Access at the Portico

The Portico is located on the first floor of its original 218-year-old Listed Building. It is our priority to ensure the Library can be as welcoming and accessible as possible for everyone. Please read below for current access information about our building.

  • The Library’s main entrance is via the green doors on Charlotte Street at the corner with Mosley Street. There is an intercom button next to the doors. Please press this button for entry.

  • There are 32 steps from the main entrance to the library and currently no lift. There is a handrail, and a chair is placed on each landing. Toilets are available for visitors, located on the landings.

  • There is a stair-lift at the Library’s back entrance on Back George Street, accessed by a portable ramp, but currently no step-free or accessible toilets. Please be aware the stairlift has a maximum weight of 120kg.

  • 6 pay and display parking spaces are available nearby, on the same side of Charlotte Street as the Library. These are not dedicated or bookable disabled parking bays, but Blue Badge holders may park here free of charge.

  • The Portico Library delivers audio-described and British Sign Language tours of exhibition. Visit www.theportico.org.uk/whats-on to find out when the next tours will be.

  • An audio-described tour of the library is available to listen to at www.theportico.org.uk/visit and is also available with headphones from the reception desk. 

If you would like more information, please speak to any member of staff on 0161 236 6785 (not textphone) or at admin.assistant@theportico.org.uk.

We are striving to put accessibility at the heart of the Library’s current work and future plans. With support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we have commissioned an Access Audit and are currently working towards implementing its recommendations. If you would like to support making The Portico Library accessible to all, or have any comments or requests, we would love to hear from you. Please write a comment in the box, or contact us via email or phone (details above).

This statement was last updated April 2021.

Website Accessibility

This website is run by the Portico Library. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen

  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard

  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software

  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • the text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window

  • you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text

  • most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software

  • live video streams do not have captions

  • some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard

  • you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader

  • there’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘contact us’ page

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format or would like to speak to someone, please:

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us using the contact details above.