Improvements to Pattee and Paterno Library may soon be underway to make the buildings easier for disabled students to access.

Penn State senior Danny Freund (human development and family studies) has been on a mission to ensure that university buildings are easy for disabled students to navigate. Freund believes Pattee and Paterno Library are key areas of concern and that there are simple solutions to make them accessible to disabled students.

Ever since he lost his leg to cancer, Freund has worked strenuously to make sure the interests of disabled students are being represented. He is currently focusing his efforts on two main issues with the library.

The unavailability of general handicapped parking in the immediate vicinity of West Pattee is one area Freund is concerned about. Second is the lack of an easy entrance into the library from the allotted handicapped spots.

"My interest here is parking in the closest possible spot to a quiet study area and the handicapped spots they put in Paterno are not easily accessible," Freund said.

There are three handicapped spaces that Freund feels need modification. They border Parking Lot Green E, which is located next to Ihlseng Cottage off of Fraser Road. Two of these spots were reserved for Penn State employees with specific numbered permits.

The third spot is general, which means that anyone with a disability permit may use it. The general space is usually taken during daytime hours, Freund said, forcing him and other handicapped students to park elsewhere.

Freund appealed to Doug Holmes, Transportation Facilities Coordinator, to convert one of the two reserved spots to a general access space. His efforts paid off; the spot was converted last Wednesday, so that any disabled permit is now acceptable.

Currently, the closest entrance to the handicapped spots outside of West Pattee is at MacKinnon's Café on the ground floor of Pattee, a walk with outdoor tables and chairs that those with a physical disability must navigate around. The doors at this entry are not equipped with handicapped opening buttons. Library authorities are aware that these doors need modification and plans are underway to make them accessible.

"These doors are too heavy. We've been lobbying for two years to improve this entrance and we're now going to change them," said Sally Kalin, Associate Dean for University Park Libraries.

Freund and Kalin walked the route disabled students take to enter the building, with Kalin carrying a heavy bag to simulate a student's dilemma.

Freund suggested the fire door in the Extended Hours Reading Room as an alternative route from the Fraser Road handicap spots to the library. Installing a ramp at the fire door, only a few steps from the handicapped spots, would solve Freund's problem.

Before any changes are made, fire code and security issues must be resolved, Kalin said. The Extended Hours Reading Room, a gift from the Class of 1994, is designated as a quiet study area and officials hesitate to install an entrance there because of possible noise. Freund says making the door exclusive to handicapped students would eliminate this problem.

"This is all wrapped up in codes and laws, but I will raise the question," Kalin said.