I've recently had an operation, and my mobility has been less than stellar. I'm getting better everyday, but I still have difficulty doing anything at floor level.
I can finally reach down to the floor to pick something up (previously, once it hit the floor it was lost to me), but I can't really spend any quality time down there.
This has made me realise how important it is for libraries to get their collections off the floor.
In the last few days I have found myself in two different libraries where the book I wanted was on the bottom shelf, and the bottom shelf was barely inches higher than the floor.
As I had great difficulty bending down long enough to read the titles of the books to find what I wanted, I found this experience to be particularly unpleasant.
It was also disheartening, as the minute I saw the section I wanted was on the bottom shelf I knew it would be difficult for me. Both times I seriously considered giving up on the books I wanted rather than putting myself through that kind of discomfort.
In both cases, the effort I had to expend to try to search the shelves at floor height was too much. I ended up leaving earlier than I had originally intended, simply because the collection itself had worn me out.
Now, when I mentioned this to one of my colleges, her first question was "why didn't you just ask one of the librarians to get it for you?"
The answer is simple and twofold: a) I'm stubborn, and b) I don't feel like asking for help every single time I can't reach something that looks like it should be within reach.
Asking for help for such simple little things is also unpleasant.
Now, I'm currently having issues with floor-height shelving because I'm recovering from an operation, but when you think about it there are a lot of people with long-term mobility issues (anything from a dodgy back or knee to being in a wheelchair) who would naturally have trouble bending down for long periods of time to look for things.
So, I'd really like to take this opportunity to encourage any library who still has their bottom shelves at floor height to get the collection off the floor.
It's not as trivial as you think, if it is causing your clients pain, discomfort and dismay.
