Congrats to all the finalists for the #HilaryWeston Writer's Trust Prize for Nonfiction! Thanks to the Writers' Trust of Canada for working with us to make sure people with print disabilities have timely access to these important books. Find them at celalibrary.ca/awards

Writers' Trust of Canada@writerstrust.bsky.social · 2w ago

Announcing finalists for the 2026 #HilaryWeston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction— congratulations to Richard Kelly Kemick, Robert Moor, Trina Moyles, Julian Brave NoiseCat, and Dan Werb. $75K winner announced Nov 10 at the #WTAwards writerstrust.com/WestonPrize

Le 8 septembre marque la Journée internationale de l'alphabétisation. Le thème de cette année est « L'alphabétisation pour les peuples, la planète et la prospérité ». Au CAÉB, nous croyons que chacun a le droit de lire dans le format qui lui convient.

September 8 is International Literacy Day. This year's theme is "Literacy for people, the planet and prosperity". At CELA, we believe all people have a right to read using the formats that work for them." Learn more about accessible formats on our website. celalibrary.ca/help/accessi...

Les renseignements concernant le Symposium sur la lecture de 2027, qui se tiendra les 10 et 11 février 2027, sont maintenant disponibles. 1/2

Information about the 2027 Reading Symposium, February 10-11, 2027, is now available. We are inviting colleagues, authors and others to submit a proposal on a topic you feel would be of interest to libraries and readers in the Canadian Accessible Reading Landscape. accessiblereading.ca

We are pleased to have titles from the Giller Prize longlist in our collection - and there are more to come. Find them at celalibrary.ca/2026Giller_Long or on the CELA Awards page. Happy Reading!

Join BC Library Association Alternative Library Careers Panel featuring CELA's ED Laurie Davidson, Tara Robertson, Krista Boehnert, and Lisa Hoskins as they share their career path to new opportunities outside of a traditional library. Wed Sept 9 10 AM - 11:30 AM PDT bclaconnect.ca/event/altern...

If you feel like you don't know what you don't know about accessibility, it can help to follow folks who discuss assistive technology, accessibility and disability. Here's a list of people who post a lot about those. bsky.app/profile/did:...

Some are suggesting you deliberately write inaccurate or confusing alt text, because they say this confuses AI scrapers that are analyzing images. The purpose of alt text is to help people who cannot see the image. Deliberately misrepresenting the image is a gross misuse of alt text. Don't do it.

Plain language is communication that your audience can understand the first time they hear or read it. This varies by audience, of course. What is common vocabulary for lawyers won't necessarily be common for chemists, clergy, or engineers. Know your audience.

Don't make animations, sliders, videos, or rapid movement start automatically. Give an indicator of what movement will happen on the site when someone takes action. Allow the option to turn off any animation and movement at any point in the process.

Don't use color alone to convey information. Marking required fields by only using colored labels won't help people who use screen readers or who can't distinguish colors. If using color, also add text like asterisks and/or "required." www.w3.org/WAI/tips/des...

Designing for Web Accessibility – Tips for Getting Started

Summary

w3.org

We are at #APLA2026! Lindsay Tyler our Director of Operations and Krystal Dionne Regional Library Manager, Prince Edward Island Public Library Services present "What’s next? How libraries can support patrons to access audio books?" today at 3:15-4 pm! site.pheedloop.com/event/apla20...

We have great webinars coming up! Decolonize Reading: Promote Accessibility is a library conversation with Danielle Big Canoe Snake of Chippewas of Rama who will share perspectives on the intersection of Indigenous identity, disability, accessibility and colonization. celalibrary.ca/services/ser...

L’accessibilité est l’affaire de tous. Pendant la Semaine nationale de l’accessibilité, visitez bibliosaccessibles.ca pour trouver de nombreuses ressources utiles sur tous les aspects de l’accessibilité dans les bibliothèques et aidez votre équipe à soutenir votre communauté !

Accessibility is everyone's responsibility. During National Accessibility week, visit AccessibleLibraries.ca for lots of great resources on all aspects of accessibility for libraries and help your team support your community!

Many struggle with writing alt text for charts and other other data visualizations. Amy Cesal's "Writing Alt Text for Data Visualization" hammers home the importance of explaining the chart type, the type of data, and the reason for the chart. medium.com/nightingale/...

Writing Alt Text for Data Visualization

How do you write text that conveys the whole meaning of a visualization? You probably can’t. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try

medium.com

Pour nos bibliothèques membres: Notre dernier numéro du Livre ouvert pour bibliothèques est plein de conseils et ressources précieux pour vous aider à créer un club de lecture d'été accueillant et inclusif. Jetez-y un oeil! celalibrary.ca/open-book-fo...

Library friends: Our latest edition of Open Book for Libraries has some great tips and resources to help you make your Summer Reading Club welcoming and inclusive. Check it out! celalibrary.ca/open-book-fo... #TDSRC

À l'occasion de la Journée mondiale de sensibilisation à l'accessibilité nous célébrons les efforts déployés pour rendre nos monde numériques accessibles à tous. bibliosaccessibles.ca a est une excellente ressource pour découvrir comment rendre les espaces en ligne de votre bibliothèque accessibles

On Global Accessibility Awareness Day we celebrate the work being done to make our digital and online spaces accessible for all. The AccessibleLibraries.ca website is an excellent place to learn about ways you can make your library's online spaces (and programming!) more accessible.

For people who want to see a screen reader in action, it can be helpful to start with this demo from Hadi Rangin of the University of Washington's IT Accessibility Team. Among the things Rangin discusses are ARIA landmarks, headings, and text content. youtu.be/7Rs3YpsnfoI

Using a Screen Reader

Hadi Rangin is an expert user of screen reader software. In this video, he demonstrates the elements of a well designed web page and how they sound to someone who is blind. Issues discussed include…

youtu.be

Automatic transcription can be much faster than manual transcription, but it's not as accurate. Humans can catch errors that software may miss because of background noise or poor audio quality. Always review and edit transcripts before publishing.

For audio-only content like podcasts, provide a transcript. For videos with audio, provide both transcripts and captions. In the transcripts and captions, include the spoken information and sounds that are important for understanding the content.

The Annual Braille Symposium happens next Friday, May 22. Don't miss it!

@celalibrary.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We're looking forward to the Braille Literacy Canada 6th Annual Braille Symposium, Six Dots, No Limits – Six Points sans Limites, taking place on Friday, May 22, 2026. Registration is now open! You can learn more about and find links to register at www.brailleliteracycanada.ca/en/programs/...

On Wed. May 20th we're offering "Creating Accessible Library Services for Children with Disabilities" thanks to @nnelsca.bsky.social and @celalibrary.bsky.social. Learn to plan and deliver programs, and enhance services for young patrons with disabilities. Register today! tinyurl.com/accessiblepr...

CELA supports the work of public libraries to create and protect access to reading materials. Alberta's Bill 28 directly impacts library services, undermines free speech and expression, local decision making and privacy. Learn more at www.caplibraries.ca

Librarianship.ca@librarianshipca.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Changes to the Libraries Act address a problem that doesn't exist, say critics www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/vid... The Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries says new legislation around how Alberta libraries operate is addressing a problem that doesn't exist.

We're looking forward to the Braille Literacy Canada 6th Annual Braille Symposium, Six Dots, No Limits – Six Points sans Limites, taking place on Friday, May 22, 2026. Registration is now open! You can learn more about and find links to register at www.brailleliteracycanada.ca/en/programs/...

2026 Braille Literacy Canada Symposium

Six Dots, No Limits – Six points sans limites

brailleliteracycanada.ca

May the 4th be with you! We've got a huge selection of books for Star Wars fans. We've chosen biographies of Carrie Fisher, George Luca and Anthony Daniels to highlight today. Plus we've added a junior novel for younger readers, and a bad dad joke book or two. Enjoy! celalibrary.ca/2026_May4th

A refreshable Braille display is a device that takes a computer screen's text and generates it in Braille by raising and lowering pins through holes on a flat surface. The display refreshes as the user moves through the screen's content. www.afb.org/node/16207/r...

Refreshable Braille Displays

Braille displays provide access to information on a computer screen by electronically raising and lowering different combinations of pins in braille cells. A braille display can show up to 80…

afb.org