This article comes to us courtesy of Jane Beaumont. (Thanks very much, Jane!)
The Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) Ottawa Book Club Chapter is just what it sounds like, a book club, but slightly different from your average club. Whereas most book clubbers flip through the pages of a good paperback or hardcover, the CCB Ottawa Book Club members listen to their books. The club is designed specifically for blind and visually impaired book lovers, reading their books with their easy-to-use "DAISY" players. DAISY is an audio format that uses the DAISY standard and stands for Digital Accessible Information System. DAISY talking books are distributed on CDs and the specialized player allows a reader to navigate through the book and insert bookmarks in same way as the reader of a printed book.
"I got the hang of my player in about 5 minutes," says Theresa Dupuis, a senior member in the club. "After that, I was ready to read!"
The DAISY readers will provide a means for members of the blind and visually impaired community in Ottawa to read, a right the CCB feels should be the right of every Canadian.
The CCB Ottawa Book Club is a unique, innovative project for the blind and visually impaired community. Book clubs offer a wonderful opportunity to gain knowledge, share ideas and opinions, socialize and discover books one would not ordinarily pick up. It also encourages persons with visual impairments to learn new technology and use alternate formats, which is fantastic for the seniors in the club. The Club could not have been possible without a generous donation by the Community Foundation of Ottawa, which provided the Club a means to purchase DAISY players for those in the Ottawa area who could not afford to purchase a player on their own.
"In addition to this being a first in Ottawa: a book club especially for people who have to rely on talking (audio) books, this is a great example of cooperation between local community organizations," states Jane Beaumont, CNIB Library Board volunteer. "The CCB Ottawa chapter that hosts the club, with the support of CNIB Library and the Ottawa Public Library submitted a funding proposal to the Community Foundation of Ottawa (CFO). They provided the club with a $10,000 grant to purchase 20 digital talking book players for people who did not already own a player and wanted to join the book club."
Ottawa Public Library is a member of the CNIB Library Visunet Canada Partners Program and through that program ensures that there are enough copies of the selected books each month for all of the club members. Marcia Aronson, of the Ottawa Public Library, has given the club tremendous support with her extensive book club knowledge. An avid book clubber herself, Marcia spoke to the group at their first meeting on how book clubs work and what to expect in a club meeting. Marcia also gave the group great ideas on what books to read.
"When I make presentations at library branches on book clubs, I always stress the importance of being inclusive by highlighting titles in alternate formats." states Mrs. Aronson. "I believe this project could prove to be a model for other communities."
Resources:
For more information contact:
Mike Potvin, Canadian Council for the Blind, Researcher/Writer mpotvin@ccbnational.net Tel: 613 567-0311
Or
Jane Beaumont, CNIB Library Board volunteer
jane@beaumont.ca Tel: 613-294-4746
Community Foundations – check http://www.cfc-fcc.ca/ to see if there is a community foundation in your area
CNIB Library Visunet Partners Program
Contact: Faline Bobier, Coordinator
faline.bobier@cnib.ca Tel: 416 486-2500, ext. 7475
"I got the hang of my player in about 5 minutes," says Theresa Dupuis, a senior member in the club. "After that, I was ready to read!"
The DAISY readers will provide a means for members of the blind and visually impaired community in Ottawa to read, a right the CCB feels should be the right of every Canadian.
The CCB Ottawa Book Club is a unique, innovative project for the blind and visually impaired community. Book clubs offer a wonderful opportunity to gain knowledge, share ideas and opinions, socialize and discover books one would not ordinarily pick up. It also encourages persons with visual impairments to learn new technology and use alternate formats, which is fantastic for the seniors in the club. The Club could not have been possible without a generous donation by the Community Foundation of Ottawa, which provided the Club a means to purchase DAISY players for those in the Ottawa area who could not afford to purchase a player on their own.
"In addition to this being a first in Ottawa: a book club especially for people who have to rely on talking (audio) books, this is a great example of cooperation between local community organizations," states Jane Beaumont, CNIB Library Board volunteer. "The CCB Ottawa chapter that hosts the club, with the support of CNIB Library and the Ottawa Public Library submitted a funding proposal to the Community Foundation of Ottawa (CFO). They provided the club with a $10,000 grant to purchase 20 digital talking book players for people who did not already own a player and wanted to join the book club."
Ottawa Public Library is a member of the CNIB Library Visunet Canada Partners Program and through that program ensures that there are enough copies of the selected books each month for all of the club members. Marcia Aronson, of the Ottawa Public Library, has given the club tremendous support with her extensive book club knowledge. An avid book clubber herself, Marcia spoke to the group at their first meeting on how book clubs work and what to expect in a club meeting. Marcia also gave the group great ideas on what books to read.
"When I make presentations at library branches on book clubs, I always stress the importance of being inclusive by highlighting titles in alternate formats." states Mrs. Aronson. "I believe this project could prove to be a model for other communities."
Resources:
For more information contact:
Mike Potvin, Canadian Council for the Blind, Researcher/Writer mpotvin@ccbnational.net Tel: 613 567-0311
Or
Jane Beaumont, CNIB Library Board volunteer
jane@beaumont.ca Tel: 613-294-4746
Community Foundations – check http://www.cfc-fcc.ca/ to see if there is a community foundation in your area
CNIB Library Visunet Partners Program
Contact: Faline Bobier, Coordinator
faline.bobier@cnib.ca Tel: 416 486-2500, ext. 7475
