National AccessAbility Week (NAAW) takes place every year to celebrate and recognize Canadians with disabilities. This week is also a time to highlight the efforts of individuals, communities and workplaces that are actively working to remove barriers to accessibility and inclusion.
NAAW began as "National Access Awareness Week" in 1988. It was inspired by Rick Hansen's Man in Motion World Tour. This year, NAAW runs from Sunday, May 25 to Saturday, May 31. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the critical need for accessibility and inclusion for everybody in our community!
Kitchener Public Library Resources
Upcoming Programs
Meet the Artists Night - (dis)Ability: An Art Showcase
Tuesday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Central Library
Youth Hub with Extend-A-Family
Monday, May 26 at 6 p.m. at Central Library
Open Space: Games and Social Drop-In
Monday, May 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Central Library
Accessible Tech 101
Thursday, May 27 at 10 a.m. at Central Library (additional dates available)
(dis)Ability: An Art Showcase
This special art exhibit features artwork from local people of all ages with a lived experience with disability. This exhibit will be on display in the Central Library Art Gallery until Saturday, July 5. Head down to the Lower Level and check out this amazing collection of paintings, drawings, digital art, photographs, sculptures and more! Audio descriptions will be available for each piece.
Assistive Reading Devices
Kitchener Public Library offers a variety of devices to make reading more accessible! These devices are available to borrow for free with your library card.
Visit the Accessibility section of our website to see all of the accessible equipment and resources we have to offer. For more information, email accessibility@kpl.org or call 519-743-0271 ext. 260.
Curated Reading Lists
We've put together reading lists to highlight books written by people with disabilities and books about accessibility in our collection. There are lots of great titles for children and adults. You can also explore our Autism Collection that is located at Central Library.
Virtual Library Resources
There are lots of great digital resources that you can access for free with your library card!
- Learn American Sign Language on Mango Languages
- Take practical courses such as "Accessibility for Web Design" and "Accessibility-First Design" on LinkedIn Learning
- Use CBC Corner to discover Canadian content about accessibility from a variety of CBC platforms