Open Book for Libraries: February 2025

Open book for libraries

In this issue:

Letter from CELA’s Executive Director

This week is Freedom to Read Week in Canada. It’s an opportunity to recognize how fortunate we are to have a diverse set of experiences, perspectives, opinions and subjects represented in the books we have available to us. And that diversity is particularly important for people with print disabilities, as books in accessible formats are not as widely available as we would like them to be. You can learn more about Freedom to Read Week on their website and in this newsletter.

Because we know how important access is to newspapers in light of all that is going on in the world, we are delighted to let you know that we have made significant headway in restoring access to The Globe and Mail. We’ll be announcing more about this when it’s ready to launch in a few weeks.

In a few days, Canada Reads will launch the debates. We love any event that gets folks talking about books and we are grateful to Canada Reads and the CBC for supporting accessibility and making sure that all Canadians can participate in this national discussion, regardless of how they read. Please promote accessible formats with any Canada Reads promotions in your library.

Our team gathered at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference at the end of January. We loved the opportunity to chat about accessibility with all the library staff who dropped by our booth or attended one of our staff presentations. We want to offer a huge congratulations to the Halifax Public Library who was the winner of our draw for an Envoy Connect. We were delighted to hear about the libraries who have already added Envoy Connect audiobook readers to their own collections.

On that note, I have encouraged our users to check out their local libraries to learn more about what programs and resources are available to support accessible reading. It's impressive to see that so many libraries are integrating creative and meaningful services into their offerings!

Happy Reading!

Laurie Davidson, Executive Director

Promote accessible Canada Reads titles!

The 5 Canada Reads debaters with their chosen books.The debates are just around the corner. When promoting Canada Reads in your libraries, please include information about accessible options. You can find information on our Awards page.

This year's books include:

Reading for Truth and Reconciliation

Cover of the book A Grandmother Begins the Story by Michelle Porter.A Grandmother Begins the Story: A Novel by Michelle Porter.

Five generations of Métis women argue, dance, struggle, laugh, love, and tell the stories that will sing their family,  and perhaps the land itself, into healing in this brilliantly original debut novel. 

Carter is a young mother, recently separated. She is curious, angry, and on a quest to find out what the heritage she only learned of in her teens truly means.

Allie is trying to make up for the lost years with her first born, and to protect Carter from the hurt she herself suffered from her own mother.

Lucie wants the granddaughter she's never met to help her join her ancestors in the Afterlife.

Geneviève is determined to conquer her demons before the fire inside burns her up, with the help of the sister she lost but has never been without.

And Mamé, in the Afterlife, knows that all their stories began with her; she must find a way to loose herself from the last threads that keep her tethered to the living, just as they must find their own paths forward.

This extraordinary novel, told by a chorus of vividly realized, funny, wise, confused, struggling characters—including descendants of the bison that once freely roamed the land—heralds the arrival of a stunning new voice in literary fiction.

Read A Grandmother Begins the Story in our collection in braille and audio narrated by the author.

Accessibility in the news

illustration of a hand reading braille.Congratulations to Kwantlen Polytechnic University's Surrey campus, which is among the first in Canada to have a braille printer available for school and community use.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University's Surrey campus library is home to a new braille embosser, which prints braille characters onto paper for tactile reading by readers with a visual disability.

Learn more in this article from Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.

There’s a new genre in town!

Cover of the book The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa.Move over romantasy, there’s a new genre in town! During the bleak winter months, healing fiction, or the “iyashikei” genre, centered around cats, coffee, and bookstores, offers comfort through whimsical, escapist narratives. This genre, which has roots in Japanese and Korean literature, has gained global popularity, especially among younger generations seeking relief from stress and burnout.

Healing fiction books often combine magical realism with themes of human connection, love, loss, and hope, featuring familiar settings like coffee shops and bookstores. Read some healing fiction from the CELA collection:

Books you might have missed

Cover of the book Slow Horses by Mick Herron.It can be hard to keep up with all the literary news. And with nearly 1.5 million titles available to CELA users, it's understandable that some of those books fly under the radar.

We asked Theresa Power, CELA's Content and Access Librarian, to offer a recommendation for books recently added to our collection that we might have missed.

On her list this month is the Slough House series by Mick Herron, which was adapted for television in 2022.

This series follows a group of humiliated MI5 agents who have been relegated to paper pushing jobs. The series has been called "a satirical, rollicking subversion of the stories of John le Carré."

Find the Slough House books in our collection.

Author Tom Robbins has died

Cover of the book Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins.Tom Robbins, author of bestsellers including Skinny Legs and All and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues passed away on February 9 at the age of 92. Known as one of the last cult authors of the 1960s, Robbins wrote only eight books over the course of his career. His last, Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life, is his autobiography. We offer our condolences to his family, friends and many fans.

Books to promote at your library

Megaphone on a blue background.Are you looking to promote some new accessible titles in your newsletters, social media feeds, or as part of an in-branch display?

Download the list of promotable titles and share it with your communications team!

Find the new list, updated monthly and featuring links to new books in our collection, on our For Libraries page.

Newspaper update: The Globe and Mail and The New York Times

The Globe and Mail newspaper logo.We have been working hard to restore access to The Globe and Mail for our users. Please watch our Newspapers page for more information in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, we have been informed by our service provider that they will no longer be able to provide The New York Times, effective the end of March. We know how important accessible newspapers are, and we apologize. We will do our best to find an alternative way to offer this newspaper.

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.

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 both library staff and CELA patrons who want to learn more about this device.

This webinar will cover:

  • 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:

Tues Mar 18 2:00-3:00pm EST

If you are unable to attend this webinar, a previously recorded version is available on our YouTube channel: Envoy Connect: A new accessible and affordable audiobook player (recorded October 2023).

Summer reading for everyone! Make your library’s club accessible for kids with disabilities

Would you like to make your summer reading club accessible for kids with print and other disabilities, but aren’t sure where to start? This webinar will teach you practical accessibility tips for your programming, outreach and reading activities. By learning to take an inclusive approach, you will be inviting more patrons to participate in your summer fun. This webinar will be recorded.

Learning objectives:

  • How to make your club inclusive from planning, delivery and evaluation
  • Why libraries should include accessible formats in reading activities
  • Craft and activity ideas that are accessible
  • Accessibility considerations for clubs: tracking reading, giveaways and more!

Length: 60 minutes

Tues, Mar 25 - 2:00-3:00pm EST

Featured title for adults: Blood Ties

Cover of the book Blood Ties by Jo Nesbo.The modern master of Nordic noir is back with an explosive novel about two brothers who, on the verge of losing everything, are willing to do anything to stop that from happening.

By all accounts, Carol and Roy Opgard are doing quite well for themselves. Or at least they are doing as well as can be expected in a small town like Os. Carl manages the area's swanky and successful spa, while Roy runs the local gas station and dreams of building it into an entire amusement park complete with a roller coaster.

But then news breaks about a new highway that will bypass Os and leave the town cut off and isolated. Something has to be done about that, even if the methods need to be dirty. Fortunately, Roy and Carl have experience with dirty work.

Meanwhile, the town sheriff has gotten his hands on new technology that will enable him to take a deeper look at a spate of unsolved murders from years past—including that of his own father. Just as the sheriff reopens his investigation, the death toll begins to climb. Like Roy says about his roller coaster: "Once it is rolling, it's too late to get off."

Blood Ties is a tense, compulsively readable tour de force about loyalty, family ties and love that is as destructive as it is powerful.

Read Blood Ties by Jo Nesbo.

Top five books

Cover of the book The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight.Most popular with our readers last month:

  1. Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves, Mysteries and crime stories
  2. The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus: A Novel by Emma Knight, General fiction
  3. The Grey Wolf (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #19) by Louise Penny, Mysteries and crime stories
  4. Chrystia: From Peace River to Parliament Hill by Catherine Tsalikis, Politics and government biography
  5. Jennie's Boy: A Newfoundland Childhood by Wayne Johnston, Journals and memoirs

Featured title for kids: Climate Activists: A Graphic Guide

Cover of the book Climate Activists: A Graphic Guide by Stephanie Loureiro.Climate change is hurting the planet. It creates problems for people, plants, and animals. Protecting the environment is important for our future. Climate activists work to get laws passed. They share information about how to help. And they speak up to encourage others to do their part. There are ways to slow damage to Earth. The more people who call for change, the brighter the future will be. Explore what can be done and how climate activists are taking action.

Read Climate Activists: A Graphic Guide by Stephanie Loureiro.

Top five for kids

Cover of the book The BFG by Roald Dahl.Most popular with kids last month:

  1. The BFG by Roald Dahl, Fantasy
  2. A to Z MysTeries: The Absent Author - Shangri-La Hotel (A to Z Mysteries #1) by Ron Roy, Mysteries and crime stories
  3. The Barren Grounds: The Misewa Saga, Book 1 by David A. Robertson, Indigenous peoples fiction
  4. Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Dav Pilkey, Adventure stories
  5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling, Fantasy

Top five for teens

Cover of the book The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller.Most popular with teens last month:

  1. The Darkness Within Us (The Shadows Between Us #2) by Tricia Levenseller, Romance
  2. The Shadows Between Us (The Shadows Between Us #1) by Tricia Levenseller, Romance
  3. The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of the Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, Fantasy
  4. The Hunger Games (Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins, Science fiction
  5. Superman: Dawnbreaker (DC Icons Series) by Matt de la Peña, Adventure stories

Elections Canada accessible resources

Elections Canada logo.With the potential that Canada may have a federal election shortly, here's a quick refresher on where to find information for accessible voting options and resources on the Elections Canada website.

Service tip: CELA Connect software

If your library has an Envoy Connect, or if you are assisting patrons with their devices, you may have some questions about loading new books using the CELA Connect software. We can help.

  1. Follow the steps to load books on the Envoy Connect for libraries page.
  2. Check out our Quick Reference Guide, available in a variety of formats.
  3. Or if you need more info, we have complete user guides.
  4. Still stuck? Call us. We’re here to help you!

Stay connected!

Logos of X, Facebook, and YouTube.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.