John Guise
The stairs, escalators, and narrow aisles of the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library signify an older time, a time when buildings were not designed to be accessible to everyone. That’s changed. It’s encouraging then to see that the library board has decided to make accessibility a priority when drawing up the plans for the new main library that will replace the old run-down building on Metcalfe Street.
The current library has significant accessibility problems. It is the exact opposite of what a library should be. Wheelchairs and strollers cannot enter the building through the main door. They have to use a cargo elevator to get to the upper floors of the building because the building only has escalators and stairs. This is not only an inconvenience, but also a humiliation for people with strollers and in wheelchairs. People also have difficulty obtaining books from the shelves because the aisles between the bookshelves aren’t wide enough. Add to this, not being able to check out books because the library’s circulation desk is on a raised level on the main floor, which is accessible only by stairs, and the library becomes an uninviting place to all but the able-bodied.
Library board chairman Rick Chiarelli, and city librarian Barbara Clubb are committed to making the proposed library more accessible. The doors will be designed so that people in wheelchairs or with strollers can get to the circulation desk without having to ask another patron for assistance to check out their books. Elevators will be accessible to both able and disabled people.
The library’s aisles will be widened to hold the book collection and so people can easily get up and down them. Shelves will be designed to make it easier for people to reach books on the top and bottom shelves without help. Adaptive technology devices will be available for the visually impaired so they are able to use more than the talking book service of the library.
Chiarelli says he would also like to turn Ottawa’s video stores into shuttle libraries. The public would be able to order a book from the library’s electronic catalogue and have it sent to their local video store. They could pick the book up at the video store and return it there.
Shuttle libraries are a great way for the city to make the full services of the library available to people who live in outlying communities or are unable to get to their nearest branch. Video stores are an excellent place for them, because they already circulate videos.
All these improvements will go a long way to making the library accessible to all. Our attitude has changed from the time the library was designed. We all have become aware of other groups in society. City services have to change to meet these people’s needs