Causewayside Building access and facilities

Causewayside Building access and facilities

Our public spaces are open to everyone and we aim to ensure that everyone is treated equally. The Causewayside Building houses the Maps Reading Room. This room is fully wheelchair accessible.

This page outlines the facilities available to our visitors.

If you have a disability, you can contact us before your visit to find out more about our facilities and provision. 

On this page: Maps Reading Room at Causewayside

On other pages: George IV Bridge Building and Kelvin Hall

Badge holders can park in Salisbury Place, Upper Gray Street, or Causewayside. View location map.

The Maps Reading Room is open from Monday to Thursday 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm, and visits are by appointment only. You can book your visit online.

The public entrance at our Causewayside building is at 33 Salisbury Place, and is at street level. The main entrance is a revolving door. If you need an accessible entrance, please press the intercom. Staff will answer and then come and open an accessible door to provide access to the Maps Reading Room.

Bags larger than A4 size are not allowed in the reading room, so you must leave them in the supervised cloakroom. If you need to take a bag or other equipment with you while you work, please explain the circumstances to staff, who will do what is needed to ensure you can work in the Maps Reading Room.

People with restricted mobility are welcome to visit the Maps Reading Room. Please let staff know if there are any adjustments you need, so that they can ensure you have a comfortable workspace, for example please let staff know if you need a desk or chair adjusted for you.

When you enter the Maps Reading Room, staff on the front desk will welcome you and direct you to the lockers. Advice on using the Library is given here. Staff help all users to identify the maps they need, and will fetch them for you. Retrieval of maps usually takes a few minutes.

An adjustable height table, adjustable chairs and two footrests are available for use by readers. Staff will help you to use these. We can also supply magnifying glasses and aids for keeping books open, and book rests are provided as standard equipment. A folding wheelchair is available.

Many early maps of Scotland are digitally scanned as high-resolution images, which allow you to zoom into details. Some of these are also available on our website, in the Digital gallery.

Some of the books and atlases in the reading room are stored on high shelves. Staff are happy to bring you the books you need if you have difficulty reaching these shelves. Power sockets for laptops are on the reading desks. Please check about the suitability of using your own specialist equipment before coming to the Maps Reading Room.

• Toilets
  There is a unisex accessible toilet on the ground floor.
• Assistance dogs
  Assistance dogs are admitted to the building.
• For hearing impaired visitors
  A fixed induction loop is available at the public counter.

Staff will help you to leave by the front entrance to Causewayside.

Maps Collections staff will be happy to discuss any queries you may have about facilities at Causewayside. Contact details are in the Maps section of this site.