More about accessibility

Sometimes people tell me things. Today, someone mentioned an elderly relative who uses a walker not liking a particular library location in his town for several reasons. I've heard variations on this theme several times before, and thought I'd share some of these things plus a thought or two of my own. Back to the things I've heard: frequently, those who use walkers, crutches, or have orthopedic problems happen also to be elderly, and make use of things such as large print books. They do not want to have to go to the back of a large building to get to them,
and good lighting and a chair are nice when they arrive. And it's even better if they are not right next to the teen or toddler area. Granted, everything in a building can't be five feet from the entrance, but thoughtful placement is important. And floor surfaces that don't echo with every step are nice for everyone, with a nice even surface for canes and wheelchairs, and baby strollers, and book trucks, too. And as you may or may not know, some impairments are invisible; accessible parking places are often NOT very close to an entrance, which may be a short distance for someone in a wheelchair, but might be impossibly far for someone with COPD (chronic obstrucitve pulmonary disease, or "breathing trouble" for civilians).

Now, I don't think anyone ever purposely designs things in an impractical manner, or maliciously makes navigation difficult, but I do think there are a lot of people who, through no fault of their own, are oblivious to these types of concerns. With the whole world competing for one's limited attention, it may be the case that someone has never had any type of disability, temporary or permanent, and has not closely associated with others who have or do. Hence, no real awareness of accessibility is needed. We all routinely filter out information we don't need, otherwise we'd be overloaded. But there aren't many of us who at a later time haven't looked back and wished we'd paid more attention to something that seemed irrelevant at the time.