One month ago, the Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA) announced a partnership with Alberta Municipal Affairs’ Public Library Services Branch (PLSB) to launch the Alberta eBooks Collection. Thanks to that partnership, these same ebooks are also available across Canada to eligible readers with print disabilities through NNELS.

“This is a great opportunity to get Alberta published content out to readers - ALL readers. We are delighted to announce that the project will continue and new titles will be added to the collection, as they become available,” said Kieran Leblanc, Executive Director of the BPAA.

The books are in PDF and EPUB formats, and come from 24 publishers (link to full collection). Qualified individuals may access the titles through their local public libraries and request audio productions at any time through the NNELS website. The ebooks may also be read as they are using a variety of software and text-to-speech tools such as DAISY players, apps, and computer programs.

One thousand books makes for a lot of reading. If you’re a NNELS user and you feel pressured to read every book, please rest assured they will be with us for a long time. Like all of the books in the NNELS collection, these titles are owned in perpetuity by the provinces and territories that build and sustain NNELS.

Many thanks to the Alberta PLSB and the BPAA for this monumental commitment to local and accessible library collections, the very first of its kind in Canada.

About the BPAA

The Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA) was founded in 1975 to support the development of a thriving provincial publishing industry, away from Canada’s traditional book publishing centres. Today the BPAA counts more than 25 member companies, many of which are owned and operated in Alberta.

About NNELS

NNELS is a repository of content owned and sustained by eight Canadian provinces and territories. Working with public libraries, readers, publishers, and international partners, NNELS produces and distributes books in accessible formats to qualified readers, which include individuals with cognitive, vision, or mobility impairments. To find out more about accessible formats or signing up for NNELS, please contact any public library or NNELS directly.