You can use these resources to improve your own understanding, as discussion starters, and for training your staff. We encourage you to be curious and find other resources that you think might work well for your organization. The resource guides are not intended to be complete, but to make it easier for you to get started.
Table of Contents
Time Savers
Read:
- GROUND RULES + TOOLS: Facilitating Productive Discussions, 5 minutes from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). UCAR gives us ground rules for discussions and tips to facilitate inclusive discussions. “We ask everyone who participates in our trainings to consider different perspectives, for the purpose of sensitivity, learning, and growth.”
- AAM: How to Start an Accessibility Movement at Your Museum, 9 minutes. Katy Menne of the North Carolina Maritime Museums offers suggestions on how to start an accessibility movement in museums based on the work her museum is doing in partnerships and in support of the Autistic community.
- How to Facilitate Discussions, 15 minutes. Instructions on how to facilitate discussions from UC San Diego. This site is also a toolkit with links to other valuable materials.
- 5 Things We Learned About Creating a Successful Workplace Diversity Program, 7 minutes from the Harvard Business Review.
- Museum Accessibility: An Art and a Science, 16 minutes, from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). A book review of The Art of Access: A Practical Guide for Museum Accessibility by Heather Pressman and Danielle Schulz.
Watch/Listen:
- Nothing About Us Without Us, 2 minutes from the UVM Center on Disability & Community Inclusion.
- MOMA: Introduction, Episode 1, Disability Equity and Museums, 8 minutes. Features museum visitors with disabilities sharing about their everyday lives and tips for museum staff and volunteers. This is a part of a 9-part series.
- Intersectionality 101, 3 minutes from Learning for Justice. “Intersectionality 101” reminds us that the work of disability access is done at the same time as race, self-identity, culture, and justice.
- Disability Etiquette Gone Wrong: Wheelchairs and Personal Space, 2 minutes from Einstein Healthcare Network’s Perspectives. AJ Nanayakarra helps you understand how you can respect wheelchair users like himself. This video was filmed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- Developing disabled access in galleries and museums, 5 minutes from British Council Arts. The video begins as a man gives a verbal description of a museum while walking with a visitor who wears dark glasses. The video explores how the Tate and Attenborough Arts Centre, in the United Kingdom, improved accessibility for visitors.
- The ADA: A Recap in Plain Language, 59 minutes from The Arc of Northern Virginia. An explanation of the American Disabilities Act in plain language, providing both an overview of the ADA and an example of plain language in use.
Toolkits and Training
Online Toolkits:
- Creating and maintaining coalitions and partnerships from the Community Toolbox. A basic guide to developing partnerships with other organizations.
- Disability: A Toolkit for Museums Working Towards Inclusion from International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). Case studies from museums in Europe about the work they have done towards improving accessibility. “10 Things You Could Do That Won’t Cost Very Much” and lessons learned from each case study example.
- Accessibility Planning and Resource Guide for Cultural Administrators from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The NEA guide is conveniently offered in PDF form both in its entirety or by section.
- Downloadable Disability Access Symbols from the Graphic Artists Guild. Free, downloadable disability and accessibility symbols for print or web use.
- PDF: Communicating about history: Challenges, opportunities, and emerging recommendations (a FrameWorks Strategic Brief), about 17 minutes. A Report from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), the National Council on Public History (NCPH), and the Organization of American Historians (OAH) as part of the Framing History with the American Public initiative.
- Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) is a regularly updated list of resources.
Webinars:
- FISA Foundation’s Disability, Inclusion & Access webinars and resources.
- United Spinal Association YouTube Channel
- The Power of Asset Framing: A Conversation with Trabian Shorters from the Skillman Foundation. “How do we create equitable outcomes for all members of our community? We can start by defining people by their aspirations, not their challenges.” This is a series of video clips within an article.
Organizations
National:
- ADA Resources for Museums, Arts and Cultural Institutions, A list of national and regional organizations that focus on disability and provide resources for those looking to improve access at their organizations.
- Institute for Human Centered Design: Organization focused on universal design in architecture and programs. Based in Boston, MA.
- Kennedy Center LEAD® Resources, The Kennedy Center offers numerous resources related to the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD®) program, including tip sheets, books, videos, and webinars focusing on museums and performing arts venues. Based in Washington, DC.
- LEAD also offers an annual conference, one of the top national gatherings for those interested in disability and arts/cultural organizations.
- National Center on Accessibility List of links to articles (also available as PDFs) from the National Center on Accessibility on topics of universal design, access planning, programmatic access, and exhibit design, with a special focus on parks and recreation areas. Based in Bloomington, IN.
- National Council of Independent Living: National network of centers for independent living (CILs) serving to advance independent living and the rights of people with disabilities.
- Find your nearest statewide and local CIL organization.
- National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Accessibility: Publications, Checklists, & Resources
State/Regional:
- Museum, Arts and Culture Access Consortium (MAC): One of the oldest and most active accessibility groups for cultural organizations in the U.S., based in New York City, NY.
- Cultural Accessibility Collaborative (CAC): Cultural accessibility group that partners cultural administrators and people with disabilities. Also regularly shares archived trainings on their YouTube channel.
- CAC has also compiled a list of Cultural Networks Across the U.S. (note you will need to scroll down on the linked page to get to this list).
- Accessibility Resources for Arts Organizations. A list from the Metro Regional Arts Council in Minneapolis, MN of resources, including a “DIY Access Planning Workbook.” This website also includes sample access plans from local arts organizations.
- Art-Reach: A non-profit organization devoted to increasing cultural participation among traditionally underrepresented audiences in both the disability and low-income sectors. Based in Philadelphia, PA.
Additional Resources
- Collections Trust – Access Plan: A list of resources developed to support Access Plan requirements under the United Kingdom’s Museum Accreditation Scheme.
- Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator’s Handbook, originally published in 2003. Accessibility and inclusion for creating new or opening up existing programs. Includes sections on historic properties, program access, developing partnerships, and marketing to new audiences.
- Everyone’s Welcome: The Americans with Disabilities Act and Museums Digital version of a 1998 (pre 2010 ADA updates) printed manual from the American Alliance of Museums covering the basics of the ADA as it relates to museums. Strategies for developing accessibility in museums that are still valuable.
- How to Facilitate Discussions, about 15 minutes from UC San Diego. How to facilitate discussions and a toolkit with links to other relevant materials.
- Historic Timeline, about 11 minutes from the Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium. Timeline of disability history from the 1700s to 2016. American history with a focus on Western Pennsylvania regional history.
- The Inclusive Historian’s Handbook: Key Resources
- IMLS Accessibility Resources for Museums and Libraries. Resources from IMLS, including checklists and guidelines specific to museums and libraries.
- Reaching Out to Customers with Disabilities from ADA.gov. How the ADA applies to business that serve the public, with drawings to illustrate examples. Consider starting with:
- Lesson 2: Communication
- Lesson 5: Alternate Access
- Lesson 6: Maintaining Accessibility
