Providing broad and equitable access to information and scholarly knowledge is the core mission of libraries. Individuals with print disabilities, however, face a myriad of barriers to scholarly information.
CARL is engaged in work to develop broader and more equitable access for these individuals and to contribute to the Canada’s commitment to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled
CARL is engaged in a joint project with the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) on the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty in libraries in Canada and the United States.
The project is designed to guide the academic and research library community towards universal access to the 760 million books collectively held across member libraries in the US and Canada.
The work is carried out under the guidance of the ARL-CARL Task Force (Terms of Reference ARL-CARL Task Force Marrakesh Treaty Implementation HTML│Terms of Reference ARL-CARL Task Force Marrakesh Treaty Implementation PDF) on the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation and is supported by the following working groups:
-
- ARL-CARL Beneficiary Working Group
Beneficiary Working Group Terms of Reference HTML
Beneficiary Working Group Terms of Reference PDF - ARL-CARL Metadata Working Group
Metadata Working Group Terms of Reference HTML
Metadata Working Group Terms of Reference PDF - ARL-CARL Systems Implementation Working Group
Systems Implementation Working Group Terms of Reference HTML
Systems Implementation Working Group Terms of Reference PDF
- ARL-CARL Beneficiary Working Group
Work of the Joint Task Force
- ARL/CARL Task Force on Marrakesh Treaty Implementation: Final Report (December 2023)
- Addressing the 7% Problem: The FRAME Project and the CARL-ARL Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Project
- “If It’s Open, Is It Accessible?,” blog post by Pascal Calarco
- ARL Views podcast with Victoria Owen on libraries and the Marrakesh Treaty
Presentations
- CRKN Conference (October 2022)
- ALA Core Metadata Interest Group (May 2022)
- SPARC OpenCon (April 2022)
- CARL Fall meeting (November 2021)
- Access Conference (October 2021)
- CNIB Connecting the Dots (October 2021)
- CARL Spring meeting (May 2021)
Resources for Libraries
- Getting Started: Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities, A practical guide for librarians – Canadian Version (2019)
Getting Started: Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities, A practical guide for librarians WORD
Getting Started: Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities, A practical guide for librarians PDF
Briefs and statements
- CARL’s letters on the Marrakesh Treaty: Industry Canada (2014), Canadian Heritage (2013)
- CARL Welcomes Federal Government’s Announcement of Continued funding for CELA and NNELS (2021)
