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...

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/...

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

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!

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

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/...

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...

Don't use headings to arbitrarily style text. If you apply “Heading 4” style, you add a <h4> heading tag to the item. When screen reader users navigate from heading to heading, the item will be treated as a heading. This will be confusing. Only treat actual headings as headings.

A common question about alt text is whether or not it's appropriate to mention attributes like race or skin tone. A common response is, "It depends." In this post, Tolu Adegbite explains how race can be relevant and important in providing context. medium.com/shopify-ux/t...

Congrats to Maggie Helwig for winning the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize. Encampment tells the story of Helwig's life-long activism as preparation for her fight to keep her churchyard open to people needing a home. Audio: celalibrary.ca/node/25934788 Braille and ePub: celalibrary.ca/node/27004240

Find accessible versions of the BC and Yukon Book Prize shortlist in our collection. The winners will be announced on Saturday, September 19, 2026. Happy Reading! celalibrary.ca/2026BC_Yukon

*Ce que je sais de toi* est l'un des livres les plus commentés de ces dernières années. Lisez-le dès maintenant, en formats accessibles, grâce au programme Un Livrel Canada ! celalibrary.ca/One_eRead2026

What I know about you is one of the most talked about books in recent memory. Read it now, in accessible formats, as part of the One eRead Canada program. celalibrary.ca/One_eRead2026

Everyone who works on a website has a role to ensure the site and its content are accessible. This resource from Vox Media breaks down some accessibility tasks by job role, including content creators, designers, developers, project managers, and testers. accessibility.voxmedia.com

Color contrast is the difference in brightness between foreground and background colors. You can check your color contrasts with the @webaim Color Contrast Checker to determine if people with low vision can tell the colors apart and see your content. webaim.org/resources/co...

Basic transcripts are a text version of speech and non-speech audio information needed to understand content. Descriptive transcripts also describe the visual information needed to understand the content, helping people who are both Deaf and blind. www.w3.org/WAI/media/av...

An emoji has a coded description that gets read aloud by screen readers. Putting emoji in between text could cause confusion or make content less clear. For this reason, it's usually best to put emoji at the end of written content rather than to have it mixed in with text.

Le 31 mars marque la Journée internationale de la visibilité transgenre. Nous mettons en vedette des auteurs et des récits trans, non binaires et queer issus de la collection du CAÉB. Retrouvez-les sur notre nouvelle page Instagram www.instagram.com/celalibrary_... ou bibliocaeb.ca/journee-tran...

March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility. We are highlighting some of the trans, gender non-conforming, and gender queer authors and stories found within the CELA collection. Find them on our new Instagram page www.instagram.com/celalibrary_... or find the books here celalibrary.ca/trans-day-2026

Cognitive load refers to how much working memory or short-term memory someone is using at a time. Minimizing the cognitive load it takes to use your site makes it more accessible for people with cognitive disabilities. Limit what you're asking users to remember to use your site.

For people who don't use screen readers, it can be difficult to understand how screen readers work. If you're interested in learning how people use screen readers, check out this demo from Marc Sutton and The University of California San Francisco. youtu.be/dEbl5jvLKGQ

The same photo could appear on three different pages and require different alt text for each instance. The alt text for an image can vary, depending on the context of the image, its role on the page, and the intended message.

Don't buy into the myth that "accessibility is only about adding alternative text to images." Alt text is important, of course. But there is so much more to accessibility, including headline structure, functional controls, color contrast, link text, plain language, and more.

The Accessible Reading Symposium brings together readers, authors, libraries, content providers, publishers, and technology developers to share practical demos, introductory knowledge, and different viewpoints on accessible reading. Join us! Mar 11 & Mar 12 celalibrary.ca/accessible-r...

The Accessible Reading Symposium, March 11-12, by @nnelsca.bsky.social , @celalibrary.bsky.social, and Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, is a free, virtual event to help library staff and readers with print disabilities learn about accessible reading in Canada. bit.ly/accessible-2...

EDUCATORS Please RT We need your input! Please fill out CELA's survey about our accessible collection and services and help us plan for the next 5 years supporting readers with print disabilities. Find info and links here. Thank you! celalibrary.ca/strategicplan

Merci à Ministre JoelLightbound, aux membres du Comité permanent des finances, ainsi qu’aux députés de la Chambre des communes et du Sénat de leur appui à nos efforts visant à préserver les tarifs postaux réduits pour les documents de bibliothèque et la gratuité de port pour les personnes aveugles 1

Thank you to @JoelLightbound, members of the Standing Committee on Finance, and members of the House of Commons and Senate for supporting our efforts to protect reduced postage rates for library materials and free postage for the use of the blind under the Canada Post Corporation Act. #cdnpoli

For kids and teens: The longest shot: How Larry Kwong changed the face of hockey celalibrary.ca/node/25375156 Game changers: Stories of hijabi athletes from around the world celalibrary.ca/node/25719716 Athlete is agender: true stories of LGBTQ+ people in sports celalibrary.ca/node/26559317

Join us tomorrow! Updates for Android and iOS devices have come a long way, especially for braille readers. Our presenters will go in-depth into features available on both iOS and Android mobile devices, including braille screen input. Jan 22, 2026 10:00 AM PT us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

À l'occasion de la Journée internationale des personnes handicapées, nous rendons hommage aux personnes handicapées ainsi qu'à leurs alliés et aux organisations qui les soutiennent et œuvrent à leurs côtés pour éliminer les obstacles à leur pleine inclusion et à l'égalité.

Audio descriptions are necessary for making videos accessible. They narrate the crucial visual elements that would be necessary for understanding the plot without the ability to see the screen. They describe non-verbal cues like gestures, facial expressions, or eye contact.

On International Day of Persons with Disabilities we honour those living with disabilities and the allies and organizations who support and work alongside to remove barriers to full inclusion and equitality. Read disability memoirs published in the last year celalibrary.ca/2025_Diability_Memoirs

Your site's users need enough time to interact with content and fill out forms. People with disabilities such as blindness, low vision, dexterity impairments, and cognitive disabilities might need more time for things such as forms. Allow users to turn off or extend time limits.

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:...

We hope to see you next Wed. Nov. 26th for the Becoming Anti-Ableist workshop at 10am with Elisabeth Walker-Young and Shawna Lawson of Inclusive Experiences. This session is “grounded in lived experiences and principles of disability justice.” Register today! tinyurl.com/inclusiveexp...

Congratulations to David Szalay who won the Booker Prize for his book Flesh. "In Flesh, Szalay has conjured a character who is unknowable and blunt, yet fully realized and somehow incredibly loveable." Read it in audio celalibrary.ca/node/26174317 and braille celalibrary.ca/node/25576771