National Art Library access and facilities for visitors with disabilities

Getting to the V&A South Kensington

Arriving by road
The V&A South Kensington building is located on the corner of Cromwell Road and Exhibition Road. For GPS Satellite Navigation Systems (sat-navs) the postcode is SW7 2RL.

Therere are four non-bookable Blue Badge spaces located outside the Exhibition Road entrance, and pay and display parking spaces are available on Exhibition Road. However, in January 2010 works began in the area to improve the Exhibition Road streetscape. These will be completed in December 2011 and until that time please check for the latest information regarding traffic, transport, and parking in the area on the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea website.

Arriving by public transport
For more information about accessibility on public transport, visit the Transport for London Transport accessibility pages or call +44 (0)20 7222 1234.

• London Underground The nearest London Underground station to the V&A is South Kensington (Piccadilly, District and Circle lines), which has no step-free access. It is a five-minute walk from the station to the V&A. The V&A is also a ten-minute walk away from Knightsbridge London Underground Station (Piccadilly Line), which also has no step-free access. Transport for London has a Step-free Tube guide, which can be downloaded here.
• Buses Bus numbers C1, 14, 74 and 414 stop outside the Cromwell Road entrance to the Museum.

Getting to the National Art Library

The National Art Library is situated on Level 3 (First floor) of the V&A main building. The V&A map shows the locations of lifts, galleries and accessible toilets described in this guide. A PDF version (3.6Mb) of the map can be downloaded here. If you require an escort you can book one in advance by contacting the Bookings Office on telephone +44 (0)20 7942 2211, text phone +44 (0)20 7942 2002, or email bookings.office@vam.ac.uk.

There are three public entrances into the main building:

• Cromwell Road entrance. The Cromwell Road entrance of the V&A is accessed by steps or ramps on either side of the entrance. A wheelchair-accessible door is located between the revolving doors. The Cromwell Road entrance is the meeting point for talks and tours and gives independent access to the galleries.
• Exhibition Road entrance. Exhibition Road has two entrances: one is a large revolving door and is not wheelchair accessible, the other is 10 metres to the left of the revolving door and has level access with push/pull glass doors.
• Museum Tunnel entrance. The pedestrian tunnel to the museums from the ticket hall at South Kensington London Underground Station is about 400 metres long, and not wheelchair accessible. An entrance to the V&A from the tunnel is located approximately 300 metres along the tunnel on the right-hand side. This entrance has 12 steps up to two sets of glass doors.

The main entrance to the Library is accessed via two flights of steps (Stair L on the V&A map). An accessible entrance to the library is located in Room 76, also on Level 3. This entrance is reached by Lift F located off the Sculpture Gallery (Room 21) on Level 1 (Ground floor). To use this entrance you can:

• ask for an escort at the Information Desk at the Cromwell Road entrance
• ask the gallery assistant in Room 76 to let you in
• call the Library on your arrival at the V&A on +44 (0)20 7942 2400, or using a V&A telephone at any of the public entrances, on extension 2400, to let us know you are on your way so that we can let you in

Using the National Art Library reading rooms

The two Reading Rooms in the Library are level with a wide central access way. There are two islands of desks in the Centre Room (seat numbers 15–26) which are 60cm high. All other desks are 66cm high and none of our desks are height adjustable. However wheelchair users often find that they can use all our desks comfortably. If you need to transfer to Library seating, staff will assist in any way they can. There are heavy glass doors between our two Reading Rooms. Please ask staff for assistance if the doors are too heavy for you to open.

Accessible toilets
Accessible toilets are located on levels 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 and are indicated on the V&A map. The closest accessible toilets to the National Art Library are located on Level 3, off the Silver Galleries (Room 65–70a). Exit the library through Room 76.

Visual and hearing impairment
Assistance dogs are welcome in all of our study rooms. The study rooms are all equipped with hearing induction loops. Please switch your hearing aid to the T position to use this facility.

Assistive technologies
Please ask staff at the Enquiry Desk if you would like access to any of the following assistive technologies:

• ‘Twinkle’ magnification system: magnifies images and text in books and other printed material
• ‘JAWS’ (Job Access with Speech) access software: reads out the contents of the computer screen. Headphones are required and are available on request
• ‘MAGic’ (Magnification in colour) screen magnification software: increases the size of the image on your computer screen
• Ergonomic keyboard and tactile trackball mouse are available on request

Advance ordering
You can order books in advance of your visit to the National Art Library by telephone or email. Advance orders are normally limited to four items, but more items can be ordered for readers with disabilities on request.

Using the Library catalogues
If you require help searching for or ordering material using any of the catalogues, please ask staff, who will be happy to help you find and order what you need.

Delivery of material to your desk
Please let us know if you need help carrying items to and from your desk; staff will be happy to assist you.

Copying services
If you require enlarged photocopies we can provide these for the same price as A4 copies. We can also provide coloured paper for your copying if this is useful. If you find copying difficult because of your disability, we can make copies for you at the same price as self-service copying. Please ask staff at the Enquiry Desk about any of these copying services.

Copyright
The Copyright Act allows the copying of complete works by or for visually impaired persons (VIPs) under certain conditions. VIPs includes those with a physical impairment restricting their ability to hold or manipulate a book. This exception to the Copyright Act applies as long as the VIP is in lawful possession or has lawful access to the original copy of a work, that the copy created is in a different, accessible format, and that the accessible format isn’t already commercially available. For more information or advice, please ask staff, who will contact the National Art Library Copyright Officer.

Evacuation procedures in case of an emergency
In the event of an emergency evacuation, please contact staff if you have a mobility impairment and cannot use the stairs. You will be escorted to the designated refuge point where security staff will be alerted to evacuate you to safety.

Contact us

If your needs cannot be met by the services and facilities described above, please contact us and we will be happy to help you in any way we can.
National Art Library
V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7942 2400
Contact us online

PDF downloads

Much of the content of this page is available in PDF format and can be downloaded here:

• Study Room Services for People with Disabilities (PDF 64 Kb)
• Study Room Services for People with Disabilities - Large Print Version (PDF 68 Kb)