About the CNIB Library
La Bibliothèque en français
The CNIB Library exists to address barriers to access to information. Today, less than five per cent of published literature in Canada is available in formats, such as braille or audio, that can be read by people who cannot access print due to a disability. CNIB supports the vision of a national, equitable public library service for all Canadians with print disabilities, which includes those living with vision loss.
Services include talking books, braille books, electronic books, children's printbraille books, braille music and descriptive videos. Online services include the CNIB Library catalogue, electronic books, accessible websites, electronic databases such as the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Oxford English Dictionary, and newspapers and magazines available online.
- Each year, the CNIB Library circulates about two million items in accessible formats, delivered through Canada Post or accessed directly online.
- CNIB is Canada's largest producer of alternative format materials and is a certifying body for braille transcription
- The CNIB Library contains a large collection of music in braille which is used by many professional and amateur musicians.
- Twenty per cent of new books added to the collection are children's titles.
- The CNIB Library is a member of the international DAISY (Digital Audio-based Information System) Consortium, a group of 40 non-profit libraries for people with vision loss that is creating world standards for the next generation of digital audiobooks.
- The Canadian government, unlike governments in many other major industrialized nations such as the United States, does not provide an equitable alternative-format library service for people with print disabilities. This service is paid for and provided by CNIB, a charity.