The ORL strives to support patrons with diverse needs through a variety of different collections, programs, and services.
Jump to: Cards | Programs | Collections | Services | Advisory Committee
With this card, you can access book collections created for people with print disabilities.
Anyone, any age, who have trouble reading print for these reasons:
We also offer a card to places like care homes, or other organizations and businesses that work with people who have print disabilities.
Fill out our Print Disability status form.
Ask for a form from your nearest library or download a PDF version of the form linked below:
Already have a library card? Bring the form and your card to your local library or email the completed form to access@orl.bc.ca.
Don’t have a library card yet? Bring the form to your nearest library location when you sign up for a card. You will need to bring ID, one needs to show your current address.
Check the Events Calendar to see more programs.
Drop-in, no registration required | Various Times and Locations
Drop-in, no registration required | Downtown Kelowna library | Third Tuesday of the month | 2:00 to 4:00 PM Pacific
Reading changes throughout your life – including how you read. Access Services will showcase technologies to keep you or someone you know reading. Discover how to make the Libby app more accessible, what DAISY players and discs are, and other technologies for print disabled readers.
Want the program to come to your branch? Ask staff at your nearest library location if the No Barriers program can be offered there.
Meets Wednesdays by Phone | 2:00 to 3:00 PM Pacific
Call 778-658-6394, or email access@orl.bc.ca to receive the conference line phone number and access code.
Connect with others, share your thoughts, and expand your reading horizons. Each conversation begins with a question, or a theme and we let the discussion flow naturally from there. We meet over the phone – no computer knowledge is needed.
Meets First Tuesday of the month by phone | 2:00 to 3:00 PM Pacific
No Story Time till the Fall.
Call 778-658-6394, or email access@orl.bc.ca, to receive the conference line phone number and access code.
Join us for 30 to 40 minutes to listen to live readings of tales – humour, mystery, or science fiction. A discussion of the story may follow. Stories are shared over the phone – no computer knowledge is needed.
Registration details | Classes are taught throughout the year.
Explore the world of sign language! Join our program to learn American Sign Language (ASL) and learn about Deaf culture. Fun and interactive, this series of six classes covers the basics of ASL. Please commit to all classes.
Drop-in, no registration required | Second Saturday of the month |10:30 to 11:00 AM Pacific.
Come to the Rutland Library for Family Story Time while learning American Sign Language (ASL). Join in for stories, rhymes, and games. Presented in both ASL and English.
Large Print books can be borrowed by anyone with a library card. You can find popular books, fiction and non-fiction in this collection.
Audiobooks are recordings of popular fiction and non-fiction on multiple CDs that you can listen to on your computer (with a disk drive) or CD player. These books are available to anyone with a library card.
DAISY discs are audiobooks on a single CD. DAISY discs can be played on DAISY readers or any MP3-compatible CD Player. These books are available to readers with a print disability card.
We have many digital book collections, explore them all. Here are a few to check out:
Libby app | ORL eBooks: Read more about the Accessibility Features in Libby on their Libby & Accessibility page.
CELA (Centre for Equitable Library Access Collection) provides accessible collections to customers with print disabilities and to those who work with people with print disabilities in a format that works for them.
NNELS (National Network for Equitable Library Service) is a provincially funded online collection of digital books for readers with print disabilities. Once registered with NNELS, you will be able to download digital book formats including DAISY, MP3, eTEXT, PDF, and EPUB.
We love to connect with people to help them use the library more easily.
We have a selection service where we choose items that match your tastes and make them available at your local library for pick-up. Either you, or a friend or family member, can l pick them up with your library card. Call 778-658-6394, or email access@orl.bc.ca for more information.
If you cannot come to the library temporarily, or on a continued basis, due to illness or other disability, we can extend your loan period to 42 days for most items. Some borrowing restrictions apply. Please ask staff at your local library branch for more information.
Friendly staff at all library branches are available to help. Some libraries have accessible equipment such as automatic doors, elevators, accessible bathrooms, walkers, wheelchairs, BlindSquare beacons, hearing loops, and a computer with ZoomText Magnifying software.
Some libraries partner with local organizations to supply home delivery of library materials to homebound customers. Please ask at your local library branch if home delivery is available in your community.
Bookshare is an American site that allows access close to 500,000 titles free for people with print disabilities. Access Bookshare via CELA.
Librivox is a collection of free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers from around the world.
Project Gutenberg offers over 57,000 free eBooks from the world's great literature, with focus on older works for which copyright has expired. Thousands of volunteers digitized and diligently proofread the eBooks, for enjoyment and education.
Diversability Service Provider Resource List is a PDF list of service providers in the Central, North, and South Okanagan regions, created by our librarians, for parents of children and teens.
Low Vision Books & Resources List:
The Okanagan Regional Library’s Accessibility Plan is now available, and we’d like to thank our first Accessibility & Inclusion Advisory Committee for all their hard work on it.
Our new Accessibility & Inclusion Advisory Committee (AIAC) is made up of both library staff and community members each with a personal connection to disability, representing a range of disabilities and communities within the ORL service area.
The purpose of the AIAC is to work towards ensuring that all library services, resources, and programs are accessible and inclusive to everyone in the community by advising on policies, practices, and services at the ORL to improve accessibility and champions the inclusion of diverse community voices.
Our meetings review ORL progress, discuss new initiatives, and share their thoughts and opinion on accessibility. Please review the committee’s Terms of Reference [PDF] for more information.
We are committed to working with our committee to learn how we could be more accessible. Please contact access@orl.bc.ca for any request or comments.