#3: Left-handed patrons need computers too →

From Emma:

I have to admit an almost complete lack of success with this tip. At my library, it's physically fairly easy to move the mouse from the right-hand side of the keyboard to the left side (thank you to whoever arranged all the cables the way they did!). There is also a decent amount of space in which to move the mouse around on the left side.

I can't tell for sure, but I think that our public computer arrangement is the same as it was at 'peak computer' when there were constant waiting lists for the machines before laptops and smartphones became affordable. However, this did make me think that if your library is one of the ones that now has excess capacity, you might be able to make the patron experience better my removing some of those machines so that the remaining ones have more space. This would be helpful not just for left-handed patrons who need mouse room, but also for people who come to work in pairs, and for staff members who need to stand at someone's side and talk them through a task.

Unfortunately, there is no way to access the settings that swap the mouse buttons on our machines. They, like most of the other functions on the public computers, are completely locked down. I've brought this to the attention of library administration before, and they say it's on the list of future updates. Our public computers are managed by the city's IT department rather than by the library, so it's hard to get them to prioritize interface changes on public machines because most of the computers they manage are staff computers and I just don't think they see the public ones offered by the library as central to their mission. This is obviously a frustrating situation, but at least now that I have looked into it I will have an answer for a patron who might ask, even if it's not a very satisfying one.