National Initiatives

Library Services to Persons with Disabilities

The National Library of Canada (NLC) has the mandate to promote equitable access to library and information resources to all Canadians. In support of that mission, NLC has developed tools and publications to maximize the sharing of materials in alternative format used by Canadians with disabilities and to support Canadian libraries to serve their clients with disabilities.

A catalogue, the Canadian Union Catalogue of Alternative Format Materials or CANUC:H, was established in 1983 to facilitate resource sharing of alternative format materials among Canadian libraries and to reduce duplicate production of these materials. In early 1996, a study of CANUC:H was undertaken to evaluate its development and use and to determine what would be appropriate next steps for the NLC.

As well, the NLC has published a manual for libraries to use to evaluate their service to persons with disabilities (The Accessible Canadian Library II), a list of publications produced through the Large Print Publishing Program (a program that ran for 4 years under the National Strategy for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities) and a list of federal publications available in alternative formats.

For further information about library services to persons with disabilities, please contact:

National and International Programs
National Library of Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0N4
CANADA
Fax: (613)947-2916


Created: 2001-03-05 Updated: 2003-08-15	Top of page	Important Notices