My college library--not terribly accessible

[killing_rose]

I'm in the middle of a gluten reaction. My joints are on fire and walking very far is not only painful, it's just not possible. Unfortunately, I had to return a DVD to our school library and pick up something for a class.

Until my body flips out, I always forget the extent to which our school fails at accessibility. (I never forget that it does fail; it's hard to miss the fact that there are elevators in fewer than six campus buildings, and stairs in all 25.) I just miss some of the nuances. 

But today provided me with an extremely good example: First of all, you have to walk up a flight of stairs to enter the library. The elevator, I am compelled to point out, is inside the library proper; you would have to get the attention of someone upstairs to get access the elevator from the ground floor. Then, to get to to the books you need, you walk up (or down) two to three flights of excessively curving stairs. The elevator is away from the main part of the library because it is for library staff to use.

The rational conclusion for someone with problems climbing these stairs? Use the elevator! Except students aren't allowed to use the elevator. Not unless you have an obvious reason for doing so--and crutches don't count. Let alone, "I'm sorry, but my joints are too inflamed to walk that far." So I clung to the railing and tried very hard not to pitch headfirst down the stairs.

My trip to the library has exhausted my spoons for the foreseeable future. I am not pleased.

Comments

[ex_rising236]

That fails utterly.

My college has a pain in the ass to get to the library as well--but they'll let you use the elevator if you need to, or even if you ask.

[staranise]

It's crazy that they won't let students use the elevators, even with crutches. Fail times eleventy million.

[badgerbag]

complain higher up. It's against the law for them not to let you use the elevator if you need it.

[laughingrat]

That's horrible. I know that you shouldn't have to teach people, but do you know whether anyone's brought this to the attention of the library director? Although the library was probably built well before accessibility standards were in place and funds for appropriate renovations may be hard to come by, it's still entirely possible that once the problem has been brought to the director's attention, the process will be set in motion. The process is pretty slow, admittedly; our campus library has been in "pre-renovation" status for half a decade, apparently. It's one of those things about bureaucracy and money.

Librarians tend to be pretty liberal, and very public-oriented; although we're not all on-the-ball about accessibility, we tend to be open to the concept because we want the library to be available to all. I'd like to think that they'd be willing to help in some way, but maybe that's wishful thinking.

[jadelennox]

that's enraging. That does doesn't even sound legal.

*Hates on your behalf*

[codeman38]

Yeah... there is definitely an ADA complaint in there somewhere. Inability to use stairs does not mandate a wheelchair!

[killing_rose]

Which I'm going to explain to them today or tomorrow, depending upon when I have some shred of energy back.

[codeman38]

I'm personally amazed they didn't consider crutches sufficient reason to use the elevator.

[killing_rose]

I don't think it has although to be honest, I asked last year when this was an every day occurrence. Yesterday I was too wiped to even discuss it. However, I do know that at some point in the next ten years or so (they say in the next two or so; no one really believes that figure), the library is slated to be demolished and rebuilt. I would expect that, since the newest three buildings are very accessible, the (new) library should be as well.

[laughingrat]

I hope so. That's a hell of a long time, though. In the meanwhile, they really ought to do something.

The home institution for my academic library job has a Disability Services department, and one of their duties is to advocate for students. Is there anything like that at your school? Seems like individual students really shouldn't have to shoulder this. :-/

[killing_rose]

According to upthread, it's not. (Which I am not really surprised by. These are the people who still don't comprehend labeling food because of food allergies.)

You don't have to hate; it's so not worth it.

[killing_rose]

That one's always amazed me too; we have a rather ridiculous number of students a year who tear their ACL and leg braces and crutches are not uncommon sight. But neither is watching them basically hop up and down the library stairs.

[killing_rose]

I keep hoping they'll fail less, and then I hit a bad reaction and remember that they fail even more than I remember.

[killing_rose]

Pretty much.

[ex_rising236]

Ugh, hate when that happens. My college really doesn't fail (they even provide loaner electric wheelchairs for the people with a verifiable need for it that can't walk around campus, and I use that service fairly frequently) but so many other things around here do, and I do find myself falling into the same habit of hoping they won't and then holy crap it's awful.

[jesse_the_k]

The really galling part is -- if this school has received any U.S. Federal funds since 1973 (chances are 100% they have) then they've had to conform to the Rehab Act of 1973. So, that's 36 years in which to make the elevator work for everyone.