Steps and ramp

Handrail only near the steps; this set-up of a ramp and steps is favouring the walker that has no problems. It can be considered that the ramp is not meant for people with walking difficulties, but rather, either for a wheelchair user or for a parent with a pram, mainly because there is no handrail alongside the ramp. The handrail up the steps is a solid structure which is obviously designed for support, and will take a reasonable amount of pressure being put upon it, but the same facility does not exist for those needing to use the ramp; this is purely a compliance with the law, making certain that a ramp is available for people that require it. Disabled, and people with pushchairs, may consider that the establishment in question have done this for their benefit, whereas in reality it appears that it is in fact for the benefit of the establishment itself.

Choice of entrance

Steps, ramp, and handrails on both; here there is a choice of entrance that people may take. Both entrance possibilities have been allocated with substantially set handrails. The one to the right is obviously designed for disabled, and people with pushchairs and so forth; basically for anyone where the steps will become an issue. The steps are for those that can navigate them without a problem. But, here again, society is being shepherded in to different categories; those that are unable to use the steps have to approach the building from the side-on, and those that have no problems with the steps are permitted to approach the door head-on. This may seem a relatively obvious statement, but there is ample room for the placement of a ramp that allows for everyone to enter the building from the front, and not have to be restricted to walking alongside the building in a differently designated area. Basically, this structure ensures a form of division of space exists between the able-bodied and those that are not capable of using the steps for whatever reason makes it cumbersome for them to do so. Segregation of a form is going on in this instance.

Wide steps

Handrails galore; this wide step leads to the doors of a library. The width permits for people not to have to vie for space when wishing to enter the building whilst seeing someone exiting the building at the same time. There really is no reason for such a wide step set-up and no need for a handrail in the middle, unless the middle rail is attempting to act as a divider as found on the public highway, and therefore acting as a flow for human traffic in a similar way to that found on roads where vehicles are concerned. The rails are substantial indicating that they are for repeated usage and by a multitude of people; it is also possible that the width of the step in the design feature itself, which would allow for more people to use it simultaneously, was deliberately employed as a means of portraying the importance of the building in relation to how many people in society will make use of it; but not necessarily all at the same time, so these steps appear somewhat out of place. The edge of the steps has been strategically marked by the placing of circular inlays, so that the edge of the wide steps cannot be easily misjudged when entering or leaving the premises.

Closed

Thick wood structures bar the way. This is seen by society as a place that is permanently closed, or at least on a long-term temporary basis. The two indicators of this are the thick wooden beams that bar any attempt at access, which have also been firmly wedged up to the wall on either side of the door, as can be seen; the other indicator is the smeared-out glass panes in the door, which do not permit people to gaze through in order to see what is happening inside. The double doors with no handle on the outside indicate a store that is used by a lot of people, and a store that makes ease of access of prime importance for the customer. The bottom of the doors also allow the viewer to note that they expect to have a good deal of wear and tear, because the bottom of the door is reinforced with metal coverings to afford a degree of protection from feet that might otherwise damage the doors through repeated knocks.

Extended height on a fence

Extending the security in an upward direction, and showing history at the same time. The wall was initially a lower stone structure, one that allowed for a degree of privacy in the form of a boundary marker; it could easily have been climbed and access gained to the premises. The heightening of the fence shows two things about society; firstly, it indicates that the premises now serve a very different function, or function in a very different socially constructed arena, than the previous low stone wall; and secondly, it indicates that society values the remnants from the past because it was not just removed and replaced with the newer structure. The old wall and the new higher fence, act in unison; they are there now for the sole purpose of maintaining that absolutely nobody can gain access via the outer wall/fence area, but that a person must gain access through a specified designated entrance. Whatever is inside the boundary is informing those on the outside that they are not permitted to be a part of what is occurring on the other side, and that they are relegated to the position of Other within the same society.

Exit/ no way in

No entry allowed. This is the exit point for people that are within the library area of the Kirkwall Library. The barrier is situated about hip height for an adult, and is a swing barrier, which means it is for ease of usage and not intended to fully restrict people. Two important features exist here; firstly, this is a sign normally found on the public highway, which means 'No Entry'; secondly, this is a manner in which to direct the flow of people within the library itself. No-one can or should enter via this point. A library is full of books, which are by default full of words, but a visual cue is being used by the library as a means to inform people of what it expects from them, and with cues that do not necessarily hold any meaning for the younger generation who are not legally old enough to drive, and will therefore not be familiar with the Highway Code. Red, of course, signals stop where traffic lights are concerned, and small children may be aware of this; but to use visual cues in a place that deals primarily in books does indicate something about society; maybe society considers that visual cues, and the more recognisable ones that are inherent in the daily lives of people, have more sway than the mere presence of words. By the use of traffic signs, there is a part of society that is being excluded in this use of instructional visual signs, namely those that are not of the age to understand what the Highway Code signs are supposed to mean. The use of traffic signs is also relevant when considered in the way in which the library signs themselves are acting to direct the people to follow a set route both in and out of the library itself; the public highway has been in a sense brought in to the building and the same signs that a motorist would obey are in effect being used to ensure compliance within a structure, because of the lawfulness that they enforce on the public highway itself; this makes them an ideal and forceful means of shepherding society in a set manner, and in a way that they might not be immediately aware of. The discourse of the Highway Code is shown here to be as effective indoors as it is outdoors.

The way in

Directing the flow: the use of yet another Highway Code symbol is found at the entry point in to the library area of the Kirkwall Library. Familiarity with the Highway Code has already been touched upon above, so this photo will also focus on the 'No mobile phones' sign. The barrier for entrance in to the library is obvious by the white arrow on a blue background, which normally stands for 'One Way'; not only does this show the way in to the area, but also indicates from the outset that the premises expect people to follow one route only, because 'One Way' means 'one way' by default. Maybe this is working at the level of instructing users of the library that they will comply with following a set route once inside the library area, since they have been subconsciously programmed to by the very visual cue of the sign recognised by the consciousness before they even enter. This can ensure that there are no crowd problems within the building because the flow of human traffic is in theory only going one way; and nobody will collide with anybody on the way in or out because these signs ensure this does not occur. The 'No mobile phones' visual cue is obviously not seen to be as familiar to people, because it has the words beneath the symbol of the mobile phone; maybe this is in case it is mistaken for another object such as a calculator. However, in theory, an image of a mobile phone will be more instantly recognisable to a minor than a Highway Code sign will be, but apparently society does not deem this to be the case, and have therefore opted, in this instance, to use road sign symbols in the knowledge that minors will comprehend them, even though they do not drive, but may own a mobile phone, and therefore not need to be informed in words as to what the latter symbol indicates. It may be the case that the Highway Code signs have been in existence for longer than the mobile phone and as such it is expected that everybody is able to have acquired a familiarity with those particular signs, and that in the future as new technology appears, only the signs relating to them will have written words for clarification and that the mobile phone signs and so forth will no longer require a written explanation.