MLA South East is working with museums, libraries and archives to enable disabled people to visit and enjoy their collections, sites and services.
The Disability Discrimination Act
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. There are an estimated 8.7 million disabled people in the UK, 15% of the population. Museums, libraries and archives need to be as accessible as possible to disabled people.
Catherine Casserley's presentation (available on the right of the page) summarises the key points of the DDA and its relevance to museums, archives and libraries. It highlights “reasonable” measures expected of museums, archives and libraries to meet the requirements of the DDA.
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA)
MLA has produced a number of resources which are available from their website:
Disability database
An online database of trainers, auditors and consultants specialising in disability issues has been produced by MLA in partnership with the regional Museum, Library and Archive agencies.
Access to Museums, Archives and Libraries for Disabled Users Self Assessment Checklist 1
The checklist is intended to help those working in museums, archives and libraries to improve access for disabled people.
Disability Portfolio
The Disability Portfolio is a collection of 12 guides on how best to meet the needs of disabled people as users and staff in museums, archives and libraries.
