Thank you to everyone who replied on this topic. It would appear that
it is an area lots of people have had trouble finding definitive
information as to what is best practice or even what the regulations
might be. The DDA legislation obviously needs to be considered, and this
may include thinking about the height of shelving as well as the width
between it - space allowing.
In general most libraries appear to work to an aisle width of at least
36" or 1 metre.
Many thanks
Marie
The following gives a quick run down of the main points raised.
Aisle width in Stacks
BS 5454:2000, Recommendations for the storage and exhibition of archival
documents, (this includes library materials) says: 'Gangways should not
be less than 1100mm wide. Aisles should not be less than 750mm wide, but
in any event wide enough to allow the withdrawal and replacement of
documents without damage.'
We work on 1 metre width but if it's a long aisle you really need a way
out at the other end. A metre doesn't allow a wheelchair to turn round,
and it's difficult to reverse long distances.
Here in the United States we are required by the Americans With
Disabilities Act to have at least 3 feet of space between library stacks
(both open and closed stacks) to accommodate wheelchairs and zimmers.
The American Disability Act requires 36", but recommends 42".
When we last consulted the Health and Safety Executive (2005) they told
us that there were no general standards in this area.
According to the Equal Opportunities Commission (2004)
http://www.eoc.org.uk/, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 doesn't
specify any distances for things like ramps, doors, corridors and
distance between bookshelves.
The /New Metric Handbook/ suggests a minimum width of 1500-1800mm
between the midline of the stacks lengthwise, and between 1200-1800mm
between the end of a stack, and the start of the next.
We found guidelines in the following book:
Pickersgill, Christine. Designing to enable. Gateshead Access Panel,
1999 ISBN - 0953080005
We had this problem when we did our refurb in 2003 and at that time I
could not find any decent advice. However this American website makes
some recommendations. http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm
--------------------
Marie Hitchcock
Assistant Librarian
Zoological Society of London
Regent's Park
London NW1 4RY
Tel: 020 7449 6293 Fax: 020 7586 5743
http://www.zsl.org
Library catalogue http://library.zsl.org
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