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The fear of elevators doesn't really have a name, like "elevatophobia." Doctors usually link the fear of elevators to some other phobia. For example, people can have claustrophobia which is the fear of small, closed or locked spaces. And what's an elevator but a closed and locked (for a short time anyway) space.
Going along with that is cleithrophobia or the fear of being trapped or unable to escape. Not necessarily of being trapped inside an elevator but a person's fear of an elevator can stem from this anxiety of being trapped. There's also acrophobia or the fear of heights and if a person has this fear, using a glass elevator is virtually impossible.
Basophobia is the fear of falling and can coincide with a fear that the elevator will drop. I sort of had this fear while reading Linwood Barclay's novel "Elevator Pitch." This book was really scary and took place in New York City where all of these phobias can be found. In the book, various elevators throughout the city are working just fine, going up and down, getting people to where they need to go, when all of a sudden the elevator just falls. I don't recall how this book ended but I remember not wanting to use the elevator at Mifflin County Library in Lewistown for several months after I finished reading Barclay's book.
And this takes me to the point of this article. Library renovations are well underway and we love the stairs that lead down to the lower level where the Children's Library is. In the past, in the stairway, were two lovely windows that looked out at North Wayne Street. Now, there is only one and by the time you read this column, there may be no windows in the stairway.
And that's why I'm talking about the elevator. While our crew is working in the stairway, the stairs are off limits to the public and we ask everyone to use the elevator. This causes a lot of anxiety to people and I feel so bad because I did not consider this fear.
For much of the summer the stairway has been closed because the crew was cutting and demolishing a wall at the bottom of the stairway on the lower level. When this was finished, we were able to reopen the stairs. Then, the crew was working on the expansion outside on the Wayne Street side of the building and out of caution, I closed the stairs again.
Now, we are removing the windows in the stairway and installing drywall. I apologize for the inconvenience and I'm happy to walk with the families who need to use the stairs while we do this work. Just let us know. This is a temporary inconvenience and we'll love it when it is finished.
One thing to remember is that we would love to reinstall the handprint rainbow down the stairway when all of our renovations are completed. The library staff are asked this question every now and then. We may not be able to start this project until the second half of next year, but rest assured this Fourth Rainbow project is on our "list."
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Susan Miriello is the Executive Director of the Mifflin County Library. You can call the library at (717) 242-2391. Kish Library's phone number is (717) 935-2880. Visit the library website at www.mifflincountylibrary.org.