Ergonomic checklist for libraries

Abstract

Work activities, such as librarians, when performed inappropriately or in inappropriate places can affect the health and well-being of workers. Thus, some tools for evaluating activity and the workplace can be useful in identifying aspects that can be improved. This article aims to propose an ergonomic checklist for libraries of the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). A descriptive qualitative and quantitative study was carried out, with the application of an online questionnaire elaborated with Google Forms, to the workpeople of UFPE libraries, from August to November 2020. The participants were 28 workers from 12 UFPE libraries. The main results revealed deficiencies in the infrastructure libraries and old equipments, in addition to physical discomfort resulting from activities. The proposed checklist was based on these results and on the need for a local assessment of the ergonomic conditions of the UFPE libraries. It is expected that the application of this checklist will guide and facilitate the ergonomic assessment in these specific locations.