more accessible for our users.
We are also looking forward to the One eRead Canada event featuring Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah. One eRead/Un Livrel Canada is a digital, bilingual, cross-Canada book club which takes place in April, and we are pleased to have Hotline available in our collection in both French and English. Today is the last day to register for the program at your library, so don’t delay.
As I mentioned in my letter last month, some of our team attended the Accessible Publishing Summit. If you are interested in learning more about what was discussed at this event, EDR, one of our collaboration partners, has an excellent overview on their blog. As accessible publishing continues to evolve, we’re excited about the possibilities for our users and grateful for the opportunity to engage with our colleagues at this event.
Lastly, I wanted to thank you for your ongoing patience this past month as we have been working behind the scenes to address some issues with our website and services. These updates required some scheduled outages and some slowdowns in our services over the past few weeks. We will be continuing this work into March and will send out more information about any planned downtime in advance. While our goal is that these updates will ultimately improve our services for all our users, we understand how important easy access to books is for our users. We apologize for any inconvenience you may encounter.
I hope you find some great books to read this month!
Happy Reading!
Laurie Davidson, Executive Director
Denison Avenue available in accessible formats
Denison Avenue is a moving story told in visual art and fiction about gentrification, aging in place, grief, and vulnerable Chinese Canadian elders in Toronto’s Chinatown. Written by Christina Wong and illustrated by Daniel Innes the book was chosen to be one of the 5 featured titles for this year’s Canada Reads debates.
Often the inclusion of significant images and unique layouts makes it challenging to create an accessible book which captures the intention the author and illustrator had for their readers. Thanks to the detailed work of the publisher ECW Press, an accessibility certified publisher, and collaborations between the author, illustrator and some dedicated accessibility professionals, Joanne Pak, Adam Kitchen, and eBOUND Canada, the accessible versions of Denison Avenue provide an equitable experience for readers using accessible versions. Author Christina Wong and illustrator Daniel Innes worked together, drafting the image descriptions for the accessible book to capture all the information relevant for the readers.
Ioana Gandrabur, one of CELA’s Peer Trainers, reviewed the book before it was added to CELA’s collection and was delighted with the experience. “A few years ago, a book like this would not have been accessible to people with vision loss. Thanks to the work of all involved I can read this beautiful book and the descriptions of the illustrations add important context to the text.”
Laurie Davidson, CELA’s Executive Director, said that this project is an excellent example of the ways a collaborative approach and a focus on providing the best possible experience for people with print disabilities can produce an equitable reading experience. “It’s important that books be made accessible but it’s particularly important that readers with print disabilities can take part in the kinds of national conversations sparked by programs like Canada Reads. I am so pleased that this book is available to our readers and I want to thank all involved for their commitment to accessibility.”
Denison Avenue is available in audio, braille and ePub in the CELA collection.
Register for One eRead Canada now!
February 29th is the deadline for libraries wanting to register for One eRead Canada!
CELA is pleased to be able to offer accessible versions of both the original English and the French translation of Hotline, this year's selcted novel by Dimitri Nasrallah. Please include the accessible option in your One eRead promotions!
This year, One eRead Canada will host Dimitri Nasrallah at Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec in Montreal on Tuesday, April 23rd at 7 pm for an event in French with an interviewer from Radio-Canada. He will appear in Ottawa on Thursday, April 25th, at 7 pm. A CBC host will interview him for a program in partnership with Library and Archives Canada and Ottawa Public Library.
To learn more and to register, visit the One eRead Canada website.
Audie Awards nominees announced
It's no secret that CELA readers love audiobooks and we often hear that a good narrator can really enhance the reading experience. The Audie Awards recognize the importance of narration by honouring the best in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment.
This year we are delighted to have more than 100 of the nominees in our collection. The winners of the Audie Awards will be announced at a gala on March 4, 2024.
Find Audie nominated titles in our collection.
Hackmatack turns 25!
Congratulations to Hackmatack which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The Children’s Choice Book Award is an Atlantic Canadian literary program designed to bring together readers in Grades 4-6 with great Canadian books and authors.
The voting deadline is April 30th and winners will be announced in May.
Libraries can find accessible versions of the featured Hackmatack books in French and English on the Hackmatack website or by visiting CELA’s Kids and Teen awards page.
Printable lists of promotable books
Are you looking to promote some new accessible titles in your newsletters, social media feeds, or as part of an in-branch display?
Download our printable book list or forward the link to your colleagues.
Find the new list, updated monthly and featuring links to new books in our collection, on our For Libraries page.
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.
Orientation webinar
This webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of CELA services for library staff who work in, or are responsible for, accessible services.
Audience: Staff who act as the primary CELA contact at your library, as well as other public library staff with an interest in the full services CELA provides to patrons through their public library.
Learning goals:
- What is CELA and why accessible library services are important
- What flexible options are available for libraries: direct registration of patrons with print disabilities; interlibrary loans to libraries, deposit collections of DAISY CDs
- What alternate format materials are available: books and magazines in audio, e-text and braille
- How library staff can connect patrons with CELA
- What support is available from CELA
Length: 60 minutes
CELA at your fingertips: All about CELA’s braille collection
Have you ever wanted to learn more about CELA’s braille collection? Join us for this hour-long webinar about the braille reading delights that are at the fingertips of CELA users. This webinar is for anyone using braille or supporting new or experienced braille readers. By attending this webinar you will learn about:
- The value of braille in developing literacy skills
- CELA’s and Bookshare’s braille books, text magazines and specialized braille magazine collections
- Braille formats, delivery options and compatible devices
- Understanding human transcription and automatic transcription and how to choose which one you want to receive.
To register for this webinar select the link below:
Wednesday, April 17 2:00-3:00pm EDT
Don’t Keep CELA a Secret! Tips for promoting your accessible reading resources
Learn about ways to promote CELA and remove barriers to information about accessible reading resources. Discover resources CELA has available to help your library promote accessible reading materials and services to your community. The webinar will provide information on the following:
- What barriers might exist when promoting accessible reading materials and ways to address them
- Tips and resources for accessible communications and promotions
- Resources CELA has available to help your library promote accessible reading materials and services to your community.
Wednesday, May 7 2:00-3:00pm EDT
A webinar for library staff in Quebec
On April 4th, Jessica Desormeaux from CELA and Geneviève Mangerel from BAnQ will co-present about accessible public library services for people living in Quebec who are experiencing a print disability.
At this bilingual online event, Quebec library staff will learn about the services and resources that are available to patrons with a visual, physical, or learning disability that prevents them from reading conventional print. Register to find out how you can better support your patrons who would benefit from these services. This event will be hosted by the Public Libraries section of the ABQLA.
CCBC launches new resource for accessible books
Last month, the Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) launched their new Accessible Books Bank with a webinar.
The video launch is an excellent overview of print disabilities, the importance of accessible books, especially in the classroom, and the ways accessible books are constructed to help readers with print disabilities.
It's perfect for sharing with staff and patrons.
Featured title for adults: Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada's Telecom Empire
A riveting, deeply reported account that takes us inside the dramatic battle for control of Canada’s largest wireless carrier, and paints a broader picture of the cutthroat telecom industry, the labyrinth of regulatory and political systems that govern it, and the high-stakes corporate games played by the Canadian establishment.
Alexandra Posadzki’s ground-breaking coverage in the Globe and Mail exposed one of the most spectacular boardroom and family dramas in Canadian corporate history—one that has pitted the company’s extraordinarily powerful chairman and controlling shareholder, Edward Rogers, against not only his own management team but also the wishes of his mother and two of his sisters. Hanging in the balance is no less than the pending $20 billion acquisition of Shaw Communications, a historic deal that promises to transform Rogers into the truly national telecom empire that its late founder, Ted Rogers, always envisioned. Based on deeply sourced, investigative reporting of the iconic $30 billion publicly traded telecom and media giant, Posadzki takes us inside a company that touches the lives of millions of Canadians, challenging what we thought we knew about corporate governance and who really holds the power. Rogers v. Rogers is also a story of family legacy and succession, of an old guard pushing back at the new guard, and of a company struggling to find its footing in the wake of its legendary founder’s death. At the heart of it all is a dispute between warring factions of the family over how they each interpret the desires of the late patriarch and the very identity of the company that bears their name.
Read Rogers v. Rogers by Alexandra Posadzki.
Top five books
Most popular with our readers this month:
- The Whispers: A Novel by Ashley Audrain, Suspense and thrillers
- Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page, Biography
- The Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose, General fiction
- The Bittlemores by Jann Arden, Gentle mysteries
- The Fury by Alex Michaelides, Suspense and thrillers
Featured title for children: The Curse of Eelgrass Bog
Dark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse. Nothing about Kess Pedrock’s life is normal. Not her home (she lives in her family’s Unnatural History Museum), not her interests (hunting for megafauna fossils and skeletons), and not her best friend (a talking demon’s head in a jar named Shrunken Jim). But things get even stranger than usual when Kess meets Lilou Starling, the new girl in town.
Lilou comes to Kess for help breaking a mysterious curse—and the only clue she has leads straight into the center of Eelgrass Bog. Everyone knows the bog is full of witches, demons, and possibly worse, but Kess and Lilou are determined not to let that stop them. As they investigate the mystery and uncover long-buried secrets, Kess begins to realize that the curse might hit closer to home than she’d ever expected, and she’ll have to summon all her courage to find a way to break it before it’s too late.
Read The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling.
Top five for kids
Most popular with kids this month:
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Fantasy
- The City of Ember: The First Book Of Ember (The City of Ember #1) by Jeanne DuPrau, Science fiction
- Harry Potter: Cinematic Guide by Felicity Baker, General non-fiction
- The Dark by Robert Munsch, General fiction
- The Barren Grounds (The Misewa Saga, Book #1) by David A. Robertson, Family stories
Top five for teens
Most popular with teens this month:
- The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1) by Lois Lowry, Science fiction
- One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus, Mysteries and crime stories
- Hatchet: Hatchet series, book 1 by Gary Paulsen, Adventure stories
- The Hawthorne Legacy (Inheritance Games #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, General fiction
- One of Us is Next: The Sequel to One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus, Mysteries and crime stories
Reading in the news: Romance!
The CBC recently ran an article about the ways social media is impacting the books we read and the ones that are published, particularly with the romance genre.
Two of our team members, Karen and Theresa, recently spoke with the team at AMI's Audiobook Review podcast about romantasy (a mash up of romance and fanstasy).
This new genre has emerged recently as a hot trend, thanks to the influence of social media.
If you are promoting romantasy or romance books, check out our collection for accessible versions to add to your lists.
Holiday hours
CELA and our Contact Centre will be closed on Friday, March 29 and Monday, April 1 to observe Good Friday and Easter Monday. We will reopen with our regular hours on Tuesday, April 2.
Enjoy your holiday.
Service Tip: Envoy Connect
Did your library recently buy Envoy Connects to circulate? When choosing books to load onto an Envoy Connect, select the “DAISY audio (Direct to player)” format to add books to your bookshelf.
Find out more about Envoy Connect.
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.