Adapting the library building for accessibility
Based on: Design and adaptation of libraries and services (Best Practice Manual) by Dr. Gillian Burrington
Introduction
Libraries which are physically accessible and sensitive to the needs of people with sight problems will also be more accessible and easy to use for everyone else. Moreover, people with severe sight problems are more likely to come to an accessible library where they feel they have a chance of selecting material for themselves rather than relying on an intermediary.
Many of the accessibility features mentioned on this chapter can be achieved at no extra cost. Having suitable colour contrast (which need not be garish or ugly) is one easy and cost-effective way to improve access for people with sight problems. The points below should also be used when briefing architects or designers, who should be persuaded (if they are not already) that access and aesthetics are equally important in good design.
Where major refurbishment is planned it can be sensible to have an access audit carried out by an organisation which specialises in disability, and who will also work with designers and architects to ensure that best practice in physical access is achieved.
The approach to the library
Set-down points, parking, bus-stops etc. should be less than 50 metres (and ideally no more than 20) from the main entrance. There should be a high-contrast signpost to the entrance from drop-off or parking point.
Pathways should be even and in good condition. They should be well-lit. Large open areas should have tactile directional guidance paving, as indicated in the Building Regulations.
Ramps help many blind and partially sighted people as much as they help people with impaired mobility. BS 8300 gives detailed information about the requirements of ramps of different lengths and styles.
Most ramps need hand rails at both sides at a minimum of 900mm and a maximum of 1000mm high. There should also be a safety kerb of 100mm on the edge of the ramp itself, so that white canes (or wheels) do not slip off. A secondary rail at 600mm should be provided for children’s safety. Handrails should be in a colour which contrasts with the immediate surroundings, should extend at least 300mm beyond the start and finish of the ramp and follow the rise and landings. They should also be comfortable and easy to grip.
Ramps should be shallow enough for easy ascent and have landings at their head and foot. These should be at least as wide as the ramp, and a minimum of 1200mm long clear of any door swing or obstruction. No single length of a ramp should be longer than 10 metres, or have arise of more than 500mm. Intermediate landings should be 1500mm long. The maximum permitted gradient of 1 in 12, needs a landing every 2 metres. The minimum surface width of a ramp should be 1200mm. The surface should be non-slip and have good drainage.
Entering the library
Entrance doors should be clearly visible and should have 1500 x 1500mm circulation space at each side. They should be clearly differentiated from their surround. Solid doors should be painted in a colour which contrasts with their frame and surroundings. Glass doors should have a solid frame and need a visible etched band between 900 and 1500mm above finished floor level (FFL). A lower band at 600mm helps blind and partially sighted children.
If entrance doors do not open automatically they should be clearly marked with “push” or “pull” in high contrast to the surrounding area. Door handles should also contrast well with the main door colour. Doors should be balanced in such a way as to open easily.
If doors are fitted with an automatic closing device, these should not be so strong as to cause problems for people with sight loss or those who move slowly.
Power operated (automatic) doors are of two types:
a) Manually operated by pressing a control button. If these are used the control panel should contrast well with its surroundings.
b) Operated by a sensor which detects heat or movement. These benefit from some sound indication that they are opening or closing.
Revolving doors - even the large power operated type - are as inaccessible for people with sight loss as for wheelchair users, so should either be changed or have an adjacent side-hung door which can be used as an alternative.
Where a threshold to protect against weather is essential, this should be as low as feasible, and in a colour which contrasts with the surrounding pathway.
Inside the library
The issue or reception counter should be easy for people with sight loss to find, either by being close to the entrance, or well-signposted.
Lighting is important to all but the 4% of people with sight loss who have no light perception. The greater the light reflectance value of the dominant surrounding colours, the more effective the lighting will be. Key points about light include:
Evenness of level of lighting is helpful to older and people with sight loss.
Standard fluorescent tubes with diffusers, or halogen bulbs (which should not shine directly into anyone’s eyes) should give an overall even level of lighting and will be satisfactory for most people with severe sight problems.
It is important to avoid having some dim and some well-lit areas, so any missing or failed lamps should always be replaced immediately.
Some fluorescent lights can interfere with hearing aids.
Additional lighting for particular areas should be directed at the material being lit (e.g. a display) only, and not into anyone’s eyes. Lighting inside display cases should shine downwards and the lamps should be concealed.
Colour and colour contrast are key features of designing an environment which will be helpful to people with sight loss. Contrast does not have to be garish. Contrast comes from tone and depth of pigment. People with sight loss use colour change as their main means of orientation. Colour contrast is therefore also an important safety feature.
The ICI Design Guide for the use of colour and contrast (ICI, 1997) gives detailed information about the way people use colour, and gives tables for both monochrome and contrasting colour schemes which are based on their Dulux range. What the eye sees as colour is a combination of the proportions of hue, light reflectance value, and chroma or depth of pigment. It is therefore possible to have good contrast between different shades and depth of the same colour.
Horizontal circulation
Entrance mats should be flush with the main floor surface so as not to be a hazard (or impede wheelchair users, who have additional requirements about mats). Corduroy-style mats are recommended.
Floor covering should be non-slip and low-friction (non-grip). The best floor covering for motor impaired, hearing impaired and people with sight loss is high density, low pile carpet with no strong directional weave.
Keep the floor-covering in good condition, as even small tears or uneven joins can be a hazard for people with sight problems.
Flarepaths, indicating direction, should contrast with the surrounding floor-covering in colour and ideally in texture as well.
All circulation routes should be kept free of permanent or temporary hazards, such as plant pots, rubbish bins or piles of books etc. Nor should such objects be places adjacent to doorways, lifts or stairs.
Furniture should contrast with floors and walls. Where possible furniture should have solid sides or rails within a range of 75-100mm from finished floor level so it can be located by someone using a white cane. Such rails should not be used at the seating area of tables as they will impede wheelchair users. Furniture should be kept clear of the main circulation route.
Shelving should ideally, according to the revised recommendations, fall within the optimum viewing band of 850-1750mm FFL, if it is to help most people with sight loss. However, this conflicts with the needs of wheelchair users whose extended reach is in the range of 650-1150mm. It is therefore more important that guiding is clear (see 12.9.2), and that staffing levels allow time for help to be given if it is needed.
Wall-mounted furniture should not project more than 100mm from the wall, and need a hazard warning in the form of a kerb or barrier which can be detected by someone using a mobility cane if they are located adjacent to a circulation route or on a corridor.
Displays should be inset so they are level with the surrounding wall surface, or they should be in clearly visible display cases which contrast with the adjacent wall and floor covering. If they are glazed it should be with non-reflective glass.
Signage and guiding should be in mixed case as it is more difficult to read anything which is in written only in capitals. Mixed case allows people who do not see clearly, to recognise the broad shapes of words, even if they have difficulty identifying individual characters. A plain typeface like this one (Arial) is easier to read than one with serifs, such as Times New Roman. Helvetica medium, Futura and Avant Garde are also recommended in BS 8300. It should have good colour contrast with the background, be of adequate size and thickness, and be of non-reflective material. Laminating signs and notices causes reflection from lights and windows which makes them more difficult for everyone to read.
In large buildings, consideration should be given to having a tactile map of the building near the entrance. Local authority/HE establishment Access Officers, where appointed, or local societies for people with sight loss, can provide advice on what signage is needed and where it should be positioned to be of maximum benefit.
Guiding on the end of bays should be within the range of 1200-1700mm FFL. BS 8300 recommends that it should have an “x” (lower case) height of at least 30mm. Guiding on the top of bays should have an “x” height of at least 40mm. The shelf guiding at 1200mm above FFL which is recommended for wheelchair users also helps people with sight loss, as long as it uses high contrast with the surrounding shelves, as it gives a standard orientation point.
Vertical circulation
Lifts
Lifts provide the best and safest means of vertical circulation. They should stop level with the floor. Control buttons should be horizontal, at 900-1100mm above FFL and should have Braille as well as Arabic floor numbers. Voice floor and door announcements are recommended. The Building Regulations guidance for wheelchair access to lifts also helps people with sight loss.
Mirrors at the back of lift cages should be clearly etched or in sections with a contrasting band between, so people with severe sight problems do not mistake their reflection for someone leaving the lift and stand back whilst the doors close against them.
Lift doors should be timed to remain open for 20-25 seconds.
Stairs
Stairs should be at a 90 degrees angle to the main circulation route. The area under the stairs should be enclosed so as not to constitute a hazard to people with sight loss.
Circulation space should be 1500 x 1500mm at the top and bottom of the stairs. This space should be covered with the half-rod shaped profile in corduroy or other firm material as is required by Building Regulations Part M.
Stair treads. Open treads are dangerous, so treads should be enclosed. For the same reason the maximum overhang of each tread over the next should be 25mm. Treads should be a minimum of 1000mm wide and 280mm from front to back. Ideally the rise should be within the range of 150 to 170mm, but the maximum rise normally permitted is 170mm. Contrasting coloured nosings at the edge of each tread make stairs safer for everyone. They must be flush with the rest of each step.
Handrails are essential. They should be fitted at both sides and be at 900-1000mm above the stair profile. They should be of 45-50mm thickness, continuous, and follow the rise of the stairs. They should finish at least 300mm beyond the top and bottom step, and ideally 500mm. Stairs wider than 1800mm or more need a central handrail as well. The rails should contrast with the colour of the carpet and adjacent walls. If the staircase is not enclosed in a stairwell, transparent side-panels provide the best protection. An additional rail at 450 to 550mm above FFL makes stairs easier for visually impaired children.
A diagram showing how stairs in a library should be designed.
Ramps
Internal ramps are helpful to people with severe sight problems. Ramps which rise above 600mm should have protective rails. Long ramps should have side protection in the same way as external ramps, and as they will also be helping wheelchair users, protective sides should be transparent but with an etched pattern so they are visible.
Key documents
BS 8300. (2001). Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people. British Standards Institute.
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. (1999). The Building Regulations 1991. Approved Document M: access and facilities for disabled people. Stationery Office. 1999 edition. (The government has indicated that the next edition of Part M will incorporate the standards set out in BS 8300).
RNIB. (1997). Clearprint guidelines. London: RNIB.
ICI. (1997). Design guide to the use of colour and contrast to improve the built environment for people with sight loss. ICI.