Overview

This is a great building in a lovely location and is well-connected to public transport links. It sits right on the dock, so the surrounding area was really lovely and there were lots of places where you could sit outside and enjoy the view. It’s right next door to Canada Water Tube Station and Canada Water Bus Station. The ground floor of the building has a cafe, toilets and a theatre. While the theatre wasn’t open when I visited, I could hear some operatic singing coming from inside which was exciting! There was an accessible toilet on this floor but it was quite small and cramped. The cafe was nice with a large selection of snacks, drinks and bigger dishes, such as toasties and sandwiches. It didn’t have a lowered counter but the staff were really helpful and brought my order over to me at my table. There was a small amount of seating for those using the cafe. The tables were standard height (not raised, bar height) with wooden chairs that could be moved as needed. There were two lifts that took you to the other floors where the main part of the library was located. A large curved staircase in the centre of the building also took you up to the main part of the library. It had a grab rails on both sides of the staircase and flat sections as you went up. The first floor had the main part of the library with most of the books that were available. This included the fiction section, the children’s library and a DVD section. There was a helpdesk located by the lifts, as well as self-service stations. Some computer stations were also on this floor, as well as a dock where you could borrow a tablet. The top floor was smaller and was like a balcony overlooking the first floor of the main library and it had some more genres available. This area was much quieter and was clearly for more focused work. This floor was also where the meeting rooms were located. There were lots of seating options on both floors of the library: larger tables for groups and a selection of individual seating options. The group areas were standard tables and chairs usually with a power socket nearby. The individual seating options varied, some were individual desks, some longer communal desks and some more comfortable seating. They also had printing facilities available on both floors. There were three accessible toilets here although one was out of order when I visited. One of them was marked as a Changing Places Toilet although it was quite small and seemed to be missing certain components of a Changing Places Toilet. Overall, it's a lovely library with a good selection of items to loan. The cafe had an impressive selection on offer and the staff were great. The toilets might have been a struggle for those with more complex access needs but having more than one on site gave more options. It felt like a safe space where you could relax or get some work done.

Transport & Parking

4.5

The library didn’t have any parking available. If you were looking for parking nearby, there is a large car park that is for the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre which is just over 300 metres from the library. Right next door are Canada Water Tube Station and Canada Water Bus Station. Canada Water Tube Station is accessible and you can get the Jubilee line or the Windrush (Overground) line from here. The bus station has a large number of buses that stop here. There are four different stops so make sure to check the signs to make sure you’re at the right place for the bus you want. The buses that stop here are: 1, 47, 188, 199, 225, 381, C10, P12, N199, N381

Access

4

There were two entrances to the library, one on each side of the building. They both had revolving doors and then a second door next to it that opened when you pressed a button. One brought me into the main reception area and the other came into the cafe. There were two lifts that took you to the other floors of the building and these had tactile buttons and braille. Inside the lift, the buttons were split into two columns. The placement of the button indicated which side of the lift the doors will open at each floor. This isn’t something I’ve ever seen before but I thought it was a great idea! Most of the shelving in the library didn’t go up too high, even in my wheelchair I was mostly able to reach books on the highest shelf. The shelves on the top floor of the building were slightly different to those on the main floor, these were a bit harder to reach. The main helpdesk on the first floor had a lowered counter, although some of the self-service options, such as the printers and self-service book-checkout counter were a bit high. For the most part the building was quite quiet, as libraries often are! The top floor was definitely the quietest part. There may be times where some parts get louder if it was busier or if there were certain events or activities, such as by the children’s library or in the cafe. Some power sockets were available, these were mainly located near the seating areas, especially by the larger tables and desks. I didn’t see any alternative formats being used apart from Braille on the lift buttons. The cafe on the ground floor didn’t have a lowered counter but the staff were very helpful and brought my order to me. The seating available was a good height to sit at in my wheelchair and the seats were able to be moved as needed around the table. I also noticed water fountains in the library too.

Toilets

3

There were three accessible toilets here. One on the ground floor and two on the first floor. Ground floor: this toilet was very small and cramped. It wasn’t helped that it had an unusual shape, rather than being a standard rectangle. One of the walls was more diagonal meaning the room narrowed as you came through the door. There was also a radiator just inside the door too which also cut into the space. The door opened outwards and had a simple twist lock on the door. The door had a grab rail on the inside and a lowered coat hook. There were a number of fixed grab rails installed around the toilet and sink. One vertical one mounted to the wall behind the toilet and one horizontal one mounted on the other side of the toilet. Two vertical ones were mounted on either side above the sink. An additional grab rail was also mounted by the toilet which could be raised and lowered. There was also a support cushion behind the toilet for those that needed something to lean on. There wasn’t really enough space to do a right- or left-side transfer, you needed to be able to swivel onto the toilet. The flush was operated by buttons mounted to the wall behind the toilet which were fairly large. The sink had a tap that was automatic and a soap dispenser that needed to be pushed with the base of the palm. The hand dryer was operated via a button and was located on the wall opposite the sink next to a large mirror. The emergency red cord was hanging freely, to the floor. This toilet also had baby-changing facilities inside. First floor: this floor had another accessible toilet as well as one marked as a Changing Places Toilet. The standard accessible toilet was out of order when I visited. The Changing Places Toilet was much smaller than many others I’ve seen. The door to the Changing Places Toilet opened outwards and had a simple handle and twist lock. It wasn’t heavy and there was a grab rail mounted on the inside to help with closing the door from the inside. There were also three coat hooks on the inside of the door, two at the higher up, and one lower down. There was a bench in this toilet but no sign of a hoist. It also wasn’t clear if the bench was able to be adjusted very much. The toilet had space for a right-side transfer although a bin had been put in this space so it could have got in the way slightly for some people. There was a vertical and a horizontal grab rail mounted to the wall behind the toilet, the horizontal one was just below the flush and perhaps was meant to have a support cushion on it that was missing. Another horizontal grab rail was mounted to the wall on the other side of the toilet. The flush was operated by buttons mounted on the wall behind the toilet. This panel wasn’t too high and the buttons were fairly large. Another two vertical grab rails were mounted on either side above the sink. The tap was operated with an automatic sensor while the soap dispenser needed to be pushed with the base of the palm and the hand dryer had a button. The emergency red cord was hanging freely, to the floor.

Staff

5

The staff in the cafe were really helpful and offered lots of assistance to make things easier. I didn’t interact much with the library staff but there were a good number of people around.