May 15, 2025, Ottawa (Ontario) and Washington (DC) – The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) are taking the opportunity of the 14th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) to encourage libraries and others to discuss, reflect, and learn about digital access and inclusion. To find out some ways that your library can participate in #GAAD consider some of the resources below:
Stay Up to Date on Accessibility Policy
Laws are not the reason that libraries prioritize accessibility, but legislation and regulations with specific deadlines and standards offer objective criteria for libraries and publishers to work together toward providing equitable access to digital works. For instance, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) comes into effect on June 28, 2025, requiring e-books and e-readers to be accessible. The EAA applies to publishers based in the EU as well as publishers that offer titles in the EU market. Since most publishers sell to global markets, the EAA will have a global influence. Learn more about the European Accessibility Act (EAA):
- How Research Libraries and Scholarly Publishers are Preparing for the European Accessibility Act (Charleston Hub video)
- How Libraries and Scholarly Publishers Can Work Together Toward Born-Accessible Publishing (Scholarly Kitchen guest post)
Learn About Accessibility Initiatives and Best Practices
The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled is the first user-focused treaty adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to address the global accessible-book famine. The Marrakesh Treaty requires participating countries to adopt national law provisions that permit the reproduction, distribution, and making available of published works in accessible formats through limitations and exceptions to the rights of copyright holders. Canada and the United States are two of the more than 130 participating countries.
One of ARL and CARL’s recent joint initiatives on accessibility was our task force to explore library implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty. During our work together, we discovered several parallel initiatives. For instance, Educational Materials Made Accessible (EMMA) is a repository infrastructure that enables institutions of higher education in the US, Canada, and other participating countries to share accessible course content with students and faculty who have print disabilities. The Marrakesh Project also led to a deeper understanding of Canadian and US copyright law, and informed CARL and ARL’s copyright advocacy.
- See this table of repositories of accessible scholarly works, and share with your colleagues.
- Visit our websites to learn more about the Marrakesh Treaty, policy updates, and other accessibility-related activities happening in Canada and in the United States.
Connect Your Library’s Accessibility Work to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
During a collaborative workshop at this year’s OLA Super Conference in Toronto, CARL and ARL told the story about how our work on the Marrakesh Treaty connects to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Libraries’ work implementing the Marrakesh Treaty contributes to SDG 4 (Quality Education) by ensuring equitable educational access, SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by removing barriers for people with print disabilities, and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through their international cooperative framework. The workshop also covered how the Library Map of the World is a powerful global advocacy tool that visually demonstrates how libraries worldwide contribute to achieving the 17 SDGs.
- Read more about libraries and SDGs.
- Visit the Library Map of the World for the United States and Canada to see existing stories and consider how you might contribute too.
Share Your Library’s Accessibility Success Stories
The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries has demonstrated exceptional commitment to accessible publishing through their LibraryPress@UF imprint. After discovering that some of their published books were failing accessibility tests due to errors introduced in the final processing stage, the libraries recommitted to testing all of their published content for accessibility.
York University Libraries has established itself as an international leader in providing accessibility services for students with print disabilities. Their Library Accessibility Services (LAS) team operates on a personalized, one-on-one model that pairs students with transcription assistants who typically work with them throughout their entire academic journey. Their commitment to providing students with print disabilities the same resources as their peers, regardless of format availability, has made a significant impact.
Does your library have a similar story? Use the hashtag #GAAD on social media to join the global conversation about digital accessibility, and feel free to tag ARL and CARL!
About the Canadian Association of Research Libraries
The Canadian Association of Research Libraries’ (CARL) members include Canada’s twenty-nine largest university libraries and three national libraries. Enhancing research and higher education are at the heart of its mission. CARL works to advance the research enterprise, strengthen libraries’ collective resource capacity, ensure that the contributions of libraries are both evident and continually evolving, and articulate and advocate for a policy environment that fosters and preserves access to scholarship and knowledge.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of research libraries in Canada and the US whose vision is to create a trusted, equitable, and inclusive research and learning ecosystem and prepare library leaders to advance this work in strategic partnership with member libraries and other organizations worldwide. ARL’s mission is to empower and advocate for research libraries and archives to shape, influence, and implement institutional, national, and international policy. ARL develops the next generation of leaders and enables strategic cooperation among partner institutions to benefit scholarship and society. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
