The Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities creates an unprecedented opportunity for enabling access to printed works for people with print disabilities.

Libraries play a key role in facilitating access, and the Getting Started guide was conceived to enable staff in libraries of all types to take practical steps on how to start using the Marrakesh Treaty, and to deliver materials into the hands of print-disabled readers.

The Republic of Kenya joined the Marrakesh Treaty in 2017, and in 2019 implemented the treaty’s requirements into domestic copyright law. The amendments are contained in the Copyright (Amendment) Act No. 20 of 2019.

Now libraries in Kenya can start using the treaty, and can send and receive accessible format materials from other Marrakesh countries. 

This Kenyan edition of the Getting Started guide, adapted for local law, is based on the international version of the guide published in 2018. It was prepared by Jonathan Band, PLLC and checked by the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO). Additional information was provided by EIFL partner, the Kenya Libraries and Information Services Consortium (KLISC). 

We hope the guide will encourage libraries in Kenya to make full use of their new rights, and that it will contribute to an increase in the availability of reading materials for people with print disabilities.

The guide is a joint publication of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the World Blind Union (WBU), EIFL, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), and the University of Toronto Scarborough.

You can access the PDF version of the guide by clicking the Download button on the left, or click here to download the Word version.

More about EIFL’s work advocating for the Marrakesh Treaty.