Accessibility Library Celia is a state-owned special library that promotes equality in reading and learning. Celia collaborates with libraries, schools and publishers, offering library services and information and advice on accessible publishing. Celia produces and disseminates literature in accessible formats, such as audiobooks and books in Braille. Celia operates under the Ministry of Education and Culture’s administrative branch.
Celia’s operations are based on laws and decrees:
- Act on the Accessibility Library Celia (on Finlex website, © Finlex)
- Ministry of Education and Culture Decree on the Board of Directors and Braille Advisory Board for the Accessibility Library Celia (on Finlex website, © Finlex)
Celia’s operations are based on the fact that, under Section 17 of the Copyright Act, accessible copies may be made for persons who are unable to use published written works in the usual way because of a disability or illness.
Celia’s operations are guided and supervised by a board of directors appointed by the Ministry of Education for up to four years at a time.
The Board of Directors for the period 1.1.2023-31.12.2026
Chairperson
Senior Educational Adviser Riia Palmqvist, Finnish National Agency for Education
Deputy Chairperson
Executive Director Sarianna Reinikainen, Finnish Diverse Learners’ Association
Members
Research Manager Jarkko Hautala, Niilo Mäki Institute
Information Systems Manager Nina Hyvönen, National Library of Finland
Executive Director Matthias Jakobsson, Finnish-Swedish Association for the Visually Impaired
Translator Laura Kalvas, Finnish Reading Centre
Producer Sakari Kilkki, Finnish Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Chairperson Ari Lahtinen, Library Association for the Visually Impaired
Coordinator Karoliina Mäki, Support Centre for Disabled Immigrants Hilma
Association Manager Markku Möttönen, Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired
Consulting Instructor Tuija Piili-Jokinen, Valteri Centre for Learning and Consulting
Director of Library Services Jouni Pääkkölä, Oulu City Library
The Board of Directors also includes the Director of Accessibility Library Celia Minna von Zansen as a member and Planner Sami Määttä as a staff representative.
Celia’s operations are guided by the following values:
Equity
The very basic mission of Celia is to promote equity. People have different starting points and opportunities, and equal treatment is not always enough to ensure equity. By promoting equity in reading, we are actively making sure that even people with print disabilities can read, study and learn on their own terms.
Customer orientation
Customer orientation means considering the experiences of our customers and the expertise of our service partners as part of the planning, implementation and evaluation of our services.
Collaboration
Collaboration is the ability to work together to accomplish things that all participants can be satisfied with. When collaboration is reciprocal, based on trust and aiming for a common goal, it becomes a partnership. Together with our partners, we can more fully reach people with print disabilities within our services and promote accessible publication and equity in reading with maximum efficiency. That is why we foster national, Nordic and international cooperation as well as in-house partnerships at all levels of our operation.
Development
Continuous development means being prepared for the future, allowing us to address changes in the needs of our customers and the environment in which we operate. We develop the customer orientation, quality, impact, accountability and efficiency of our operations. We support development through active cooperation in both domestic and international networks and by structured accumulation of competences.