Two new single-user restrooms now available in Alden Library

For many on the Athens Campus, Alden Library is a popular destination for studying and research. Offering a wide variety of areas for quiet and collaborated group study, like the popularity of the sixth and seventh floors, Alden is a haven for students, faculty and community members alike.

Over winter break, the Libraries’ leadership just increased the popularity of the sixth and seventh floors by adding a single-user restroom on each of those floors.  

“We are working to make our building as user focused as possible,” said Hanna Schmillen, assistant dean for Research and Education Services. “It's an old building, with limitations, and a swap like this is a small way we can help increase the useability and access of the building's facilities.”

Upgrading Alden Library’s facilities by increasing access to restrooms on all its floors has been an ongoing goal for many years.  

Schmillen explained, “It is highly inconvenient for any user of the Library to have to travel to a different floor to just use a restroom. By swapping the restrooms on the sixth and seventh floors from a specific gender …to a single-user bathroom, Library users [now] do not have to navigate to another floor.” 

From a facilities perspective, the changeover was intentionally simple and required minimal construction, which includes lockable exterior doors and ADA-compliant signage being added to direct users to accessible restrooms on other floors.

“These updates move us one step closer to the broader goals of inclusivity by providing safe, private and welcoming restrooms.” said Robin Wooten, facilities manager for the Libraries. “In addition, the changes help align with accessibility expectations and applicable legal and ethical standards.”

Although librarians and staff are still updating all the signage and readying the restrooms, the changeover is considered a simple resolve to a somewhat complex social issue.

“In the grand scheme of things, this seemed like a reasonable solution without undergoing a large renovation of the restrooms,” said Schmillen. “Perhaps that [renovation] can come once we have completed our master planning …of the renovation of Alden Library.”

Additional OHIO listings can be found here: Single User and Family Restrooms - Athens Campus.