The Poetry Center strives to ensure our library collection, reading series, and other programming events are universally accessible.
Parking
The vast majority of our programming occurs after 5:00 pm, and surface lots surrounding the Poetry Center are free after 5:00 PM. Surface lots and street parking on Vine, Rincon, and Helen offer nearby accessible parking for visitors.
For daytime visits, the Highland Avenue Parking Garage, conveniently located near the Poetry Center, has designated accessible parking spaces near the elevators. Garage rates are $2.25/hour in campus garages through kiosk or QR code payment portal.
The dotted path designates our suggested accessible route from the garage to the Poetry Center.
ADA access to the library
The Poetry Center's front door offers a zero-entry threshold. Ramps on the North and South sides of the building provide access to our vast poetry library as well as our bamboo gardens to the East.
elevators
The Poetry Center's elevator offers access to the second story of our facility. This includes access to upstairs classrooms for classes and workshops as well as our prestigious Rare Books Room.
Digital archive of poetry recordings: Voca
Voca, our landmark audiovisual archive of more than 1,000 poetry recordings, is fully accessible and free to access online. Captioned recordings of recorded poetry readings dating to 1963 can be found alongside live transcripts, descriptive tags, author photos, and a search function. Our archive is continually updated by our dedicated library staff to ensure everyone, everywhere has access to our renown Poetry Reading Series.
Magnifying Glasses
Since our library collection is so specialized, we do have a way to purchase most of our books in large print editions. The library offers large magnifying glasses available as reading aids for patrons.
Assisted Listening
The Rubel Room is equipped with a hearing loop that can connect to hearing aids using telecoil technology. If you activate the telecoil in your hearing aid, you will get an audio signal from the room sent directly into the hearing aid. Sitting inside the carpeted area in the Rubel Room will provide the best listening experience.
The Rubel Room is also equipped with Listen Everywhere technology, for those with bluetooth enabled hearing aids. To use, download the app for Apple or Android smart phones, connect to the wireless signal from the Rubel Room sound board, and send the signal to your hearing aids via bluetooth. This option is available for anyone with bluetooth enabled hearing aids and a smart phone or tablet with the app.
We have a small number of assisted listening headsets available by request. If a larger number of headsets is requested, please give us two weeks notice to arrange a loan from another department.
Please see our assisted listening manual for more information about all three of these options.
sign language interpretation
We are able to provide American Sign Language interpretation for Reading & Lecture Series events with advance notice. We require a minimum advance notice of two weeks to connect the visiting poets with the interpreters, who strongly prefer advance access to the poems to review; requests made further in advance are strongly preferred. Please send inqueries to Paola Valenzuela at valenzuela9@email.arizona.edu.
Service Animals
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, service animals are welcome at the University of Arizona Poetry Center. Therapy animals, emotional support animals, or comfort/companion animals are not considered service animals under ADA and are not permitted.
For more information
With questions about access or to request any disability-related accommodations during any Poetry Center events, please contact Events Coordinator Paola Valenzuela at valenzuela9@email.arizona.edu.