Services FAQs

  • Accessibility Services

    MPL offers a variety of options for homebound service. Please reach out to your preferred branch to learn more about which option works best for you or your loved one.

    You can request CELA services in one of two ways:

    • Call or visit an MPL branch and ask to be signed up
    • Through the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) - if you express interest in library services, they can forward us your contact information. We will contact you to get you an MPL membership and sign you up for access to CELA.

    Customers can choose to access different CELA resources. Depending on how customers manage their accounts they may:

      • Have physical media (DAISY CDs, Braille, etc.) mailed to their homes free of charge. Physical materials will come with a postage-paid pre-addressed envelope which they can use to return the items.
      • Access only the digital content via CELA’s website.
      • Access both physical and digital content.

    CELA provides items in a variety of formats depending on the customer’s precise need. Below is a quick list of some of the formats:

      • DAISY Books – A special kind of audiobook format designed to allow people with a print disability to use an audiobook much like you would use a print book. Depending on how the book is set up, customers can use DAISY books to move from page to page or chapter to chapter, use an index, and place bookmarks. 
      • Braille/Print-Braille – Print braille books are children’s picture books with braille added so they can be shared between kids who read braille and their caregivers, or an adult braille reader and a child.
      • Described Video – Movies that have descriptive narration between pauses in the dialogue. They describe actions or scenery so people who can’t see the screen can enjoy and understand the movie.
      • eBooks – CELA has a large collection of downloadable books, magazines and newspapers available via an online catalogue.

    For information about which format is best for your needs visit the CELA Help page. 

    The Educator Access Program (EAP) lets teachers borrow from the CELA collection to support students with print disabilities. As a teacher, teacher-librarian, or educational assistant you can use your Markham Public Library card to register online for the Educator Access Program. 

    Canadian residents who have a print disability that prevents them from reading conventional print are eligible for CELA services.  Those with temporary print disabilities such as waiting for cataract surgery are also eligible.  A print disability can be:

    • a visual disability including severe or total vision loss
    • a physical disability such as the inability to hold or manipulate a book 
    • a learning disability such as that relating to comprehension

    You need a Markham Public Library card to register.  To learn more about print disabilities visit the CELA Webpage.