Circulation Procedure Topic

1
Circulation Procedure Topic

• Jayne Ahrens
• LIBR120
• Fall 2003

2
Accessibility Safety at Work

• Ive been working in the Highline Community
  College Library Media Services Department for the
  past year. Since I use a wheelchair, when I first
  started I faced a few challenges in my work
  environment. For example, videos stored on
  shelves out of my reach, circulation keyboards
  inconveniently located, a desk too small to
  accommodate my chair -some of the basics that is.
  I talked these issues over with my coworkers,
  supervisor, Gerie Ventura and the department
  head, Tom Pollard. We brainstormed some ideas and
  have been able to address a lot of the problems
  and make some changes that make my work
  environment more user friendly. Most of the
  changes weve made have cost very little or have
  cost nothing at all. These adaptations havent
  detracted from the efficiency or aesthetics of
  the work area.

3
The Circulation Counter

• Before This keyboard is located on the counter.
  It is high, making it difficult to see and
  inconvenient to use by someone in a wheelchair.
• After A sliding tray was placed in the open
  space under the counter to hold the keyboard.
  Its at a good height for someone in a
  wheelchair. It slides in and out so when not in
  use its out of the way. There are two
  circulation terminals. One was left as is and one
  made accessible. The sliding tray was found in
  department storage. The terminal screen is turned
  and tipped forward to make it easier to see and
  read.

4
The Collection and the Stacks

• This past summer while weeding the collection the
  video storage was reorganized. Shelving units
  were rearranged to accommodate a wheelchair
  passing between them. Shelves were lowered
  making it so I can now reach the videos on the
  top row. On the very bottom shelves, videos and
  other library materials were shelved facing down
  so that their call numbers face up. I think
  everyone likes that. Now they dont have to squat
  down to read call numbers.

5
Shelves Before After

6
The Desk and the Computer
AFTER
BEFORE

• We were able to track down a wheelchair
  accessible desk already in the department that
  wasnt being used.
• There is a barcode scanner located on the desk
  too, which makes discharging large quantities of
  materials easier.

7
Safety Issue - Mobility

• The Media Department is located on the sixth
  floor of the library. If there is an emergency
  like an earthquake, a fire or even a power outage
  the elevators quit operating. The thought of
  being in a wheelchair and stuck on the sixth
  floor during one of these occurrences can give
  one cause for concern. The Highline Library is
  equipped with evacuation chairs (on the sixth
  floor) in each of the two stairwells. These are
  chairs that can climb stairs and are specifically
  made for getting people with mobility problems
  out of a building in an emergency situation.
  Several of my coworkers have been trained in
  operating them. The evacuation chairs were here
  before I came to work at Highline. As an extra
  safety measure, Ive told Security which
  stairwell Id use in an emergency evacuation.

8
Safety Issue - Visibility

• There arent a lot of windows on the sixth floor
  of the library. If a power outage occurred it
  could get pretty dark up there, especially at
  night. There are flashlights placed in chargers
  in several different places in case of an
  emergency. Theres one near my desk. It looks
  like this and sits in a charger placed at a
  height where it would be easy for me to quickly
  grab it if I needed to.

9
Safety Issue - Communication

• If for some reason the telephones quit working in
  the library, I could still call out, to Security
  for example, on the campus 2-way radio. We also
  have a set of walkie-talkies sitting in a charger.

10
Media Services Hours

• The Media Services Department (located on the
  sixth floor) is open during library hours.
• SUN 200 PM to 1000 PM
• MON - FRI 700 AM to 1000 PM
• SAT 1200 PM to 400 PM

PERKS - Got to have good access to the coffee
maker!