Description of the facility

The library is partially accessible. To the left of the main entrance, a staircase leads to the basement, where visitors can go down to the cloakroom and café.
Straight ahead from the main entrance, there are also stairs. At the top of these stairs, to the left, is the book lending office, and the central staircase leads further to the large reading room and exhibition spaces. To the right of the staircase is the entrance to the computer room, which was closed at the time of inspection and will soon be renovated. Behind the computer room, in the connecting corridor, there are adapted sanitary facilities, but both in the corridor for access and inside them, there is little maneuvering space.
Due to the numerous stairs, the main entrance is completely inaccessible for wheelchair users. Therefore, a side entrance has been arranged on the right side of the building, where visitors can enter directly into the small reading room using a card. Here, mobility-impaired visitors can also request and receive materials.
For access to other parts of the building, an elevator nearby provides access to all floors and collections on higher levels. Due to the size of the building and the placement of the elevator, routes through the building for wheelchair users are long and complex. Much of the accessibility is facilitated by using a card to open several motorized interior doors.
The building is not well lit.

Adjustments:

Mobility impaired:

  • the side entrance is adapted for wheelchair users,
  • the reception desk in the small reading room is at a height suitable for wheelchair users,
  • a ramp is provided at the entrance to the café,
  • there is enough maneuvering space inside,
  • many doors inside open automatically for cardholders,
  • movable seats are provided in the reading rooms,
  • the building has an elevator of suitable dimensions,
  • adapted sanitary facilities are available in the building.

Blind and visually impaired:

  • the entrance to the building is clearly recognizable,
  • elevator buttons are in relief,
  • edges of the staircase leading to the basement are contrast-marked.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing:

  • the rooms are properly sound-insulated.

Deficiencies:

Mobility impaired:

  • the main entrance is not accessible (due to stairs),
  • the accessible side entrance is not signposted,
  • the reception desk and the café counter are not at a height suitable for wheelchair users,
  • there is insufficient maneuvering space in the interior (sanitary facilities and corridor in front of them).

Blind and visually impaired:

  • the reception desk is not located directly near the entrance,
  • the path to the distant reception desk is not tactilely marked,
  • the central staircase is not equipped with a handrail,
  • edges of the central staircase are not contrast-marked,
  • the exhibition space is not adequately lit,
  • glass doors in the manuscript collection are not contrast-marked,

Deaf and hard-of-hearing:

  • the building is not equipped with a hearing loop.