<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Yes, Lorene, that's primarily why our restrooms were changed. Starting in June, one of the older buildings on our campus will be remodeled over a span of 15 months (our 'Health and Wellness Center') and we've asked
that they include a couple of single unisex restrooms. It would make a
lot of sense because the building will also house the gymnasium,
showers, etc. So far we've been told that it's too expensive, but the discussion continues. Valerie's feedback idea might be just the thing to push it through!<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family:garamond,serif"><font>Rhonda Alderman<br>
Lead Circulation/ILL<br>
Dora Badollet Library<br>
Clatsop Community College<br>
503-338-2462</font></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Mar 25, 2015 at 11:54 AM, Lorene Forman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:lorene@jcld.org" target="_blank">lorene@jcld.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">I think this idea of the survey has merit, Valerie, and it's very important for everyone to feel comfortable using the restrooms in our libraries. One thing to keep in mind is that unisex bathrooms allow for transgender people to use the restrooms comfortably. Trans people are a minority in our society. If the majority gets to decide, say through number of negative comments about unisex bathrooms tallied, then I fear that the needs of trans people may not be honored. <div><div><br></div><div>That said, older library buildings were not built to accommodate unisex bathrooms or bathrooms for people with disabilities, for that matter. Remodels take time and are expensive. It's a complicated issue. It's important to be sensitive to everyone in the community, even those that don't speak out.</div><div><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_extra"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div>Lorene Forman</div><div>Jefferson County Library Youth Services Specialist</div><div><a href="tel:541-475-3351%2C%20ext%202" value="+15414753351" target="_blank">541-475-3351, ext 2</a></div><div><br><div style="overflow:hidden;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);text-align:left;border:medium none"><font color="#38761d" face="trebuchet ms, sans-serif"><a title="view quote" href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/willrogers386200.html" target="_blank"></a></font>“Comics are a gateway drug to literacy.”
Art Spiegelman<br><font style="text-decoration:none" color="#000000"><span></span></font></div></div><br></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Mar 25, 2015 at 9:18 AM, Valerie Hauser <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:vhauser@ccrls.org" target="_blank">vhauser@ccrls.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Rhonda, you might consider having a feedback form near the bathrooms, something like "How do you like our new unisex bathrooms? We appreciate your feedback." If people are having to wait in line or women are walking in on men who didn't lock the door, they would probably offer some clear feedback then and there. Sometimes, administrators don't listen to employees but do listen to their customers (students, library patrons), especially if enough of them squawk. If people are leaving the building to use restrooms elsewhere, that suggests a real problem for people with mobility issues and an inconvenience for everyone else.<span><font color="#888888"><div><br></div><div>Valerie Hauser</div><div>Jefferson Public Library</div></font></span></div><div><div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Mar 20, 2015 at 3:55 PM, Rhonda Alderman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ralderman@clatsopcc.edu" target="_blank">ralderman@clatsopcc.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">I really don't know how 'weird' that is, but here's our situation, for comparison:<br><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Our mid-80s library building has three floors: 1 is admin offices, 2 is library main, 3 is computer lab and learning commons. We previously had 2 public restrooms on the library main floor - a women's room with 2 stalls and a men's room with 1 stall and an open urinal. We have no staff restrooms. The restrooms are near the circ desk, so I see the related activity all day long.<br><br>In September, both our restrooms were designated unisex and bolts were put on the entry doors (not the stalls, the doors) to lock from the inside. This effectively cut our restroom capacity in half. We now have people regularly waiting for the restrooms, which almost never happened before. In addition, the pipes are old and the toilets occasionally get stopped up and we have to wait for facilities to come clear the blockage.<br><br>It has happened numerous times that a man will use the urinal without locking the door, and a woman will walk in on him. For most of us it's not really a big deal, but it does create a very awkward situation for some people. We're very happy that the campus is taking steps to accommodate our diverse student and patron population, but we're not entirely happy that it's our restrooms that were converted, though there wasn't much choice because they are the smallest restrooms on campus. We've complained, but to no avail, as yet. Some of the people who work in our building just go to use the restrooms in a different building.<br><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">I'm not sure this even meets code, we'll have to look into the occupancy limit, etc. for our building. In the meantime, we laugh... what else can you do?<br><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Cheers!</div><div class="gmail_extra"><span><font color="#888888"><br clear="all"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-family:garamond,serif"><font>Rhonda Alderman<br>
Lead Circulation/ILL<br>
Dora Badollet Library<br>
Clatsop Community College<br>
<a href="tel:503-338-2462" value="+15033382462" target="_blank">503-338-2462</a></font></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></font></span><div><div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Mar 20, 2015 at 2:59 PM, Leah Griffith <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:leah.griffith@newbergoregon.gov" target="_blank">leah.griffith@newbergoregon.gov</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">It's become a question of our strategic planning committee regarding the fact that we have two floors, but the public restrooms are only on the main floor. Our building was built in 1985 and perhaps that was normal then.<br>
<br>
I'm just curious for those public libraries with two or more floors; do you have public restrooms on each floor? This is more of a curiosity as we won't likely be turning our staff restroom on the 2nd floor into a public restroom anytime soon and I'm not seeing a remodel in our near future, but I'm just wondering if our library is "weird" in not having public restrooms on each floor.<br>
<br>
Thanks<br>
<br>
Leah<br>
<br>
**********************************<br>
Leah M. Griffith, Director<br>
Newberg Public Library<br>
503 E. Hancock Street Newberg, OR 97132<br>
P <a href="tel:503-537-1256" value="+15035371256" target="_blank">503-537-1256</a><br>
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