Celebrating CELA’s 10th anniversary  

This year CELA turns 10 and we want to celebrate. We’ve taken a look back at the last ten years to see what’s changed since CELA was established and how these changes are shaping equitable reading for all.  

1. Our collection has expanded 5 fold.  

When CELA was established, we offered about 250,000 titles. Our users now have access to more than 1,350,000 books, magazines, and newspapers in a variety of formats including human narrated audio and human transcribed braille. Our collection includes award winners, bestsellers, fiction, and nonfiction for all ages. Magazines are now available for download within a day of when they hit the newsstands. Users can keep on top of the news with international, national, and regional newspapers.   

2. We serve all people with print disabilities.  

When CELA was founded, we celebrated our expanded ability to reach all people with print disabilities, including those with learning disabilities and physical disabilities who previously did not have easy access to reading materials which met their needs. Thanks to the foundation of close and productive relationships with libraries, we are now connecting with educators and professionals who support people with print disabilities in their work. Our goal with these programs is always to remove barriers and enhance access and awareness about the importance of accessible books.   

3. People with lived experience shape our services.  

Undoubtedly, our users are our best source of information and guidance for our services. Over the years, CELA has benefited from consulting regularly with our User Advisory Group and with our staff with lived experience with a disability. Their feedback has been invaluable. More recently through our Braille Study and our Expanded Delivery Options Project, we’ve had the opportunity to hear directly from users about the services we offer and the technology options which work best to access reading materials. Feedback from consultations informs our decisions and shapes our services.  

4. We have increased choices in the ways people can read their books.  

CELA was founded on the idea that users should have choices in the way they receive and read their books. Whether you access your books through digital downloads from our website, through our Direct to Player option, use our Envoy Connect service, read using EasyReader or receive books in physical formats including single use hardcopy braille, there are options which can work with for all users. And as technology evolves, we are continuing to investigate ways to expand our service options and provide even more choice.  

5. We have expanded access to serve more people with print disabilities.  

CELA has grown substantially in the last 10 years. In 2024, 98% of the Canadian population can now access our full range of services and reading materials directly through CELA or through more than 2000 local libraries located in virtually every province and territory.  

Libraries often facilitate the first contact users have with CELA and accessible reading services. Thanks to the support and dedication of our member library staff, CELA materials are able to reach people who need them.  

6. The new Envoy Connect service was launched.

In 2023 we launched our Envoy Connect service. Envoy Connect is an affordable, easy to use audiobook player, perfect for those who want a different option for CDs or a portable dedicated player. Retailing for under $100, the Envoy Connect can easily be reloaded with new books using a free app and a home computer. Or users are welcome to send their Envoy Connect to us, using the Canada Post free literature for the blind service, to be reloaded and returned.   

7. Bookshare titles are available to CELA users.

Bookshare is one of North America’s largest book providers to people who have print disabilities. Thanks to our expanded relationship, Bookshare titles began appearing in CELA’s catalogue in 2019, making it easier for our users to find, read and manage the Bookshare books they want.  As of 2024, CELA is able to offer more than 1.1 million Bookshare titles.  

8. We increased collaborations with other libraries serving people with print disabilities.  

Over the past ten years we have collaborated nationally with Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) and the National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS) and others on projects and initiatives that benefit the equitable reading landscape. We also connect regularly with the international accessible library community to share ideas and best practices. 

Whether it’s sharing new titles or technology, working to support library initiatives involving accessible reading, or advocating on behalf of our users, our collaborations improve our ability to serve our users.  

9. The Marrakesh Treaty was signed.

On June 30, 2016, Canada was the key 20th signatory on the Marrakesh Treaty which brought the Treaty into force in September 2016. The signing of the Marrakesh Treaty facilitated international exchanges of accessible books with organizations like the National Library Service (NLS), the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) and others. Since Marrakesh was signed by Canada, these exchanges have resulted in CELA adding over 100,000 titles to our collection. CELA has also sent our books to these organizations to be shared internationally.  

10. We’ve expanded our partnerships to bring users more books.  

Thanks to our partnership with Penguin Random House Canada, and our relationships with Audible.ca and Overdrive, we add more than 3000 new and noteworthy titles per year. Through Overdrive we can purchase commercially available audio titles that are converted to accessible formats and added to our collection. Penguin Random House Canada and Audible.ca generously provide us with audiobooks as part of their commitment to accessible books. We also partner with other publishers directly to support their efforts towards creating born-accessible books which enhances access for our users. 

Through CNIB, we commission hundreds of titles per year to be produced in accessible formats such as human narrated audio or human transcribed braille titles which are unavailable or difficult to access commercially.                    

11. We’re advancing information about accessibility for public libraries. 

One of CELA’s top priorities is to support libraries and their patrons who require our services. In addition to the more than 15 webinars we offer library staff each year, CELA has partnered with NNELS to establish the Public Library Accessibility Resource Centre, a repository of accessibility resources. These free resources which cover everything from collections to programs to promotions have been vetted and categorized, making them reliable and easy to find. Libraries across Canada have access to videos, reports, and guides to assist them in training and providing accessible services and resources to their users.   

12. Our relationships help promote the importance of accessible books.  

Over the past 10 years, CELA and our users have benefited from relationships with awards programs like the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Writer’s Trust, Canada Reads, the Governor General’s awards for Literature, the Festival of Literary Diversity, and children’s programs like Hackmatack, Forest of Reading and TD Summer Reading Club. Because these organizations are committed to equitable access and work with us, books important for learning and for our national conversations are available in accessible formats so everyone can participate. These organizations also help us raise awareness of the need for accessible reading materials and create a more inclusive space for all.