Using the Reading Rooms if you have Dyslexia (part 2 of our Dyslexia Week blogs)
Hi, I'm James, a Reading Room Assistant at Gladstone's Library.
I’d like to tell you about features of the Reading Rooms I have found to be dyslexia friendly, both as a staff member, and as a reader.
Firstly, there’s our searchable catalogue and straightforward classmark system which make finding books easy (with a little practice). We also have labels on each bookcase telling you what topics and classmark numbers are shelved there. The classmark system was devised by William Ewart Gladstone and is unique, so there are no widespread online guides, but you can always ask staff who are happy to help you get to grips with it. Personally, I find the Gladstone classmark style more accessible than, for instance, the Dewey Decimal System because the letter-number/number code is shorter and does not include as many subsections.
The entire Reading Rooms are a quiet non-distracting environment. They are also well lit with additional desk lamps if needed, making it easier to focus on work than in other locations.
Speaking of desks, ours are almost all large, self-contained workspaces that allow one to stay organised and not be distracted by other readers’ books.
There is more often than not a whole bookcase between desks, which offers users a self-contained area to work within.
One of the separate, partly self-contained work spaces.
If reading is challenging, sometimes it’s nice to have an interesting book to keep you engaged. Thankfully though, the core collections of the Library are built around the themes of history and politics, theology, and classical and contemporary literature, so we have a huge selection of books for you to choose from.
Archives can be difficult places for dyslexics to use. I had wanted to visit an archives years before I built up the courage to do so. At Gladstone’s Library our archives are administered one file at a time on a large, light desk where you will have as long as you need to study the items you wish to see between the hours of 9:30am to 4.30pm. You can take as many breaks as you want or need, you just have to hand the material that you are looking at back to staff before you go so that we can make sure the items are secure at all times and to limit their exposure to light, which will fade text over time. Gladstone’s Library has a café/restaurant and a lovely comfy sitting room where you can go to relax.
We also have our digitisation project underway to create digital copies of all of William Gladstone’s correspondence in the library’s Glynne-Gladstone Archive, which will improve accessibility to the letters by making them more searchable and will mean that the text can be engaged with in new ways, such as by zooming in – which is very useful when the handwriting is especially loopy! This initiative is being led by our Archivist, Alexandra, and our Digitisation Officers, Geoff and Paul.
Finally, our friendly, helpful staff are always willing to assist you where we can.
Sources:
Signs of dyslexia - British Dyslexia Association (bdadyslexia.org.uk)
Dyslexia - Symptoms - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Dyslexic-friendly summary: Blocks of texts can be difficult for those with dyslexia, so below is a bullet point summary of this article.
- Searchable catalogue
- Quiet, non-distracting environment
- Letters and descriptions on end of each bookshelf helps keep track of what’s where
- Light reading rooms with additional desk lamps if required
- Designated Reading Rooms so you can separate activities and not get distracted if staying at the Library
- We have a large selection of interesting books
- Large, single person desks, helps keep you organised
- Digitisation project underway to create digital copies of some of our archival items
- Helpful, friendly staff