We're Now Members of CELA (The Centre for Equitable Library Access)!

We are pleased to reveal one of our newest partnerships with the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA). This partnership has greatly expanded our collection, providing specialized reading material for individuals with "print disabilities" – a general term that describes a disability that makes it difficult to use traditional print material like a book or newspaper. Print disabilities include: visual disabilities (vision loss or blindness), physical disabilities (that make it difficult to hold or manipulate a book), and learning disabilities (related to comprehension, such as dyslexia).

CELA offers a variety of accessible reading formats to meet the range of needs expressed by individuals with print disabilities. These formats include audiobooks, braille (contracted and uncontracted, and e-braille), described video, and e-text that can be used with special adaptive programs, such as screen reader or magnifier.

If you are not comfortable with computers or tablets, you can order reading material via telephone and have it delivered to your door in the mail or pick it up at your local public library. If you (or a loved one, or caregiver) is comfortable with technology, you can access the entire CELA collection online with access to over 500,000 books (including best sellers), 150 magazines, and 50 newspapers – many of which are in several accessible formats and available in both French and English.

Do you know someone who might benefit from these services? If you would like more information about these services, please contact the Provincial Reference Library at (709) 737-3955. You can also check out CELA's website or learn more about our accessible collection.