TalkingImagesGuide

Museums, galleries and heritage sites:improving access for blind and partially sighted people

MAGDAMuseums and GalleriesDisability Association

Further copies of the Talking Images Guide, as well as copies in accessibleformats, are available from RNIB customer services on 0845 702 3153,email cservices@rnib.org.uk, priced £9.95.

Copies of the Talking Images Research are also available from RNIB customer services, priced £5.95.

Battle AbbeyBirmingham Museum and Art GalleryBolsover CastleBrighton Fishing MuseumBrodie CastleCabinet War RoomsCaldicot Castle Castle Acre PrioryCaerphilly Castle Castell CochChichester CathedralChristchurch Mansion, IpswichConservation Centre, LiverpoolCoventry CathedralDallas Dhu DistilleryDunster CastleDurham CathedralDyrham ParkEdinburgh CastleGloucester CathedralGosport MuseumGreenfield Valley Heritage ParkIkon GalleryJorvikJudges Lodging, PowysKenilworth CastleKenwood HouseKettle’s Yard, CambridgeLeaminghton Spa Art Gallery and MuseumLychard House

Acknowledgements

The steering group:Denise Evans, RNIBJuliette Fritsch, English HeritageCatherine Hillis, RNIBAndrew Holland,VocaleyesAnna Jones, RNIBMaryam Khosrovani,VocaleyesAlex Powers,Arts Council EnglandGuy Purdey, SEMLAC and Chair, MAGDAClare Stewart,VocaleyesMarcus Weisen, Resource

The advisory group:Christine Thompson, National Museums of ScotlandJulia Ionides,The Dog Rose TrustPeter Howell,The Dog Rose TrustRebecca McGinnis, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The auditors:Mark AustenBeverley Bell HughesSally BoothPeter BosherDiana EvansWynne LloydMuriel MathesonIsabella MurdochBrian RattrayKenneth ReidEric SayceRichard Synott

RNIB contributors:Helen Allen,Access Officer, JMU Access PartnershipCatherine Casserley, Senior Legal Officer [DDA]Chas Gainsford, Ian Wilkinson and Richard Wynn, Corporate Publishing DepartmentSue King, Customer Liaison Officer

Manchester Jewish MuseumMelrose AbbeyMuseum of FarnhamNational Galleries of ScotlandNational Museums of ScotlandNational Portrait GalleryPenrhyn CastleOldham Museum and Art GalleryPlas Mawr, ConwayPortchester CastlePortland Basin MuseumPortland CastleRoman Baths, BathRoyal Logistics Corps MuseumRoyal Yacht BritanniaScarborough CastleSoldiers of Gloucester MuseumSouthampton City Art GallerySS Great BritainStirling Old JailTate BritainTate ModernThe Mary Rose Victoria and Albert MuseumWallace CollectionWalmer CastleWarkworth CastleWhitworth Art GalleryYork Cathedral and York City Model

Many thanks to the venues involved in the Talking Images research project:

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Foreword

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© RNIB and Vocaleyes 2003

RNIB registered charity number 226227

Vocaleyes registered charity number 1067245

ISBN 1 85878 588 X

Photographs © Tom Miles and Lyndon Evans

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Contents

1. Introduction__________________________________5

2. Reasons for improving your service __________11

3. Planning for inclusion ________________________17

4. Improving access: information ________________24

5. Improving access: descriptions, tours,touch and events ____________________________31

6. Improving access: audio guides________________41

7. Promoting your service ______________________59

8. Welcoming visitors with sight problems ______67

9. In summary: developing services ______________75

10. Further information ________________________77

The Talking Images Guide

Museums, galleries and heritage sites: improvingaccess for blind and partially sighted people

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guidance and contacts for furtherinformation to help venues provide a high-quality experience for visitors with sightproblems.We hope that this guide will helpinstigate a dialogue between venues andblind and partially sighted people,colleagues in other venues and expertswho work in different aspects of access.

Who is the guide for?The guide provides a comprehensive andpractical overview of all areas of access forvisitors with sight problems, from planningto service delivery and evaluation. It isprimarily aimed at staff in museums,galleries and heritage sites withresponsibility for increasing access to theirvenues. It is also a valuable tool to informpolicy makers, education and accesspractitioners and those responsible forensuring access provision in the sector.

What is included withinthis guide?The guide gives information on theservices that can be provided to a visitorbefore, during and after a visit:

• Reasons for improving your serviceincludes facts on sight loss, an overviewof the Disability Discrimination Act(DDA) and details of the Government’srecent social inclusion initiatives andchanges to the Registration Scheme formuseums and galleries.

1. Introduction

“Going to a museum and havingsomebody guide me around and giveme the information I need is superb,really quite exciting. But getting thereand being disappointed because of alack of information, or misguidedinformation ruins it for me.” Auditor

People with a sight problem experiencemany barriers when visiting museums,galleries and heritage sites.This guidepresents ideas and advice on how toimprove access for blind and partiallysighted people. It draws on the researchundertaken for the Talking Images:museums, galleries and heritage sitesproject and contains quotes from thetwelve blind and partially sighted auditors,the focus group participants and thevenues involved in the project. The guidealso draws on the wider experience of theblind and partially sighted people involvedin the project and on the knowledge of thepartner organisations.

There is much existing good practice inmuseums, galleries and heritage sites acrossthe UK, and approaches to access arecontinually evolving. However, there are stillmany venues where barriers remain forblind and partially sighted visitors.

Every venue and every visitor is different;therefore this publication does not attemptto be prescriptive. It offers practical

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Aims of Talking ImagesTalking Images focused specifically on theuse of audio description in museums,galleries and heritage sites and aims to:

• raise the standards of audio guides,description and general access tomuseums, galleries and heritage venuesthroughout the UK for blind and partiallysighted people

• make a significant contribution to qualitydevelopments in the field of audio guides,description and inclusive interpretation

• positively influence the practices of allkey stakeholders: museums, galleries andheritage venues; commercial producersof audio guides; cultural sectorpolicymakers and funders; culturaltraining agencies and organisations of andfor people with sight problems.

MethodologyThe Talking Images project comprised anumber of research studies.Themethodology for each study is described inTalking Images Research, details ofwhich are available on the back cover ofthis publication.These research studiesexamined current provision through:

• a telephone survey of 270 blind andpartially sighted people whichinvestigated attitudes towards andexperiences of visiting museums, galleriesand heritage sites

• audits of 63 audio guides undertaken byblind and partially sighted auditors atvenues across the UK

• self-assessment questionnairescompleted by the 55 venues involved inthe project.

In addition to the research,Vocaleyesundertook case studies, which informedthis publication and the research report.The case studies were undertaken with:

• Kettle’s Yard, on an audio guide forthe touring exhibition of work by BenNicholson that also visited TheWhitworth Art Gallery andSouthampton City Art Gallery

• Tate Britain, on the development oftwo audio tours

• Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich, onan inclusive low cost guide.

The full case studies report willbe available via the Arts CouncilEngland website:www.artscouncil.org.uk

• Planning for inclusion offers someapproaches to consultation andevaluation, and looks at issues toaddress when developing an accesspolicy.

• Improving access: information looksat the varying information needs ofpeople with sight problems and howthey can be met.

• Improving access: descriptions,tours, touch and events considersdifferent approaches to makingcollections accessible to people withsight problems.

• Improving access: audio guidesexamines issues in making audio guidesaccessible.

• Promoting your service examinesdifferent ways to market your servicesand events.

• Welcoming visitors with sightproblems offers advice on improvingvisual awareness and how premises canbe made more accessible.

• In summary: developing servicesdiscusses how to take forward andimplement ideas and plans.

Contact details and sources of furtherinformation can be found at the end of thepublication.

Background to the projectThe Talking Images project is acollaboration between Royal NationalInstitute of the Blind (RNIB) andVocaleyes. Research undertaken by RNIBhas been funded by Resource:TheCouncil for Museums,Archives andLibraries.Arts Council Englandthrough its New Audiences Programmehas funded the research undertaken byVocaleyes.All research was undertakenbetween 2001 and 2003.

A steering group has overseen the project,consisting of members of the leadorganisations, funding bodies and otherpartner organisations including EnglishHeritage and the Museums andGalleries Disability Association(MAGDA).An advisory group has guidedthe development of the project and thispublication.

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The organisationsinvolvedRNIB is the leading UK charity workingwith people with sight problems. RNIB’svision is a world where people who areblind or partially sighted enjoy the samerights, responsibilities, opportunities andquality of life as people who are sighted.

Vocaleyes enables blind and partiallysighted people to experience the artsthrough high quality, live and recordedaudio description. Originally specialising intheatre description,Vocaleyes’ workincreasingly includes description in thevisual arts.

Resource:The Council for Museums,Archives and Libraries is the strategicbody working with and for museums,archives and libraries in England.Resource’s mission is to enable thecollections and services of the museums,archives and libraries sector to touch thelives of everyone.

Arts Council England is the nationaldevelopment agency for the arts inEngland, distributing public money fromGovernment and the National Lottery.Arts Council England’s ambition is to placethe arts at the heart of national life,reflecting the country’s rich and diversecultural identity as only the arts can.

MAGDA is a not-for-profit organisationcomprised of museum and galleryprofessionals who work to achieve accessfor all. MAGDA promotes the rights ofdisabled people to enjoy museums,galleries and heritage sites as visitors andemployees.

English Heritage is the Government’sstatutory adviser on the historicenvironment. English Heritage is anExecutive Non-Departmental Public Bodyand reports to Parliament through theSecretary of State for Culture, Media andSport.

There are many reasons for developingservices for blind and partially sightedvisitors.This chapter looks at:

• facts around sight loss

• the duties of service providers underthe Disability Discrimination Act

• the Government’s social inclusionagenda and its impact on cultural venues

• changes to the Museum RegistrationScheme.

Facts about sight lossThe term,“people with sight problems”describes the full range of people whohave uncorrectable sight loss. Sight loss isone of the most common causes ofdisability in the UK and is associated withold age more than any other disability.Themost severe sight problems can lead tosomeone being registered as “blind” or“partially sighted”.

Ophthalmologists can certify someone asbeing blind or partially sighted. Once thishas happened the person can then beregistered with their local social servicesdepartment as blind or partially sighted.Not everyone who is eligible to registerdoes so.A person can be certified:

• blind, if they can only read the top letterof the optician’s eye chart from threemetres or less wearing correctivelenses, if needed

• partially sighted, if they can only readthe top letter of the chart from sixmetres or less wearing correctivelenses, if needed.

• Around two million people in the UK have a sight problem

• Every day 100 more people start to lose their sight

• One in twelve of us will become blind or partially sighted by the timewe are 60.This rises to one in six bythe time we reach 75.

People with sight problems come frommany different backgrounds and lead allsorts of lives. Each person is affected bysight problems in a way that is individualto him or her – it is not the sameexperience for everyone.

There are many causes of sight loss. Somepeople are born with a sight problem,others may inherit an eye condition thatgets gradually worse as they get older, ortheir eyesight may be affected by illness.Age related eye conditions such asmacular degeneration or cataracts are themost common cause of sight loss in theUK. It is worth remembering that some ofyour visitors may have sight problems butdo not consider themselves to be blind orpartially sighted.

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2. Reasons for improving your service

• changes to any practices, policies orprocedures that make it impossible orunreasonably difficult for a disabledperson to use a service.

The Act itself does not state whatadjustments might be reasonable, but citesinformation on audio tape or theprovision of a sign language interpreter asexamples of such adjustments.TheDisability Rights Commission (DRC)has produced a Code of Practice forRights of Access to Goods, Facilities,Services and Premises on this part ofthe Act.Although this code is not the lawitself, it has to be taken into account bythe courts where relevant. It provides verydetailed information about what the lawmeans and how you can comply with it. Itis available from Her Majesty’s StationeryOffice or can be downloaded free ofcharge from the DRC website.

Disability Rights Commissionwebsite: www.drc.org.uk

The duty to make reasonable adjustmentsis the cornerstone of the Act. It is ananticipatory duty – which means that youhave to make changes to the way youdeliver your services to make themaccessible in advance of a disabled personattempting to use your service.You shouldnot just wait for the first disabled personto turn up.

Disability DiscriminationActThe Disability Discrimination Act 1995(DDA) makes it unlawful to discriminateagainst disabled people. It requires serviceproviders to change the way in which theydeliver services to ensure that they areaccessible to disabled people. For serviceproviders, such as museums, galleries andheritage sites, it is unlawful to:

• refuse to serve a disabled person for areason which relates to their disability

• offer a sub-standard service

• provide a service on different terms.

There is also a duty to make changes(called “reasonable adjustments”) to theservice provided enabling easier access fordisabled people.There are four types ofchanges that service providers mustconsider:

• the provision of auxiliary aids andservices that provide additional help orassistance to disabled customers

• making physically inaccessible servicesavailable by another means

• making buildings where services areprovided more accessible (from 2004service providers will have duties tomake reasonable adjustments to thephysical features of their premises toovercome physical barriers to access).

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The vast majority of the two millionpeople with a sight problem in the UKhave some sight, with only around 140,000people having no useful vision, of whom3,000 were born blind. Most people withsight problems have visual memories.

• Eight per cent of blind and partially sighted people are born with a sight problem.

• 80 per cent of people with a sight problem are aged 65 or over.

• 70 per cent are over 75.

Sixty per cent of people with a sightproblem have another serious illness ordisability such as arthritis or a hearingimpairment. Many have more than oneother disability.There are around 23,000people in the UK who have a severe lossof both sight and hearing, about 200,000have less serious dual sensory loss.

The number of blind and partially sightedpeople is expected to rise sharply in thefuture, in line with the anticipated increasein the number of older people over thenext three decades.

The RNIB website has links toresearch studies and the lateststatistics on sight loss:www.rnib.org.uk

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• Centres for Social Change:Museums, Galleries and Archivesfor All (2000) states that,“achievingthe widest possible access to collectionsand knowledge should be an objectivefor museums, galleries and archives whoaim to make their services sociallyinclusive”.

• Libraries, Museums, Galleries andArchives for all (2001) examines howworking across the sector can helptackle social exclusion.

All of these documents areavailable online at theDepartment for Culture, Mediaand Sport website:www.culture.gov.uk

Museum RegistrationResource’s Registration Scheme forMuseums and Galleries: RegistrationStandard was published as a draft forconsultation in March 2003, and when in itsfinal form, will replace the RegistrationGuidelines of 1995.The aim of the Schemeis to identity a minimum level of standardsfor museums and galleries and to encouragecontinuous improvements via planning. Itcontains standards that a museum mustmeet in order to obtain fully registeredstatus, as well as activities that museumsshould consider undertaking.

The new standard places much greateremphasis on access and learning provisionthan previous guidelines. Museums will beexpected to assess and address barriers toaccess, and services and facilities mustencourage and permit access by a broadrange of users.This guide can helpinstitutions exploring the development ofexisting and new provision. In itself it is anexample of good practice, based onresearch firmly rooted in userconsultation.

In summaryServices should be developed for blindand partially sighted people:

• to improve access for the two million people with sight problems

• to ensure services are accessible as defined in the DDA

• to meet the need identified in recent social inclusion agendas.

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What will be considered reasonable interms of adjustments under the DDAdepends on a number of factors, such asyour human and financial resources.Whatever your circumstances, it isextremely unlikely that there is notsomething which you could be doing tomake your service more accessible. It isimportant to review your current situationand to create a prioritised plan forimprovements. User consultation andprogress monitoring should be used toensure on-going improvement.

Almost all of the practical suggestions madewithin this guide are examples of auxiliaryaids and services as defined in the DDA.

101 ways to implement theDisability Discrimination Act(DDA), Eleanor Ellison, Institute ofLeisure and Amenity Management(ILAM): www.ilam.co.uk

Leisure and the DDA is publishedby ILAM and RNIB and givesinformation on the implications of theDDA on service providers in theleisure industry.Available from RNIB:0845 702 3153

Social inclusion agendaEveryone has the right to visit museumsand explore their collections.Government social inclusion initiativeshighlight the need to ensure that culturalfacilities and opportunities are accessibleto all.A number of recent reports haveidentified the vital role museums play incultural provision, and how museums,galleries and heritage sites must ensurethat their collections and resources arewelcoming and appropriate for everyone.

• The Policy Action Team 10 report(1999) focused on Governmentspending and policies on arts, sportsand leisure, and identified disabledpeople as being at particular risk ofsocial exclusion.

• The Department for Culture Mediaand Sport (DCMS) developed a SocialInclusion Action Plan (1999), inwhich it commits to “extendcultural/leisure opportunities for areasand groups at risk of social exclusion.”

• In setting out minimum standards tobe used when developing accesspolicies in Museums for the many(1999), the DCMS stated that“museums and galleries are wellpositioned to provide fascination,pleasure and opportunities for learningfor the whole community.This is whyoffering the widest access to museumsand galleries is so important.”

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There are two key first steps to improvingan organisation’s approach to access:

• creating an access policy

• developing an action plan for itsimplementation.

Access policiesAn access policy should aim to improveaccess for all visitors and will coverphysical, sensory, intellectual and culturalaccess.Within such a policy, an organisationshould state how it will meet the needs ofblind and partially sighted people. It isimportant to begin by assessing currentprovision, for example with the SelfAssessment Toolkit developed by Resource,in order to examine the barriers fordisabled people to accessing premises,collections and information.

The Survey of provision for disabledusers of museums, archives andlibraries (2001) undertaken byResource consulted with 340organisations.This survey found thatonly 38 per cent of museums have apolicy or plan that specifically mentionsdisabled people. In the survey of venueswith audio guides undertaken for thisproject, just over half of theorganisations have an access or disabilityaction plan. Half of those with such aplan stated that it mentioned blind andpartially sighted people.

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3. Planning for inclusion

This Talking Images Guide containsinformation on different approaches toimproving access for blind and partiallysighted visitors.The key to comprehensive,sustainable and effective provisionhowever, is to have an access policy andaction plan. In order to develop this policyand action plan, it is necessary to consultwith visitors and non-visitors with sightproblems. Implementation should beregularly monitored.This section containsapproaches to:

• developing an access policy and actionplan

• undertaking access audits

• consulting with blind and partiallysighted people

• evaluating services.

Access policies and action plans

“Disparate efforts are unsatisfactoryfor users and staff.A comprehensiveaccess policy and implementation planis needed so that provision for visuallyimpaired people is reliable and so thatall staff understand and work as awhole to the same end.” Venueparticipating in survey

initiatives may help develop services andaudiences.

Subscribe to MAGDA mail at:www.magda.org.uk

Subscribe to GEM discussion list at:www.gem.org.uk

Disability rights: developing aneffective action plan (AustralianHuman Rights and EqualOpportunities Commission) is adetailed guide to developing an actionplan: www.hreoc.gov.au

RNIB can provide contacts of venuesexploring different approaches toaccess, contact the Talking ImagesArts and Heritage Officer.

Access audits

In the Resource survey of provision,organisations were identified as low,medium or high performers against 125indicators. Nine out of ten highperformers have carried out an accessaudit compared with less than a third oflow performers.

Undertaking an access audit will help inboth assessing current provision in a venueand in prioritising improvements.

Action planningAn action plan will set out what steps willbe taken in the future in order toimplement an access policy.The planshould be endorsed at senior level,including the management board andboard of trustees, and all staff should bemade aware of it so that policy isimplemented throughout the organisation.The action plan will need to be resourcedto ensure sustainable provision andprogress should be monitored regularly.Plans can be used as evidence of yourefforts to meet the requirements of theDDA.

In the Resource survey of provision,54 per cent of museums did not havepart of their core budget earmarked forproviding services for disabled people.

When defining priorities it may be usefulto discuss practice with colleagues inother venues. Both the Museums andGalleries Disability Association (MAGDA)and Group for Education in Museums(GEM) have open discussion email liststhat are a useful way to share ideas andpractice.Approaches to opening up accessto collections are discussed later in theseguidelines, but considering what works inother venues will be vital.Working withvenues that have more establishedprovision and collaborating on marketing

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There are a number of documents that setout ideas on access policies. It may beuseful to consult the MuseumsAssociation’s ethical guidelines on accessand the DCMS’s Museums for themany.An access policy should set outhow a venue will:

• meet visitors needs

• increase the number of visitors

• diversify the visitor base

• remove barriers to accessing premises

• provide access to information andcollections

• train staff to welcome all visitors

• consult with visitors and non-visitors.

Consulting with users on access policies isessential to ensure that the outcomes ofthe policy are tailored to the needs ofusers.

The Self Assessment Toolkit isavailable online atwww.resource.gov.uk

The Museum Association’s ethicalguidelines are available online atwww.museumsassociation.org

Museums for the many is availableonline at www.culture.gov.uk

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The National Register of AccessConsultants is available online at:www.nrac.org.uk

The Centre for AccessibleEnvironments is a charity thatprovides information on how thebuilt environment can best bemade or modified to achieveinclusion by design and offersaccess consultancy:www.cae.org.uk

JMU Access Consultancy is a not-for-profit pan-disability accessconsultancy supported by RNIB:www.jmuaccess.org.uk

Consultation

“You need to involve visually impairedpeople at the formative stage of theproject, in the development processand at the end, to say that this worksor doesn’t work” Auditor

Consultation with blind and partiallysighted people is essential whendeveloping access policies, services andspecific projects. It takes time andcommitment to recruit individuals to takepart in consultation. But the process willbe invaluable for development of services

and in building relationships with thecommunity.

Finding people can be difficult. Localsocieties of or for blind and partially sightedpeople, groups representing older people,social services and other local contacts willprove useful contact points.

Consultation should be an on-goingrelationship used to regularly reviewservices.This could be achieved through a user group, advisory board or accesscommittee. Consultation is always a two-way dialogue, sharing results andoutcomes with all parties involved.Terms ofreference should be made clear at the startof any consultation exercise and expensescovered. Many people will have experiencesof other venues, both good and bad, thatwill benefit your organisation. Having a sightproblem however, does not necessarilymake someone an expert on visualimpairment. It is important to gather a range of views, as individuals have verydifferent experiences and opinions about avenue and the services provided.

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The purpose of an access audit is toidentify all the barriers and hazards to mobility within an environment, and to make recommendations as to how theymay be overcome. Recommendations areprioritised according to legislation, healthand safety and likely cost implications.Therecommendations may include suggestionsregarding the management of the buildingsas well as physical alterations, assometimes physical alterations are notsufficient or possible.The audit will enableyour organisation to develop an actionplan outlining how you will address thefindings of the audit within the context oflegislation and the resources available.

Access audits follow a sequential journeythrough the environment, whether it be abuilding or external space.The followingelements are examined:

• building approach, including car parkingand landscaped features

• entrances

• reception and waiting areas

• horizontal circulation: corridors, ramps,lobbies, doorways etc

• vertical circulation: lifts, stairs

• emergency egress

• wayfinding and signage

• toilets and washing facilities

• finishes, colour and contrast

• lighting

• signage and information provision

• fittings and fixtures – including displays

• policies and procedures

• IT provision – a brief overview ofsoftware and hardware provision.

At each stage of the journey sequence,barriers or hazards to mobility areidentified, and recommendations are madeas to how these may be overcome.

The National Register of AccessConsultants (NRAC) has created the firstnational standard for auditors and accessconsultants, focusing on physical access. Ithelps clients to select access auditors andconsultants free of charge and has an onlinedatabase of members.The NRAC willprovide a helpful resource for anyoneseeking a professional physical auditalthough not all specialists in this field aremembers of the register. It is thereforeuseful to publicise your audit brief as widelyas possible. If a professional access audit istoo expensive, it will still be possible tocontact local groups of disabled people,such as Access Groups.

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In summaryIn order to plan for inclusion:

• adopt an access policy that states how you will meet the needs of people with sight problems

• monitor implementation through anaction plan

• consult widely with visitors and non-visitors

• build evaluation into services and projects at the outset.

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In the Resource survey of provision,most consultation carried out was foundto be reactive, and information tendedonly to reach those who were alreadyusers of the service. 47 per cent ofmuseums said that they had user groupsincluding disabled and non-disabledpeople, whilst only 27 per centconsulted with non-users. Only 43 percent of museums had mechanisms forreporting back on consultation,compared to 75 per cent of libraries.

EvaluationThere are different ways to evaluateservices.These include:

• providing visitors with sight problemsthe opportunity to comment onservices and facilities

• providing customer feedback forms inlarge print

• gathering feedback at events, ideallythrough a structured questionnaire

• building evaluation methodologies intonew projects from the outset.

Contact the RNIB for details of yourlocal society for blind and partiallysighted people

MAGDA’s quarterly journalBarrierfree has articles and debateon current access issues in museumsand galleries, regularly looking atissues around consultation:www.magda.org.uk

The Cabinet Office Consultationwebsite contains advice for publicservices on undertaking consultation.It contains a consultation code ofpractice for government departmentsand agencies, case studies of bestpractice and advice for consultingwith specific groups, such as minorityethnic groups.Access the sitethrough: www.cabinet-office.gov.uk

Partnerships for learning: a guideto evaluating arts educationprojects by Felicity Woolf, haspractical tips on project evaluationand can be downloaded free fromwww.artscouncil.org.uk

West Midland’s Regional MuseumCouncil’s Ask the Audience reportis one of many case studies sharingmethodologies for evaluating projects:www.wm-museums.co.uk

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A lack of access to information can be ahuge barrier to people with sight problemsand can make visiting a venue or planningthat visit a frustrating experience. Unlessyour organisation makes all informationaccessible, people with sight problems willnot be able to find out what is on, get tothe venue, explore and learn about yourcollections or have anything to take homeas a souvenir or for reference. Serviceproviders have a requirement to makeinformation accessible under the DDA(see chapter three).

There are a number of ways in which blindand partially sighted people accessinformation.This section contains adviceon:

• an accessible information policy

• different forms of accessible information

• how to make online informationaccessible.

Information on how to make display textand signage accessible is contained inchapter eight.

Adopting an accessibleinformation policy andplan

“Literature ranging from advertisingleaflets to general and specificinformation, is not currently availableto visually impaired people at thevenue.This needs to be rectifiedurgently.” Auditor

For blind and partially sighted visitors, it isessential that visitor information is madeaccessible.This includes display text,captions and information available in guidebooks.Think about how someone with asight problem will access information at allstages of a visit.

It will be useful to develop an accessibleinformation policy by looking at theinformation you produce and prioritisingit.This policy could be discussed as part ofany consultation process with local blindand partially sighted people and will formpart of an access policy. It should alsoform part of any house-style policy.

When information is produced in a rangeof formats, they should be of equivalentquality, produced at the same time andavailable at the same price.This means thatwhen planning an exhibition, it is essentialto plan the production of all formats at

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4. Improving access: information

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the same time as planning your standardprint information.

Once information has been produced inaccessible formats, customers need to bemade aware of its availability. Unfortunately,many blind and partially sighted peoplehave low expectations of gettinginformation in a way they can read so theydon’t ask for it.This is often misinterpretedby organisations as lack of demand.A clear,large print statement should be displayed inreception about the availability of largeprint, audio or braille information.Customers contacting a venue should alsobe made aware of accessible formats andoffered information before a visit.

42 per cent of the venues surveyed forthe Talking Images project admitted thatat best, a blind or partially sightedvisitor could access “none”, or only “alittle”, of their venue, collections andevents through using information inaccessible formats.

Your policy should also consider whatinformation is available to blind andpartially sighted visitors after a visit. Sightedvisitors may take home a visitor guide orother information. Copies of your audioguide, the script of the guide, visitorinformation in alternative formats, orcopies of raised images could be madeavailable to customers with sight problems.

Question:“What would you like totake home after your visit?”

Answer:“I think what’s useful wouldbe a tape or CD, sighted people canlook through a book that can remindthem of their visit, we could have thesame experience.” Auditor

Forms of accessibleinformation

Magical Mystery Tour surveyed blindand partially sighted visitors to 151historic sites and buildings in Englandand Wales.The most significant barrierto access was identified as the inabilityto use printed information.

Blind and partially sighted people readinformation in different ways, includingstandard print, large print, tape, braille,computer disk or over the internet.Different people have different preferencesand one format will not suit everyone.Thisis why it is crucial to produce informationin a range of accessible formats.

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• Around two million people in the UK are unable to read standard print with any ease.

• 75 per cent of partially sighted people can read large print.

• 36 per cent of blind people can readlarge print.

• There are around 20,000 fluent braille readers in the UK and many more people who are able to use braille labelling and signage.

• 24 per cent of blind people use information on audio tape.

Standard print

Making information accessible is oftencheaper and easier than many peoplethink.When compared with how much isspent on standard print information, thecost can be very small.

RNIB produce clear print guidelines tohelp publishers make their informationaccessible to as many people as possible.The guidelines encourage publishers anddesigners to:

• use a minimum font size of 14 point

• make sure there is a strong contrastbetween text and background colour(black on white and black on yellow areamong the strongest contrasts but thereis a range of options)

• not to run text over pictures ordiagrams

• use paper that minimises show throughand glare.

Adopting RNIB’s clear print guidelines canbe done immediately and at virtually nocost. If you produce all your visitor andcollection information using clear printguidelines and a 14 point font, you will bemaximising the number of people who canaccess it.

The See it Right pack containscomplete clear print guidelines andtips and advice on producinginformation in a wide range offormats: 0845 702 3153

The Confederation of TranscribedInformation Services (COTIS)promotes the provision of accessibleinformation. It provides guidelines andhave been developing a checklist ofissues around quality:www.cotis.org.uk

Large print

Large print is considered to be anythingthat is in a 16 point font or above. Largeprint users will each have their ownrequirements in terms of text size and youcannot produce information in one sizethat will satisfy all those who read largeprint.Therefore, processes are requiredthat enable appropriate responses to

RNIB can transcribe informationinto braille, tape and large print aswell as providing details of othernational and local transcriptionagencies.Telephone customerservices on 0845 702 3153.

Vocaleyes can record informationinto audio: www.vocaleyes.co.uk

Electronic text

This can be a cheap and easy way ofproducing information and distributing it, byemail or computer disk, to the growingnumber of blind and partially sighted peoplethat have access to computers.Theinformation can be accessed through theuse of large screens or access technologysuch as programmes that enlarge the texton the screen, or screen readers that readwhat is on the screen and convey theinformation to the user via speech orbraille. Individuals may also be able tocreate their own large print or brailledocuments using the electronic file.

Information will not always be available onwhat software customers are using.As abasic rule simple text files will work wellfor all forms of access technology.

Providing a range of formats

It must be remembered that many peoplewith sight problems use different forms of

information in different situations and it isimportant to check with the visitor. Forexample, it should not be assumed that ifsomeone requests information prior totheir visit to be prepared in braille or tape,that they would want information that theyuse during the visit in the same format.

On-line information

The growth of the internet means thatpeople with sight problems now have theopportunity to enjoy a wealth ofinformation and services independently in a way not previously available.As with theproduction of electronic text, web pagesmust be appropriately designed. If certainguidelines are not followed, sites cannot beused by blind and partially sighted people.The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines(WCAG) are published by the WebAccessibility Initiative (WAI) and should beused in the development of all websites.

Over two-thirds of the venues surveyedstated that they have a website. Ofthese, less than 30 per cent stated thatthey are accessible to blind or partiallysighted people.

In the Resource survey of provision fordisabled users of museums, archives andlibraries, only 26 per cent of museumsstated that they have websites complyingwith standard guidelines for universalaccess.

RNIB campaigns for good website designand urges designers to take responsibilityto ensure that everyone can access theirwebsites and to use the WAI guidelines toensure that online information is accessibleto all. RNIB offers website accessibilityaudits to help you make your site moreaccessible. If your website achieves a goodstandard of accessibility, it will then beeligible for RNIB’s See it RightAccessible Website logo.

The Web Content AccessibilityGuidelines (WCAG) are availableonline at: www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT

The RNIB website has tips onhow to design a more accessiblewebsite: www.rnib.org.uk

In summaryEnsure that all information you produceis accessible to people with sightproblems by:

• adopting an accessible information policy

• producing information in a range of accessible formats

• ensuring that your website is accessible.

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individual requests.This can be as simpleas having an electronic text file where thefont size can be adjusted on request andprinted immediately for the customer.Theguidelines for the production of clearprint, mentioned previously, need to befollowed when producing large print.

Nearly three quarters of theorganisations surveyed for the TalkingImages study provide visitor guides totheir permanent collections in print,whilst less than a quarter provide thisinformation in large print.

Braille

Braille is a system of raised dots which areread by touch. It can be produced in-housewith the right software, training and anembosser (braille printer), although it ismore common for it to be producedthrough a transcription agency.

Audio tape

Audio tapes can be produced in-house orby a transcription agency, or with the helpof a local talking newspaper, or local radiostation.An agency would give a moreprofessional feel to standard literature, andmake longer documents easier to listen to,whilst the in-house approach would bewell suited to material aimed at individualcustomers.

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5. Improving access: descriptions,tours, touch and events

There are many ways to make collectionsaccessible to visitors with sight problemsand which approaches are used willdepend on the venue, collections andresources available.These could include:

• guided tours that describe collections

• special events when a site, objects orworks are described

• touch tours or handling sessions

• representations of objects or images intactile formats

• multi-sensory exhibits

• providing access to collections online

• audio guides (discussed in detail inchapter six).

Descriptive tours andevents

“What we are trying to get is forpeople to paint a picture for us.Todescribe the room or object as theysee it so that we are using their eyes.”Auditor

Audio description is putting visual imagesor events into words. It is used in theatre,in cinema, on television, at sporting eventsand on DVDs and videos to improveaccess for blind and partially sighted

people. Describing visual images andobjects in a museum, gallery or heritagesetting will help visitors with sightproblems to better understand yourcollections. Sighted visitors may also enjoygood descriptions.

“A good description for me issomething that tells me what theperson can see in as clear and concisea way as possible.” Auditor

“I think there is a balance...You can’tbe completely objective, it wouldn’tmean anything, it would be clinical butalso you can’t be too interpretative sothat you go too far.You need to givethe information so that I can draw theconclusions.” Auditor

Descriptions might be recorded for useon audio guides or on the web, or theymay be presented live.A number ofvenues, such as the National Gallery, offerregular events when a work of art orobject is described with detailedbackground and contextual information.Large reproductions of the work are alsoused in these sessions. Other venues offerguided tours when works of art or objectsare described and may also be touched.

Members of staff could undertake trainingto provide descriptions, or venues mayprefer to work alongside a freelance

scenes depicted in classical art work orrecordings of natural or urbanenvironments.

“One idea we’ve been talking about ...is to have a tactile display foreverybody to touch which hasexamples of canvas, sized canvas, overpainting, under painting, different typesof oil painting, glazes, whether theglaze is cracked. So that you could feeland they could be referred to in anydescription.” Auditor

When developing a touch tour, it might beuseful to think about developing a selectionof themed objects that can be touched.Selecting a range of objects, some of whichcontrast with others in terms of materials,date and style may be useful for visitors.For example, you could include busts madeof bronze and of marble, sculpture that isrealistic in its representation alongsideabstract pieces or ceramics plates made ofstoneware and of porcelain.

Although there may be issues with theconservation requirements of someobjects, remember that touching will onlybe occasional.Visitors could be providedwith hand wipes or invited to take rings offtheir fingers. Handling gloves may beappropriate for touching certain exhibits,though whenever possible people shouldbe allowed to touch the object directly.

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describer or educationalist experienced inworking with blind and partially sightedvisitors. More specific guidance ondescriptions is contained in chapter six.Other guidelines on description are alsoavailable from Art Education for the Blind.

In the Resource survey of provision fordisabled users of museums, archives andlibraries, 37 per cent of museumsstated that they provided audiodescription services or tours.

Vocaleyes provides training ondescribing in venues, as well asoffering description services:www.vocaleyes.co.uk

Audio Description Associationand Audio DescriptionAssociation Scotland can alsoput you in contact with localdescribers.

Art Education for the Blind:www.artseducation.info

Touching the real thing

“For me the opportunity to handleobjects and items on display wasfascinating.You could sit on the chairsin the castle and feel what it wouldhave been like in its heyday.” Auditor

Many blind and partially sighted people willenjoy the opportunity to touch objects asa way of gaining access to collections. Forsome people it is a vital way of obtaininginformation on an object, for others itprovides additional information to helpthem understand that object.Touching cangive people the opportunity to exploreitems for themselves and to make theirown discoveries and assumptions ratherthan receiving information through a thirdparty.There are two main ways for blindand partially sighted visitors to touch –touching real objects or artefacts (coveredin this section), or touchingrepresentations such as tactile images ormodels (covered in the next section).

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Respondents to the phone survey whovisit museums, galleries or heritagessites were asked to rate their overallexperience of services and facilities atthese venues. Displays and objects youcan touch (37 per cent) and modelsyou can touch (35 per cent) were mostlikely to be awarded “very helpful”ratings.This shows how importanttouch can be for some visitors.

There are a number of approaches toproviding visitors with the opportunity totouch real objects and artefacts in yourvenue.These include:

• a guided touch tour

• providing people with the information toundertake a touch tour independently,such as the audio tours offered by theVictoria and Albert Museum and theImperial War Museum

• handling sessions including artefacts fromyour collections.

Visitors could also be provided with objectsto touch which aren’t from collections butwhich help understand collections. Forexample, objects that demonstrate thefunctioning of a mechanical article,examples of materials and tools used in theproduction of artefacts or art works, orobjects which convey concepts used in artworks could be included. Sound could alsobe used in touching sessions such as periodmusic, readings of literature describing

A person accessing an image by sight willsee the whole and complete imageinstantaneously.A person using touch toaccess an image will rely on their brainpiecing together many different bits ofinformation.They then need to attempt tomake sense of this information by trying toorganise it into a whole and completeimage. Because of the difference betweenvisual and tactile perception, when touchingan object or image, a visitor will need tohave some form of additional informationsuch as description or braille information tohelp them create a mental picture.

There has been an increasing amount ofresearch in cognitive, educational and socialpsychology into how blind and partiallysighted people read tactile objects andimages and the difference between sightand touch.

Art Beyond Sight provides a usefuloverview into how people read tactileobjects.

The Resource website has a report onhandling collections withcase studies:www.resource.gov.uk

Art Through Touch is anorganisation which aims to promoteand provide access to art activity forblind and partially sighted people. Ithas regular events including seminarson access issues:www.members.aol.com/ATTouch/

the tactile image looking completelydifferent from the visual image.

Not everyone will want to interact withtactile images.This can be for a variety ofreasons, which include:

• having had a bad experience in the pastin trying to read them

• having never been shown how to usetactile images

• that their tactile sensitivity is poor.

As mentioned previously, the process oftactile exploration is gradual and sequentialunlike sight.This means that some peoplemay need to be taught how to exploretactile images and that images must beaccompanied by information in braille oraudio.

Before embarking on the production oftactile images consider why they areneeded. Not everything will translate into ameaningful tactile image. Consider:

• what information the tactile imagesshould portray

• how someone would use them

• how to get the tactile images into thehands of users.

It may be best to send the tactile image tothe visitor prior to the visit.An example ofthis is The Living Paintings Trust who run afree library service for blind and partiallysighted people. Packs that contain raisedimages and accompanying taped

descriptions of famous paintings, sculptureand architecture are distributed from theirlibrary via the post.

The main method of producing tactileimages is by using swell paper, sometimescalled Minolta or microcapsule paper.Theswell paper method requires the design ofblack and white artwork which istransferred onto the swell paper.The swellpaper is then put through a special heatdiffuser which makes the dark areas on thepaper swell up thus creating the tactileimage.

Other methods include thermoform andembossed graphics.The thermoformmethod, sometimes called the collagemethod, requires the making of a reliefmaster from which plastic copies are taken.Embossed graphics are produced by aspecial embosser that builds up an imageusing dots punched into paper.

When planning to develop tactile imagesfor your venue, it is best to consult aspecialist.

There are several organisationsthat can help with the productionof tactile images including:

National Centre for TactileDiagrams: www.nctd.org.uk

Living Paintings Trust:www.livingpaintings.org

RNIB: 0845 702 3153

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Tactile images and models

Tactile images

Tactile images give people with sightproblems the chance to appreciate andunderstand material and information thatwould not normally be accessible to them.The ways in which tactile images can beused are very diverse, for example:

• to complement audio guides

• in conjunction with guided tours

• in educational sessions

• off-site before or after a visit.

They might represent:

• two-dimensional works of art

• objects that cannot be touched

• architectural features, building facades

• designs on fabric or printed designs,for example wallpaper

• information that is provided in visualformats, such as diagrams.

There is much more to creating a tactileimage than just raising the visual image.Anyvisual image has to be redefined in order toproduce a tactile image that a person withsight problems can use.This redefinitionmay mean simplification, alteration,adaptation and sometimes distortion, toconvey the important features containedwithin the visual image.This often results in

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Developing multi-sensoryexhibits and features

“Remember a blind person has tobuild picture in their mind by usingtheir other senses.” Auditor

Several museums, galleries and heritagesites are developing exhibitions orcommissioning works of art that do notpredominantly rely on sight. Exhibitionshave been developed that focus on touch.Some museums have incorporatedsoundscapes that recreate a historical timeor particular situation. Some galleries havecommissioned art works that are createdthrough sound or understood by touch.

There is a huge potential to createexhibitions or new commissions that offeropportunities and experiences for allvisitors that are not focused on sight.

Interactive exhibits and terminals

Many museums, galleries and heritage sitesare now incorporating digital interactiveterminals into their exhibitions.Theseterminals are only accessible to blind andpartially sighted people if they have beendesigned to be. Inclusive design principlesshould be part and parcel of the designbrief. For advice, contact a universal designexpert. It may be possible to incorporate

access technology into terminals, forexample, using sound to provide access totouch screen technology. High definitionscreens (with high quality colour andcontrast, and the possibility ofmagnification) can be very useful forpartially sighted people.

Access Prohibited? Informationfor designers of public accessterminals examines the design ofdigital interactives:www.tiresias.org/pats/index.htm

A guide to inclusive design isavailable from the Disability RightsCommission.

Research and guidelines oninteractive can be found on theBritish Interactive Group website:www.big.uk.com

Sensory Design Services are inclusivedesign consultants working toinfluence the design and developmentof products, equipment and servicesto ensure that they are accessible.More details and factsheets areavailable at: www.sds-uk.org

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Models designed to be touched

Models that are designed to be touchedare another important aid to help peoplewith sight problems access informationthat would not normally be open to them.This is particularly the case when trying toconvey information about very largeobjects or areas that are impossible toview as a whole. For example, when aperson walks around a building like acathedral, they may be able to get an ideaof its layout and basic shape at groundlevel.What is difficult, particularly forpeople with sight problems, is tocomprehend the shape of the wholebuilding, this is where a model can have animportant role to play.

There are a number of ways in whichmodels can be used.They can:

• be produced of works of art likepaintings which, when used alongsidetactile images and audio description, canprovide a powerful tool to explain whatis contained within a painting

• provide geographical information likethe layout of a city centre by detailingbuildings and giving a bird’s-eye view ofthe area.

Models can be reproduced in a variety ofdifferent materials like bronze, wood,plastic, and resin.The choice of materialwill come down to cost and durability.

The factor common to all models is thatof scale which is extremely important to

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ensure that the correct information isbeing given to any visitor.

The Magical Mystery Tour surveyshowed that 68 per cent of visitorswho used tactile models or imagesfound them useful.

Although simple models can be madeusing everyday materials, the more detailedones require particular skills andexperience.This skill and experience is notonly in designing and manufacturing themodel, but also in understanding howpeople explore models using touch, givingadvice on how much information can beconveyed and whether other media shouldbe used in conjunction with it.

Contact the Dog Rose Trust formore information aboutinteractive models:www.dogrose-trust.org.uk

In summary:Access to collections can be improvedin a number of ways.Approaches thatmight be relevant to your organisation.are:

• descriptive events or tours

• touching objects or features

• producing representations of objectsor images in tactile formats

• multi-sensory exhibits

• providing access to collections online

• developing participatory sessions.

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Access to collectionsthrough the internetDigital technologies have a huge potentialto make cultural assets, information andlearning opportunities more widelyavailable. Blind and partially sighted peopleare often excluded from this potential,finding many websites difficult or evenimpossible to use, simply because of theway they have been designed (see chapterfour).

There are museums and galleries that havedeveloped online resources that areaccessible to blind and partially sightedpeople. COMPASS is an on-line databasefeaturing around 5,000 objects from theBritish Museum’s collections.The site hasbeen designed so as to be fully accessibleto people using access technology.

The Matisse Picasso i-Map Projectdeveloped by Tate Modern, has beendesigned specifically for blind and partiallysighted people as a way to explore someof the ideas, innovations and workingmethods of Matisse and Picasso.The i-mapsite incorporates files than can be used tocreate tactile images. Other sites, such asthe Smithsonian National Museum ofAmerican History, have sound files ofrecorded description, which relate toimages on the site or objects incollections.

The COMPASS database can beaccessed from the BritishMuseum website:www.british-museum.ac.uk

The i-map project can beaccessed at:www.tate.org.uk/imap

The Smithosian virtualexhibition on the DisabiltyRights movement can beaccessed at:www.americanhistory.si.edu/disabilityrights/index.html

Participatory sessions

Learning events

Around 22,000 young people under theage of 16 are growing up in the UK with asight problem.The majority of young blindand partially sighted people are inmainstream education.

When developing educational sessions thatwill be attended by students with sightproblems, it is important that educationalmaterials are accessible. It is important towork with the teacher of the group.TheRNIB’s education and employment divisionoffers advice and curriculum support toteachers of blind and partially sightedstudents and will also be able to offeradvice to the venue on ensuring thatsessions are accessible.

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Many museums offer learning programmesfor people of all ages.Again, it is importantthat all materials are provided in accessibleformats, particularly for sessions targetedat older people.

Artist-led sessions

Several venues, such as Whitechapel ArtGallery, work with artists or educationalpractitioners in devising sessions thatenable blind and partially sighted people toexplore exhibition themes and ideasthrough practical art sessions. If you arethinking about developing practical artsessions for people with sight problems toexplore collections, it might be useful torefer to books that describe how artistswith sight problems work.

Artists at work – Interviews withprofessional artists who arevisually impaired or blind, containssix artists reflections on their work

Painting from a new perspective,available from RNIB, is a book focusingon six artists who have decided tocarry on painting, despite losing theirsight and has recorded descriptions ofthe art works included in the book

What colour is the wind: insightinto art and visual impairmentdescribes blind and partially sightedstudents at work.

One of the ways to open up access tocollections is by producing an audio guide.Issues around producing an audio guideare contained in this chapter drawing onthe research undertaken for the projectand the experience of the organisationsinvolved.This section covers:

• whether an inclusive or specific guidemight be appropriate for yourorganisation

• including people with sight problems inthe development process

• different types of audio guidetechnology

• choosing tone, style and content

• guidance on developing descriptions

• creating a tour

• providing orientation information

• linking the tour to the venue.

What is an audio guide?An audio guide provides pre-recordedinformation to visitors about a collectionor site. It can be aimed at groups ofvisitors with particular needs such aschildren or people with sight problems– or can be designed for a mainstreamaudience.

Audio guides can be used to:

• provide historical or culturalinformation about the venue

• recreate a sense of the venue’s past

• help visitors find their way around thevenue

• point out specific features that mayotherwise go unnoticed

• describe artefacts in detail.

The guide may take the form of a tourwith a narrative that leads the visitor on a journey, or it may be responsive to thevisitor – providing information on request.

At best it will enhance a visit by addingvalue, and communicating interestinginformation in a lively and engaging way.At worst it can be cumbersome, out ofdate, crudely designed, factually wrong,badly recorded, hissy, boring orunintelligible. Or it can be fantastic, onlystaff don’t know that it exists andconsequently customers don’t get to knowabout it either.

The guide can be produced in-house, or bya commercial producer. Commercialproducers offer different levels of servicefrom writing and recording the material tomaintenance and staffing. If you producethe guide in house you will need to budgetfor maintenance and updates as well as theinitial production.A list of audio guideproducers is contained in the further

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6. Improving access: audio guides

The Talking Images project audited bothaudio guides that were specifically writtenfor people with sight problems, and onesthat were designed for a mainstreamaudience.The auditors found good and badexamples of both types.

The audio guides developed for the casestudies were developed specifically forpeople with sight problems. Developing aspecific guide may best address thedescription and orientation needs ofpeople with impaired vision.

Mainstream guides however, can be mademore accessible to blind and partiallysighted people by involving them indevelopment and by following thesuggestions in this chapter. Many sightedpeople enjoy descriptions, as they helpthem to explore a work or object in moredetail.Therefore some of the principlesoffered in this chapter on description maybe of benefit to all visitors.

Handsets that allow users to select tracksmean that one guide can offer informationthat is relevant to some visitors but can beskipped by others.Although there is a limitto the amount of information that can berecorded on any handset, this approach of“layering” information can make the guideaccessible to different groups of visitors,or visitors with different needs.

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information section at the end of thereport.

Installing an audio tour should alwaysbegin with careful consideration of exactlywhat added value it is going to give thevisitor to your venue or presentation.Theaudio guide should relate to the building asa whole ensuring that it becomes anintegrated part of what you do, not a bolton extra.When an audio tour is done well,it significantly adds to a visitor’s enjoymentand understanding, and also inspires themto further independent investigation duringand after a visit. One thing that audiotours almost never do is generate revenue.

A specific or inclusiveguide?Audio guides can be a valuable tool forimproving access for visitors with sightproblems. Just because a guide is in audiohowever, does not necessarily mean that itwill be accessible to blind and partiallysighted people.The technology used andthe way that the guide is produced willdetermine its accessibility.

“Audio guides are essential for theenjoyment and understanding ofvenues, artwork and objects, enablingvisually impaired people to appreciatecollections and their history withouthaving to rely on members of staff orother sighted assistance.A good audioguide often directs people requiringmore detailed information on torelevant sources, giving added depthand meaning to the exhibits that aredescribed.Audio guides contributeenormously to the pleasure I, as avisually impaired person, get fromvisiting museums, galleries and heritagesites.Without audio guides the impactof major exhibitions, and the pleasurethey give would be greatly reduced forme.” Auditor

“Audio guides should extend accessto people whose access is otherwiselimited.An audio guide for visuallyimpaired visitors provides a level ofindependence in going around anexhibition. It gives information andcues which would be very difficult todo in another way, other than offeringa guided tour.There are, though,dangers in providing recordedinformation which over-interprets awork - telling people how to lookrather than what the work is.Adelicate balance has to be struck.”Venue participating in case study

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“You want an inclusive guide – youdon’t want a specific guide. If you havean inclusive guide and it embodiesoptional extra information for blindpeople, then you don’t have to havetwo audio guides – that must surely bethe best of both worlds.” Auditor

Including blind andpartially sighted people in the processIn order to produce an accessible audioguide, be it specific or standard, blind andpartially sighted people should beconsulted about what they need, what theywant, and what works for them. One wayof doing this is to set up a focus group toadvise on the production of the audioguide and other access issues (see chapterthree).The focus group should be involvedat every stage, and certainly beforecommissioning, as they should have aninfluence on what sort of audio guide youchoose, both in terms of the informationprovided and the technology used toaccess it.

The focus group should be used to testout ideas, information, descriptions andequipment during the writing process, tomake sure you are providing the right levelof detail.

• Do they think description is enough onits own?

• Would they prefer a different balancebetween description and contextualinformation?

• Would they like tactile information?

• Do they need help to find their wayaround the venue?

Using focus groups is not withoutproblems, and there may be strong-mindedpeople with conflicting points of view.Youneed to try to get a balance betweenvisitors who are blind and those who arepartially sighted, and to take into accounttheir differing needs and opinions.

Once the guide has been completed itneeds to be evaluated and if necessary,updated.The focus group can then be usedto look at future provision so that theguide is not seen as an end, but rather abeginning.

“The other side of this is to get thevenue to think of this as a continuingprocess rather than commissioningsomething now and then not doinganything else.You have to add to it, it’sa continuum.” Auditor

purpose of their visit and the result can bemore of a barrier than an aid toappreciation.

And these units need to be maintained.Walkmans bought off the high street arenot designed for the level of usage theymight get in a venue, and many auditorsstruggled with faulty or run-down units.

Digital

Other sites and exhibitions will demandmore flexibility and this is where digitaltechnology comes into its own.Information is accessed by punching innumbers on a keypad. Information can belayered, and individual paths constructedfor individual groups of visitors.The visitoris largely in control of what they listen toand the time they spend listening.Descriptive or other visitor informationcan be separated out from orientation orway-finding information, giving greaterchoice to the listener.

These units are versatile but not withoutdrawbacks in terms of the usability ofsome of the handsets available. On someunits the keys are not well defined, or thelayout is confusing. Numbers do notrespond with a bleep when you pressthem, so you may not know if the numberyou pressed has registered correctly. Oftenthe only way of confirming you havepressed the right number is to look at ascreen - which is small and indistinct.Also,errors are only indicated visually notaurally.

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Types of audio guideThe range of audio guides available isincreasing all the time.This section doesnot attempt to survey specific technicaloptions. Rather it is designed tosummarise the types of equipmentavailable, and to ask questions to help youdecide between them.

Further information on thetechnologies used to produceaudio guides is available in theTalking Images research report.

Tapes

Some guides, like older generationcassette players, hold information in linearform – playing through the recorded textin one direction.There are no secondarylevels of information, though theinformation can be paused and rewound ifneeded.

One advantage to this kind of player isfamiliarity.Another is ease of use, withstraightforward controls.The devices aregenerally lightweight and they areinexpensive. For certain narrative tours,these will be the best option.

But they are inflexible and you will needto consider whether to includeorientation information as part of the touror not. Many people find this kind ofinformation distracting from the main

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Work is being done by producers toaddress some of these problems, and awell written text can give auralidentification to let the user know theyare listening to the right track.

But one of the main difficulties with thistechnology is that the number to press onthe handset will have to correspond withcues given within the venue, and thesecues are generally visual.

“What ruined one visit for me, wasthat both myself and my sighted guidecould not find the numbers youneeded for the audio guide... when wedid find it, it was in an obscure cornerup in the air… I had to work so hardfinding the information that itdetracted from the pleasure of thevisit.” Auditor

Although digital units are generally robustand, with fewer moving parts, can stand upto high levels of use, they represent aconsiderable financial investment and needtighter systems of security.This meansthey may not be suited to some smallervenues.

Automatic

Automatic audio handsets have recordedinformation which is activated by signalspositioned around the venue.This means

Different displays, exhibitions or sites willcall for different types of audio guide.Thedemands of a permanent exhibition, forinstance, are different to those of anexhibition which tours, where the hangingorder of exhibits will change as the spacethat houses them changes.

In a permanent exhibition you may wantall the works to be described. Or you maywant to provide different routes throughthe exhibits.You may want these routes tochange every so often so that the tourscontinually evolve.And even in permanentexhibitions, objects will be moved orremoved from time to time.

Some venues may be more suited to a settour, a journey with a narrative.This willhave a specified route, with a start pointand an end point and listening to it maytake a specified amount of time.

You may want visitors to be able to chosebetween levels of information.This may beto make guides accessible to a number ofdifferent groups, or to include furtheravenues for exploration so that eachvisitor can construct his or her own tour.

The descriptionAn audio guide that is accessible tovisitors with sight problems will include ahigh level of description. Descriptions maybe of a selection of objects from apermanent display, or may focus on aparticular room or touring exhibition orwork.There are professional individuals

and companies who have experiencewriting descriptions for visitors with sightproblems, or staff can be trained to do itthemselves (see chapter five).

When visiting a cultural site, blind andpartially sighted people want what we allwant:

• to be engaged

• to experience a building or work of artin as direct a way as possible

• to feel involved

• to listen to interesting informationpresented in an interesting way.

“You want to come away discussingthe art, not the description.” Focusgroup participant

It is difficult to define a good description.Auditors knew a good description whenthey heard one but found it difficult to sayexactly what was good about it.

They did, however, find it easy to talkabout what was bad.

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that users can be certain of where theyare in a venue and do not need to huntfor visual cues. It also means that theydon’t have to struggle with keypads. Butthere is a cost implication for this level oftechnology; it will not be suitable forcertain sites. Installation in historicallysensitve sites may also be a problem.

Choosing tone, style andcontentIt must be remembered that any visitor isputting their trust in the audio guide tomeet their needs and provide the correctdepth and breadth of content.This can bea challenge when you have a very diversevisitor base. Structure is important asvisitors are looking for recommendationsand for the audio guide to breathe life intothe venue or presentation that is beinginterpreted.

However, there are strong differences ofopinion over the question of the tone andstyle of delivery.At one end of the scale isdramatic interpretation, and at the otherdry academic, completely objectivenarrative. It is necessary to walk a fine linebetween the two, dictated by the subjectmatter.

Here are some pointers from a qualitativestudy undertaken for English Heritage in2002, Why do visitors use audioguides by Susie Fisher Associates.

• The vast majority of visitors prefer thecontext to be set by an objectivenarrator.This is the authoritative(although the actual tone doesn’t needto be teacher-like) voice they areexpecting from an institution to deliverinteresting facts for them to find out.

• There is a gender divide. On the wholewomen prefer more of a human storywhilst men are more comfortable withstraight facts and technical details.

• Dramatisation makes it much easier forvisitors to visualise what is going on.Unless it is made clear, visitors will oftenassume that the dramatisation issupposition and not fact.This is wherethe objective narrator is key – they canintroduce the dramatisation and make itclear that it is drawn from academicanalysis.

• Highlighting particular features bydirecting the visitor to them and thenincorporating their significance into thenarrative is very effective.Visitors reallyfeel they are getting information onfeatures they would otherwise miss. It isalso an opportunity to introducetechnical detail without it being toooverwhelming.

• Sound effects add incredible richness tothe delivery, but only when they areproperly produced and don’t interferewith delivery of the facts.

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What is essential is that the descriptionbrings the picture or artefact to life.

Generally speaking, a description will startwith an overview of the work beforefocussing in on particular details.

“You must start off with a global ideaof what the painting is of, I really thinkthat’s important, otherwise the rest ofit won’t matter, it won’t make anysense.” Auditor

There is no easy formula about how to goabout describing a picture, or which areato describe first. Each work will have itsown particular qualities, and eachdescription will therefore need to reflectthat.

A description should:

• include information on the style of thepiece as well as its historical context

• discuss the materials and techniquesused in making the work, especially ifthey are unusual or particularlyimpressive.

• try to convey something of theatmosphere of the space in which thework is exhibited.

• communicate the impact a work orbuilding may have at first glance, as wellas describing the details which gotogether to create that impact.

Generally the overview will come beforethe detail, but there may be specificexamples of where the detail builds intosomething spectacular.The experience of asighted person in that space needs to berecreated.The description should engagethe listener and come to a satisfying end.

In most cases it is useful to start with asimple statement about what something is:“A Mendlesham chair” for instance.Thiswill take people mentally to a certainplace.You can then explain what being aMendlesham chair means:“Unique toSuffolk, these chairs were made between1800 and 1860, out of fruit wood with anelm seat.”

After this contextual information, furtherdescription can give both visual detail anda sense of the chairs’ character:“They areelegant with thin legs and carved spindlesin the seat backs.They are highly polished,which accentuates the warm rosy colourof the wood.”

For a painting or work of art it may beuseful to give the title of a work first, suchas “Madonna and Child”.We need to knowif it is a painting or a sculpture or a relief.We need to know what it is made of.

After that the description needs to tell usmore about what that particular artist hasdone with the Madonna and Child both interms of the composition and the effectthat creates. For certain tours it may beappropriate to place the work within anart historical context. In other tours you

may want to emphasise a thematic link, orto stress the work’s social importance.

There may be occasions when it is betterto keep the title back, introducing it at alater point within the description, perhapsif the title’s relationship to a work is notstraightforward and needs someexplanation, or where the viewer issupposed to enjoy a discontinuity betweenthe title and the work.

For example being told that a picturecalled “The Picnic” actually shows a liontearing into the guts of a zebra creates acertain effect. Having the image of the liondevouring the zebra first, and then beingtold it is called “The Picnic” later creates avery different feeling. Consider how thework sets up and then deals withexpectation, and try to make thedescription reflect this.

The extent to which a description willinclude historical, contextual andbiographical information will rely on whattype of tour is being produced. On digitalhandsets it is possible to produce levels ofinformation which can detail an artist’s lifeor examine a particular technique. On alinear tour this information will have to beintegrated into a description.

Descriptions should include any writteninformation which is available to sightedvisitors in the gallery, either by quotingwritten gallery information or by includingit within the text of the description.

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“The length of description was oftentoo long.”

“I am afraid I got rather bored.”

“There was no change in pace orvariety within the voice.”

“The descriptions were meticulous butultimately un-engaging.”

“Descriptions, directions and historywere given together in one block.”Auditor’s comments

But although unable to define what makesa description good, certain qualities wereidentified as contributing towards apositive experience:

• There is no ideal length for adescription.They can be tedious andbrief or engagingly long.

• What makes a difference to many blindand partially sighted visitors is thequality of the voice.A recording of anenthusiast, for example, may conveymore about a historical site than thewell written, measured prose of anexpert.

• A description should mention the sizeof a room or object or work of art, andhow it is framed or displayed – whetherit is raised up, or behind glass.

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A note on interpretationWhilst there is debate to be had abouthow interpretative to be in a description, orhow to reflect a picture’s ambiguities, it isnever useful to just be vague.The followingexample is of two descriptions of the samework which were given to a focus group ofgallery visitors with sight problems.The first one attempted to concentrate onthe form and remain uninterpretative.

1968 Ramparts (oil on carved board).Arectangular background, some 19 incheshigh and 21 inches wide – that is about48 by 53 centimetres – is painted asmooth earthy brown.Standing proud of it is a slightly smallerrectangle – this one divided up into anumber of smaller, overlappinggeometric sections.At top and bottom of this smallerrectangle are areas of white. Betweenthem a line of three differently sizedrectangles.The one to the left is brownlike the background.The central one is adarker brown, and the third, a lighter,orangey brown.The line created by these threerectangles starts off – to the left – ashorizontal and almost central. But alittle way across, the line shiftsdramatically downwards.The tworectangles centre and right slopedownwards.To the far right is a tall

and rubbed in places to create anirregular, uneven surface, like snowdrifting across dirty ice.A patch at thetop left has been roughly scraped so thata grubby brown shows through like astain. Elsewhere, are smudges of thick,powdery white.Separating the top frosted section fromthe bottom, three differently sizedrectangles progress across from left toright.The one to the left is the smallestand is painted a similar earthy brown tothe background, but with a scuffedquality.The central rectangle is a darkerbrown – with a blacker sheen – whichmakes it sink back away from us into therelief – although it actually stands proudof the one to the left.The third rectangle– in fact almost a square – is a lighter,orangey brown.Whilst the line created by these threerectangles starts off – to the left – ashorizontal and almost central, the othertwo forms have shifted downwards – asthough a geographical fault has sheeredthis layer and pushed it bodily downtowards the right.Now sloping, these two rectangles seemin danger of slipping out of thecomposition – squeezed out frombetween the frosted white sections attop and bottom.The only thing whichstops them going any further and holdsthem in some kind of equilibrium is a tallrectangular form to the far right –

painted a similar brown as thebackground. But even this seems to havebeen affected by the strong movementswithin – and the top right corner of theorangey brown square dents into it.Two other forms animate the relieffurther. Both are a similar shape – atrapezium – with parallel sides, horizontaltops, but with a bottom edge whichslopes down towards the right. In colourboth shapes reflect the two frosty-whitesections as though somehow related tothem – though the texture of the boardis allowed to show through, giving thesea lighter, more insubstantial feel.One of these trapeziums is positionedwithin the top frosted section to theright. Its slanting bottom edge seems tobe holding the dark brown rectangle andorange square in their downward slope.Carved within it is a circle – the inneredge of which is painted white, creating amoonlike glow.The other trapezium sits next to it – justleft of centre - and a little lower.Withinthis is another, larger, circle. Inscribedrather than cut, this circle has an etherealquality – like an echo of the first.Hovering in front of the darker brownrectangle – the trapezium appears like aguillotine, which having severed the lineof rectangles, pushing it downwards andbackwards into the relief – now holdsthe pieces in their final balancedpositions.

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rectangle – painted the same brown asthe background.Two other sections seem to float abovethe relief.Their colour is similar to thetwo white sections. Both are similar inshape – a trapezium – with parallelsides, horizontal tops, but with abottom edge which slopes downtowards the right.One is positioned within the top whitesection and to the right. Its slantingedge runs along the top edge of theslanting brown line. Carved within it is acircle – the inner edge painted white.The other trapezium sits next to it –just left of centre – and a little lower. Inthis, another circle has been inscribedrather than cut.

The second description allowed a level ofinterpretation to colour the description:

Subtitled “Ramparts”, this relief wasmade in 1968, whilst Ben Nicholsonwas living in Switzerland.A rectangular backboard, just overeighteen inches high and nearly twofeet wide – that’s about 48 by 53centimetres – is painted a smoothearthy brown.This backboard frames, as it were, acollection of overlapping geometricshapes.At top and bottom are areas of frosty,silvery white.These have been scratched

Orientation informationEveryone needs information on how toget around a venue, but it is particularlyimportant to people with sight problems.Orientation information can beincorporated into an audio guide althoughindividuals have different views about howuseful it is. For some people it gives asense of independence, allowing them tomove unaccompanied through anexhibition. For others it wastes time whichcould be spent listening to informationabout a site.

“If you have to find your way around, ittakes the concentration away from theguide. It takes the enjoyment away aswell.” Focus group participant

One of the main problems identified withrecorded orientation information was thatit was unclear how it was meant tofunction.

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The focus group found the first, shorterversion much harder to understand, andalso thought it was the longer of the twodescriptions.The second description wasfelt to be more involving, giving moreinformation about the process of lookingat the work, as well as what waspositioned where.They found the use ofcolours and qualitative words useful inconstructing a strong sense of the work.They felt they had something positive totalk about.

Creating a tourWhen writing any guide, it is essential togive a brief introduction to what the tourconsists of, with basic information aboutwhat is available on the tour. It may, forinstance, be possible to get recorded inputfrom a museum director or exhibitioncurator about what was behind thechoice.

It is important to say how long the tourwill last, and what form it will take.Theintroduction can also give a visitorinformation on the venue such asdescribing the layout of the building andgiving information on the location oftoilets, shops and café.

Recording quality is important. Poorquality recording detracts from the spaceyou are in. Muffled sound or indistinctvoices will be difficult and frustrating tolisten to.

Although opinion is divided about the useof sound effects, the general feeling is thatif they are used sensitively and are relevantto the narrative, they can enhance a visit,but used crudely they will detract fromthe text.

You should consider whether the textshould be recorded in a studio or in thespace. Some auditors felt that the naturalacoustic of the building allowed them agreater sense of the space. Others foundthat a “live” acoustic made the voice lessdistinct. Such a recording could also createproblems for people who are hard ofhearing if recording is not properlyundertaken.Again, much depends on thespace being described and theprofessionalism of the recording process.

“They went to a lot of trouble to giveyou an audio impression of what therooms had been like, but it was anexample of when sound effectsoverwhelmed the information theywere trying to give you.” Auditor

If recorded for a digital handset,descriptions should give an auralconfirmation of the subject at the beginningof each track, so that people know they arelistening to the right piece of information.There should also be some indication at theend of a track so that people know whento move on or pause the description.

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“The information just starts and youhave no way of knowing how long thevoice will be going on for.”

“You don’t know if you’re supposed toremember it or if it will be repeated.”

“You waste time concentrating on adetail which turns out to beirrelevant.”

“There is often the sense that ‘I’mnever going to remember all this so I might as well stop listening’.”Auditors

Recorded information needs to guidevisitors through itself, as well as guidingthem around the building or collection. Ifnot, visitors don’t know whether to set offwhile the track is playing, or wait for it tofinish.They may not know, when it doesfinish, whether they are where they oughtto be.And they may have no way of findingthis out.

Getting from one room to another

Give approximate distances from oneplace to the next but be careful aboutbeing over-specific, one person’s step isanother person’s stride. Use existing way-finding clues within the building so

“I’d like to know about the size of thespace that I am in, that’s the mostimportant thing…” Auditor

When describing a room, it’s not justabout size, a sense of how the space is, orwas, used can be far more useful. “A grandmediaeval hall which at meal times wouldseat two hundred nobles on long oaktables” may conjure a more immediate anduseful picture than “this room measurestwenty metres long by five metres wideand was used for large dinners”.

As a visitor enters a space, they need toknow where they are - whether at oneend of the room, in a corner, or in thecentre of its longest wall.

“There had clearly been a deliberateeffort to pick up on relevant features.It was particularly impressive that theguide made some attempt to describethe view out of the windows, as this iscommonly missed from most audioguides. It is not necessary for everywindow or room, but helps to giveorientation of the room and thebuilding.” Auditor

labelling will simply make an audio guideredundant. It will be money spent fornothing.

One method to help a visitor find andrecognise the audio guide cue number is tocreate a tactile plan of the space – with thedescribed objects and their cue numbershown on the map. Issues around tactileplans are discussed in chapter eight.Theseissues include the fact that not all peopleare used to reading tactile information, andthat people will still need to know whenthey have reached the right place.

Practical implicationsThere are many practical implications ofmanaging an audio guide in a venue.

• What length will the guide be?

• How many units will be needed?

• How are the guides going to bedistributed and collected?

• Should visitors be charged for taking thetour?

• Who is going to manage and pay formaintaining the equipment?

• Who is going to manage and pay forupdating the guide?

It is important to ensure that everyonehas access to the same information, notjust to comply with the DDA but also inorder to aid the social aspect of visiting.Make sure that a script of the tour is

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that people can check their progress.These could include:

• a difference in temperature from oneroom to the next

• a difference in light level

• a change in the colour of the walls

• a change in the type of flooring

• a dominant smell or sound

• an atmospheric change as the journeymoves from a large public space to asmaller, more intimate or domesticsetting.

Possible hazards should be mentioned enroute in a way which is informative butnot sensationalist, these may include:

• tiles which get slippery in wet weather

• uneven floor surfaces

• rooms or corridors with low levellighting

• low doorways

• glass cabinets

• slopes

• steps and whether they go up or down

• donation boxes.

Once you arrive at a room

As well as how to navigate a space peoplealso need the space itself described.

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Linking the guide to thevenue

“We couldn’t just make our exhibitionsaccessible; the entire museumexperience required some adjustment,including staff training, brochures, andmarketing strategies.There werenetworks, terminologies, attitudes andpolitics to understand before we couldbegin to reach this new audience.”Alan J. Friedman, director of theNew York Hall of Science

Audio guides can never stand alone - andaudio description is only one tool whichcan be used to make museums, galleriesand heritage sites more accessible tovisitors with sight problems. Guides needto operate within a context of physicalaccess to the building.This means lookingat how to improve way-finding through thebuilding, as is discussed in chapter eight.

It means tackling the issue of labelling, alsoexamined in chapter eight.There is areluctance in many museums, galleries andheritage sites to create labels in largeprint.The argument is often to do withbeing sensitive to the space and the art orartefacts displayed in that space. But whilstan understandable concern, it fails toaddress what is a fundamental issue. Bad

available, along with induction loops,headphones and single ear loops.This isimportant even if the audio guide doesn’tneed headphones to be used.Also makesure that there are straps on yourequipment that are long enough for it tobe hung around someone’s neck.

These issues need to be considered rightat the beginning of the project and builtinto budgets as they will impact onbudgets, staffing and planning.

In summaryIf your venue is developing an audio guide, consider how the guide can be made accessible to people with sight problems by:

• including blind and partially sighted people in the development process

• choosing technology that is accessible

• including a high level of description that brings buildings and collections to life

• including orientation information and wayfinding clues to help people navigate the space and describing the spaces visitors are in

• linking the audio guide to the venue and to your other services

• planning how the guides will be maintained and updated at the start of the project.

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Once services and events are developed itis vital to promote them. Marketing takestime and resources and the approachesmentioned in this chapter will not workfor all venues.There are venues, however,that have shown that consistentcommitment has resulted in regularaudiences at events, excellent links withlocal societies and other communitygroups and significant numbers of peopleusing their services.A well-planned andimaginative approach will ensure thateveryone, visitors and staff alike, share thebenefits of providing services.

This section contains:

• findings from the research on whatmotivates people to attend venues

• how to promote services to visitors andnon-visitors

• on how to promote services to visitorsat a venue

• how to develop an access guide.

Why visually impaired people visitmuseums, galleries and heritage sites

“Normally, I’ll happen to be there on aparticular day, either because we areon holiday or we’ve decided to have aday out somewhere.” Auditor

Before even thinking about plans andstrategies it is useful to reflect on whypeople visit a venue. Motivations can rangefrom a day out with friends to an interestin the building or a specific event.

Of those respondents to the phonesurvey undertaken for Talking Imageswho had visited a gallery, museum orheritage site, 52 per cent said “a dayout” best described their reason forattending.A total of 23 per cent had aparticular interest in a site, building orits contents while 22 per cent hadvisited a temporary exhibition or event.

As important as why people go to a venuewill be the reasons as to why they mightnot, and what will influence their decision.Reasons will range from a general lack ofinterest to a sense that as somebody witha sight problem there is little to benefitthem. Problems relating to organising visitsor transport will also impact on a decision.

Almost three-quarters of respondentswho never visited venues (72 per cent)indicated they would consider making avisit if they were made aware that avenue had facilities such as audioguides, specialist talks or objects theycould touch.

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7. Promoting services

publications, for example national tapemagazines such as National TalkingExpress, or New Beacon, a monthly RNIBpublication, may also be useful.

Involving blind and partially sighted peoplein consultation will help gain advice onwhere to promote services locally.

All 270 respondents to the phonesurvey undertaken for Talking Imageswere asked to indicate from a list whatwould be their main source ofinformation if they wanted to find outabout leisure events and activities.Societies or groups for blind andpartially sighted people (36 per cent),friends and family members (31 percent) and talking newspapers (31 percent) were the sources most commonlyidentified.

As is shown above, blind and partiallysighted people often receive informationfrom sighted family and friends. Mentioningthe services you offer for people withsight problems in all your visitorinformation will help promote services, aswell as raising awareness of the ways inwhich blind and partially sighted peopleaccess leisure activities.

Promoting services tovisitors at the venueMarketing services is also about lettingpeople know what is on offer when theyget to the venue. Several of the auditorsinvolved in the research had been insituations when staff were unaware ofservices offered to blind and partiallysighted people.The phone survey alsohighlighted occasions when visitors hadbeen told no services existed when thatwas not the case.

“The person at reception washopeless! They didn’t have a clue whatservices they had available for visuallyimpaired people.” Auditor

“An important thing is that, when anorganisation has produced anaccessible audio guide, they should telltheir staff! They need to communicatethis information so that whoever youget when you ring up that day, willknow.” Auditor

All members of staff need to be aware ofand regularly updated on services andprojects provided for blind and partiallysighted visitors.A checklist in receptionand at points where members of staffanswer the phone with all servicesavailable will be useful, particularly fornewer members of staff. Displaying the

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Marketing services topeople before a visit

When asked how aware they thinkblind and partially sighted visitors are ofthe services at their venue, 80 per centof organisations surveyed for thisproject felt that blind or partiallysighted visitors would either be “not atall” or only “a little” aware of services.

Information does not reach people with asight problem easily. Many of the venuesparticipating in the Talking Images projectwere unsure of how to promote theirservices and felt that few people with sightproblems either knew of their services orwere accessing them.

“You’ve got to do a lot of work topromote it and to get people there.You’ve got to be very pro-active.”Auditor

Local contacts will prove invaluable indisseminating information.A good place tostart is by establishing links with localsocieties for blind and partially sightedpeople, self-help groups and social workersfor people with sight loss. Consider usinglocal radio stations and local talkingnewspapers. Specialist press and

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Contact RNIB for informationon New Beacon and nationaltape magazines.

There are over 500 local talkingnewspaper groups throughoutthe UK. For information on yourlocal talking newspaper contactthe Talking NewspapersAssociation of the UK:www.tnauk.org.uk

As with all visitors to cultural venues thetime and expense will be in securing a firstvisit and it is important to build a mailinglist of visitors with sight problems to keepthem informed about events andexhibitions.

With the individual’s permission it may bethat a small telephone mailing list is keptas a quick and effective marketing tool. Intheatre it has proved to be a very effectiveand welcomed way of letting people knowabout audio described productions.Thepro-active promotion of services as partof an audience development programme,as well as outreach work, contact withlocal societies, clubs, schools andresidential homes will help developrelationships.

Arts Council England hascommissioned Marketing andDisabled Audiences:A Guide forthe Arts, which will be availablein December 2003.

• travel information for all modes oftransport.This information mightinclude:

■ which train, underground or tramstation is nearest

■ if you can take a bus and whichnumber is best

■ where the buses stop

■ how to get from the nearest bus,train, underground, tram or station

■ if you can park a car and where

■ how much this might cost

■ if you need particular coins as youpark or after your visit

■ what concessions are available to bluebadge holders

■ what to say to a driver if you arecoming by taxi

■ the approximate cost of a taxi fromthe station

■ if there are any travel informationnumbers.

When producing such a guide, it will beuseful to consult with visitors with sightproblems about certain issues, such astheir experiences of travelling to yourvenue. If you are suggesting a walked routefrom a station to your venue, you shouldtry it out with someone who has a sightproblem to make sure you are providingthe information they need.The guideshould be produced in accessible formats

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easily recognised “eye symbol”, the logo ofthe Partially Sighted Society, in prominentplaces in your publicity and at receptionwill alert visitors to the fact that servicesfor blind and partially sighted people areavailable.

It is important to have clear large printsigns in a prominent place in reception toalert as many people as possible toservices such as information in large printor audio.This will be seen by visitors whohave a sight problem but who do notconsider themselves to be blind orpartially sighted.

To obtain a version of the eyesymbol contact the PartiallySighted Society: 01302 323132

Developing an accessguideMany cultural venues are now developingaccess guides that contain information onservices for disabled people, and somehave developed access guides specificallyfor blind and partially sighted visitors. Suchinformation guides should contain:

• practical information on planning a visitsuch as address, opening times,concessionary rates, your welcome toguide dogs

• general description of building

• brief details about collections andevents

• information about the assistance thatcan be provided such as a guide, andhow much advance notice is required ofa visit

• details on all visitor information andvisitor guides which are available inalternative formats and from where theycan be obtained. Mention whether thisinformation can be borrowed inadvance, can be taken away, orpurchased afterwards

• details about any other servicesavailable to blind and partially sightedpeople, for example, touch tours orcollections, accessible ICT equipment

• details about audio guides for thegeneral public (which may be enjoyed bymany people with sight problems), onaudio guides that are specificallydeveloped for blind and partially sightedpeople, and the cost if there is one

• details of any events that are speciallytargeted at people with sight problems

• telephone numbers of specificdepartments, members of staff, usefulorganisations or numbers for bookingexhibitions or restaurants

• a contact name and number wheremore information can be provided ifrequired

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and widely publicised. Make sure that localsocieties for blind and partially sightedpeople have copies, that they are availableat the venue, local libraries and touristinformation centres.The guide should alsobe made available online and advertised inall visitor information.

If producing an access guide, provisionmust be made to make sure it can beupdated. Consideration should be given atthe outset as to how this can be donesimply and effectively so that it continuesto be a valuable tool.

In the Resource survey of provision, 50per cent of museums did not have anaccess guide for disabled people and didnot currently plan to produce one.

Providing informationbefore a visit

“Having information about themuseum in an accessible format that Ican read would encourage me toattend, then I can make an informedchoice.“ Auditor

Most blind and partially sighted visitorswill find it useful to access informationbefore a visit.The previous sectiondiscussed providing visitor information butvisitors may also want information on yourcollections, exhibitions or building.

Some venues are thinking aboutdeveloping pre-visit packs aimed at blindand partially sighted people.These mightcontain information in braille, large printor on tape, allowing visitors to digest thisinformation before a visit. Some pre-visitpacks, such as that for Ely Cathedral, havebeen made available on loan to blind andpartially sighted people from the NationalLibrary for the Blind (NLB), RNIB andlocal societies as well as from the venueitself.Advance information can be vital tothe enjoyment of a visit and making itlively and interesting will enhance thevisitors experience.

Contact the National Library forthe Blind: www.nlb-online.org/

In summaryIn order to promote services and events:

• consider why people do or don’t attend your venue and develop a creative marketing plan

• develop links with local contacts

• use local radio and talking newspaper services and also specialist national publications

• ensure services are promoted to visitors at your venue

• consider developing an access guide.

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Many people involved in the research andconsultation for the Talking Images projectcommented positively on the customerservice they received. Some blind andpartially sighted visitors, however, reportedthat members of staff did not seemconfident speaking to them. Others notedthat members of staff were not aware ofwhat services were available at the venue.Even if a venue has excellent services forblind and partially sighted people, no onewill enjoy a visit if they do not receive apositive welcome from staff and thebuilding itself.

This section looks at:

• points to remember when welcomingblind and partially sighted customers

• how to develop a programme of visualawareness training

• the adjustments that can be made to avenue to aid the navigation of peoplewith sight problems

• how to provide information on thelayout of your building.

“I have been in situations when I’vestood at reception and people haven’tsaid anything. I didn’t know peoplewere there and they were probablyexpecting someone to make eyecontact with them. I’d say most of thetime people at reception are eitherquiet or very nervous.” Auditor

“These places provide a public service,so people on reception, the firstreaction should be, ‘Hello, how can I help?’” Auditor

Some points to rememberwhen welcoming peoplewith sight problemsEvery visitor is different.When welcominga blind or partially sighted visitor, the mostimportant thing is to ask that visitor whatyou can do to make their visit moreenjoyable.There are some common sensepoints to remember when welcomingpeople with sight problems:

In general:

• talk naturally and don’t search forsubstitutes for words like “look” and“see”.These are part of everydaylanguage, used by sighted people andpeople with sight problems alike.

• say who you are and speak directly tothem rather than to their companion,if they are with someone. Don’t walkaway without mentioning that you aregoing

• always offer to help but don’t be upset ifyour offer is refused. Some people don’tneed any help but you won’t knowunless you ask.

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8.Welcoming visitors with sightproblems

The Guide Dogs for the BlindAssociation website can be foundat: www.guidedogs.org.uk

Visual awareness trainingIn order to develop staff confidence inwelcoming visitors with sight problems, itis important to develop a programme ofvisual awareness training.This will helpmembers of staff to develop theconfidence and skills to make blind orpartially sighted visitors more welcome.There are a number of sources of trainingincluding local groups or societies for blindand partially sighted people, independenttrainers or RNIB.

“Guides appeared to have a lack ofdisability awareness trainingparticularly guiding techniques.”Auditor

“Staff did not offer any assistance.Theyappeared very nervous and unsure infront of a visually impaired person. I dofeel that visual awareness training isneeded.” Auditor

Training can be tailored to meet thespecific needs of an organisation. It shouldbe part of an access policy and will be anopportunity to ensure that all members of

staff are aware of the range of servicesavailable to blind and partially sightedvisitors. It is important to make thetraining available to all members of staffand to ensure that new staff receivetraining. It is also a good idea to runrefresher courses from time to time.

From September 2003, the websites ofthe Regional Agencies for museums,archives and libraries will hold regionaldatabases of disability auditors andtrainers.The databases are beingdeveloped in collaboration withResource.

Ensuring buildings arewelcoming to people withsight problems

Display text and labels

People with sight problems will benefitfrom clear, large and uncluttered displaytext, with good colour contrast betweenbackground and text.

“Some of the information boards haddisplays in front of them which makesit difficult to get close enough toread.” Auditor

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When guiding someone:

• allow them to take your arm

• tell them when you are approachingsteps or a kerb and say whether thesteps go up or down

• mention any potential hazards and saywhere they are

• when guiding them into a seat placetheir hand on the back of the chair tohelp them orientate themselves.

“It would be useful if the steward ineach room were to approach a visuallyimpaired person and say ‘Hello if I canbe of any help ask’ or ‘Hello I’m justover here and I will do my best toanswer questions’.” Auditor

As mentioned in chapter two, the majorityof people with sight problems are olderpeople, many of whom may not perceivethemselves as being blind or partiallysighted. Many older people have limitedmobility so providing sufficient seating ingalleries or exhibitions may be helpful.Alsoremember that one in three older peoplewith a sight problem also have a hearingimpairment.

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For factsheets oncommunication with deaf andhard of hearing people, refer tothe RNID website:www.rnid.org.uk

Sense is the UK’s leadingorganisation for people who aredeafblind or have associateddisabilities: www.sense.org.uk

There are currently around 5,000 guidedog owners in the UK. Guide dogs arehighly trained and disciplined and shouldbe admitted to all parts of your venue.Never separate the owner and the dog asthis will leave the owner less independent.

Remember that guide dogs are workinganimals, not pets.They should not be fed,patted or distracted when they areworking. Keep a bowl available so that thedog can be supplied with fresh water ifrequired.When organising events, such aslectures and workshops, it is also helpfulto allow extra space for the guide dog tolie down by the owner’s chair.

Sight problems, provides anintroduction to blindness and what itis like to live with sight loss, How toguide a blind person, gives detailedinformation on guiding techniques.These are both available from RNIBwho can also provide information onspecific eye conditions.

of light and dark, which can disorientate.Subtle changes, however, can be used tohighlight different functions of buildings,such as a reception desk. Lighting shouldbe positioned so that it does not produceglare from surrounding material or dazzlebuilding users, fittings should be abovehead height.

“In places the lighting was very poor(this is to create mood) which made itvery difficult to spot the numbers forthe audio guide, even my sighted guidehad problems. Stairs were notsufficiently lit or marked” Auditor

Good lighting levels will benefit manyvisitors with sight problems.When this isfelt to conflict with conservationrequirements, it might be worthconsidering raising levels for short periodsof time, or using lighting that can becontrolled by the visitor.When placinglabels and signs, consider lighting levels andtry to avoid situations where the label willfall within the reader’s shadow.

Building design This guide does not aim to be acomprehensive examination of buildingdesign. However the following overviewmay be relevant for some organisations:

• It is easier to form a mental picture of anenvironment if it is simple and logical in

its layout. Common problems in layoutsare confusing corridors, obstructions incirculation routes or hazards such as theunderside of staircases which people canwalk into.

• When decorative finish is used well itcan highlight features and shapes aidingblind and partially sighted people toorientate and navigate within it. Usingdifferent wall and floor finishes can aidmobility by identifying different areas anduses.Tactile surfaces with speciallydesigned profiles can give distinctmessages, such as hazard ahead.

• Entrances should be clearly sign-posted, illuminated, sheltered from theprevailing wind and easily distinguishablefrom the façade.An adjacent side hung orsliding door must supplement anyrevolving doors.

• Reception areas should be located in aquiet part of the building near the mainaccessible entrance, providing a goodenvironment for verbal communication.The reception desk should be providedat two heights with overall good tonalcontrast and should be fitted with aninduction loop and mini-com and textphones.

• Stairs and lifts need to be examinedfor their accessibility.Tactile warningsurfaces to define an area of landing atthe top and bottom of each flight, whilststep nosings should be highlighted tocontrast in colour and tone with the

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“Some of the writing on theinformation panels is in green and redwhich are difficult colours to see for avisually impaired person.” Auditor

It is essential to consider viewing distancesand positioning when producing labels andexhibition panels. Make them as large aspossible; some good panels have text withfont sizes of 30 point or more. Upper andlower case letters give words a shape,which can help partially sighted people.When providing information in braille,consult with blind and partially sightedvisitors as to its best location. Labels couldalso be produced in hand held braille andlarge print formats.

“The location of room numbers, whichare in braille, in several places areincorrectly placed.These wereimpossible to find and once located,were in positions that made themimpossible to read other than by lyingdown.” Auditor

In the Resource survey of provision fordisabled users of museums, archives andlibraries, 39 per cent of museums havelarge print notices.

Signage

Signage is an important element inenabling people to use buildings and canmake a significant difference.With caresignage can lead to a more accessibleenvironment for everyone. Signage canalso be considered an auxiliary aid underthe DDA 1995.

Signs should be easy to find, contrastingagainst their background, easy to read,preferably upper and lower case, with asimple font and at a sufficient size to beread. If close enough to touchmanufacturers are now producing brailleand tactile signage which appears as if it isa normal sign, the ‘One Sign for All’approach.

It is also important that signs are simple,concise and consistent.

These are just some of the importantprinciples that can be overlooked whendesigning environments leading to theexclusion of a significant proportion ofpotential users of your service.

Contact RNIB Customer Services topurchase copies of the Sign DesignGuide: 0845 702 3153

Lighting

Lighting needs of individuals vary greatlydepending on their eye condition althoughthere are some general principles. Lightingshould be level and uniform to avoid pools

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Portable, hand-held maps and plans

The information given in portable mapsand plans can be much more detailed thanon a static map or plan as they can bereferred to constantly. However, amechanism is needed to get them into thehands of visitors, consequently, they maynot be suitable at unstaffed sites.

The ideal would be to provide both staticand portable maps and plans so that thevisitor can start with the static version toget a general understanding of the wholevenue and then refer to a hand-heldversion to get further information. If this isnot possible, then a decision must bemade based on what is most useful at aspecific venue. Overall, hand-held maps andplans usually come out on top because ofthe level of information they can convey.

A quarter of the venues surveyed forthe Talking Images project have a tactilemap for blind visitors; less than 10 percent have a large print map for partiallysighted people.

Maps and plans in accessible formats

Maps and plans can be produced in anumber of ways:

• tactile format with braille labelling

• tactile format with audio description

• audio description alone

• large print.

Not all people will find maps and planseasy to use.Therefore, the way they areconceived, designed and produced isextremely important to ensure the bestresults possible.

The inclusive approach to maximise usage,keeps costs down and to try and eliminatethe need to identify people with specialreading needs. For example a large printvenue plan could be used by both sightedand partially sighted visitors.

Contact the National Centre forTactile Diagrams to discuss tactilemaps: www.nctd.org.uk

More information about the Map forAll concept and hand-held maps isavailable from RNIB.

In summaryEnsure that people with sight problemsreceive the best welcome possible atyour venue by:

• developing a programme of visual awareness training for all staff

• ensuring that your premises are welcoming to blind and partially sighted people

• providing information on physical layout to ensure that people can visit your venue independently.

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• static, in-situ maps or plans

• portable, hand-held maps or plans.

Static, in-situ maps and plans

The information given on static, in-situmaps and plans needs to be very simpleand straightforward as people need toremember information once they havewalked away from the map or plan.Themain benefits of large static maps or plansare that they give a good overview of avenue along with simple orientationinformation, which is of particular benefitto people who have sight problems.

Very special consideration has to be givenas to the siting of these static maps orplans.They must be located at a suitableheight to give accessibility to people inwheelchairs and people with sightproblems, and must be positioned wherethey can be read in comfort, for examplenot in the middle of a busy entrance.

Static maps and plans should be inclusivein their design, enabling as many differentpeople to read them as possible andpreventing the necessity to have morethan one map, for example RNIB has beendeveloping a new inclusive design conceptcalled the “Map for All”.This combinesvisual and tactile elements by using goodcolour contrasts, different textures alongwith braille and print text which is alsoraised, enabling the map or plan to be readby sight, by touch or by sight and touchcombined.

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tread and riser. In addition to havingappropriate space requirements, liftsneed to have audible announcementsfor more than 2 floors, whilst callbuttons need to be tactile.

• Accessible toilets are used not only bywheelchair users but by an extremelywide range of disabled people whoshould not have to travel further ormake more effort than other users.Toilets should be located on accessibleroutes and be clearly signed.

• It is important that you also develop afire egress policy. For staff, a PersonalEmergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) canbe written and rehearsed inconsultation, but for visitorshypothetical plans will need to bedeveloped for different types ofdisabilities with the fire officer and localaccess groups.

In the Resource survey of provision,only seven per cent of museums usecolour coding to indicate movementbetween areas.

Information on physicallayoutThere are two basic ways of providinginformation about the layout of yourvenue to any visitor, whether they havesight problems or not:

The following actions should help youconsolidate and further improve access forblind and partially sighted visitors.

• Develop a disability action plan thatmentions how you will meet the needsof blind and partially sighted people.

• Obtain endorsement at a senior andBoard/Trustee level for this plan,communicate it to all staff and regularlymonitor progress.

• Consult and ensure that time andresources are available for well-plannedconsultation. Consultation will bebeneficial in helping you promote yourwork and create local links.

• Promote services to existing andpotential visitors.

• Evaluate services in collaboration withblind and partially sighted people.

• Network and discuss ideas withcolleagues, local organisations andorganisations such as MAGDA.

RNIB, along with many of theorganisations mentioned in this guide, iswilling to discuss ideas and projects, and toprovide advice on the issues contained inthis guide.

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9. In summary: developing services

“My dream in terms of accessibilitywould be you turn up, unannounced,and there is somebody there whocould show you around.Then, therewould be the option of an audio guidethat would have a description of everyobject in the whole place.The personwho guided you round would know,and be enthusiastic about, the venueand its background, and they would beinterested and willing to answer yourquestions.” Auditor

There are many blind and partially sightedpeople who enjoy visiting museums,galleries and heritage sites.The TalkingImages project aims to raise the standardsof access to museums, galleries andheritage venues for blind and partiallysighted people, and to positively influencethe practices of all key stakeholders.

It is hoped that this guide will help thosewho work in the sector to enable visitorswith sight problems, current and potential,to access as wide a range of collectionsand historic environments as possible, withas much independence as possible.

This may take some years to achieve.Theideas and resources presented in this guideare designed to support venues, and theorganisations they work with, in achievingthis aim. Some of the ideas are low cost;others require sustainable resources.

Publications referenced inthis guideAccess Prohibited? Information fordesigners of public access terminals,Dr John Gill (2000)Available online: www.tiresias.org

A Guide to Inclusive Design, DisabilityRight Commission (2002)Available on the Disability RightsCommission website: www.drc.org.uk

Art Beyond Sight: a resource guide toarts, creativity and visual impairment,Art Education for the Blind and AmericanFoundation for the Blind (2003) Available from the RNIB Research Library:020 7388 1266

Code of Practice: Rights of Access –goods, facilities, services and premises,Disability Rights Commission (2002)Available from HMSO: 0870 600 5522 oronline at: www.drc.org.uk

Leisure and the DDA, RNIB/ILAM(2000)Available from RNIB: 0845 702 3153

Magical Mystery Tour, University ofBristol Disability Unit (1999)Available from University of BristolDisability Unit: contact Paul Sullivanpaul.sullivan@bristol.ac.uk

Partnerships for learning: a guide toevaluating arts education projects, FelicityWoolf,Arts Council EnglandAvailable on the Arts Council Englandwebsite: www.artscouncil.org.uk

Painting from a New Perspective,RNIB (2001)Available from RNIB: 0845 702 3153

See it Right pack, RNIB (2001)Available from RNIB: 0845 702 3153

Sign Design Guide, Sign Design Society,JMU Access Partnership (2000)Available from RNIB: 0845 702 3153

Survey of provision for disabled usersof museums, archives and libraries,Resource (2001)Available on the Resource website:www.resource.gov.uk

Talking Images Research. Museums,galleries and heritage sites: improvingaccess for blind and partially sightedpeople, RNIB and Vocaleyes (2003)Available from RNIB: 0845 702 3153

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines,World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Available online at: www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT

What Colour is the Wind: insight intoart and visual impairment, NationalSociety for Education in Art and Design(1992)Out of print but available in the RNIBresearch library: 020 7388 1266

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10. Further information

Museums & Galleries DisabilityAssociation (MAGDA) Guy Purdey, (Chair)c/o South East Museum Library and Archive CouncilKent and Medway OfficeGarden RoomHistoric DockyardChathamKent ME4 4TETelephone 01634 40 50 31www.magda.org.uk

Resource16 Queen Anne’s GateLondon SW1H 9AA Telephone 020 7273 1444www.resource.gov.uk

Other charities and organisations

Action for Blind People14-16 Verney RoadLondon SE16 3DZ Telephone 020 7635 4800www.afbp.org

Audio Description AssociationAdrienne Pye, Membership Secretaryc/o Arts Marketing HampshireMottisfont CourtTower StreetWinchester SO23 8NDTelephone 01962 84 69 60

Audio Description Association(Scotland)Caroline Brophy, Chairc/o Edinbrugh Festival Theatre13/29 Nicolson Street Edinburgh EH8 9FTTelephone 0131 529 6000

Disability Rights CommissionDRC HelplineFREEPOSTMID02164Stratford upon Avon CV37 9BRTelephone 08457 622 633Textphone 08457 622 644 www.drc.org.uk

The Group for Education in Museums Primrose House193 Gillingham RoadGillinghamKent ME7 4EPTelephone 01634 31 24 09Email: gemso@blueyonder.co.ukwww.gem.org.uk

Guide Dogs for the BlindBurghfield CommonReading RG7 3YGTelephone 0870 600 2323www.guidedogs.co.uk

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ContactsContact details are correct at time ofgoing to press and are not exhaustive.

Partner organisations

Vocaleyes(Nationwide audio description producers)25 Short StreetLondon SE1 8LJTelephone 020 7261 9199www.vocaleyes.co.uk

Royal National Institute of the Blind105 Judd StreetLondon WC1H 9NETelephone 020 7388 1266Contact:Talking Images Arts and HeritageOfficer

Contact for RNIB products,publications and factsheets:

RNIB Customer Services PO Box 173Peterborough PE2 6WSTelephone 0845 702 3153 Minicom 0845 58 56 91Email: UK customers –CServices@rnib.org.ukOverseas customers –exports@rnib.org.uk

Funders and advisors

Arts Council England14 Great Peter StreetLondon SW1P 3NQTelephone 020 7333 0100 Textphone 020 7973 6564 www.artscouncil.org.uk

Cadw – Welsh Historic Monuments National Assembly for Wales Cathays ParkCardiff CF10 3NQ Telephone 029 2050 0200 www.cadw.wales.gov.uk

Department for Culture, Media and Sport2-4 Cockspur StreetLondon SW1Y 5DHTelephone 020 7211 6200Email: enquiries@culture.gov.ukwww.culture.gov.uk

English HeritageCustomer Services Department PO Box 569Swindon SN2 2YPTelephone 0870 333 1181www.english-heritage.org.uk

Historic ScotlandLongmore HouseSalisbury PlaceEdinburgh EH9 1SHTelephone 0131 668 8600www.historic-scotland.gov.uk

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Audio guide producersThis list of producers is not exhaustive andthe inclusion of a producer does notconstitute a recommendation from theTalking Images partners.

Acoustiguide

188 Sutton Court RoadLondon W4 3HRTelephone 020 8747 3744Email: info@acoustiguide.co.ukwww.acoustiguide.co.uk

Advanced Thinking Systems1 South LaneClanfieldWaterloovilleHampshire PO8 0RBTelephone 023 9259 5000Email: sales@advances-thinking.co.ukwww.advanced-thinking.co.uk

Antenna AudioJ 307-309 Tower Bridge Business Complex,100 Clements RoadLondon SE16 4DGTelephone 020 7740 1155Email: info@antennaaudio.comwww.antennaaudio.com

Audio Visual Consultants107-111 Whitehouse LoanEdinburgh EH9 1ATTelephone 0131 447 6211Email: les.bushby@avc-edinburgh.co.ukwww.avc-edinburgh.co.uk

Black Box AV Ltd25 Aberafan RoadBaglan Industrial ParkPort TalbotWest Glamorgan SA12 7DJTelephone 01639 76 70 07Email: info@blackboxav.co.ukwww.blackboxav.co.uk

The Dog Rose Trust83 GreenacresLudlowShropshire SY8 1LZTelephone 01584 87 45 67Email: information@dogrose-trust.org.ukwww.dogrose-trust.org.uk

Fieldsman TrailsColin AntwisFron Deg Clayton Road Mold Flintshire CH7 1SU UK Telephone 01352 75 62 02 Email: colin@adams-consulting.co.ukwww.dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/parade/ni30/fieldsman/

Flexleigh Audio GuidesScotlands HouseWarfieldBracknellBerkshire RG42 6AJTelephone 020 733 7999Email: flexli@netcomuk.co.ukwww.flexleigh.co.uk

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Institute of Leisure and AmenityManagementILAM House Lower BasildonReading RG8 9NETelephone 01491 87 48 00Email: info@ilam.co.ukwww.ilam.co.uk

Museums Association24 Calvin StreetLondon E1 6NWTelephone 020 7426 6970Email: info@museumsassociation.orgwww.museumsassociation.org

National Library for the BlindFar Cromwell RoadBredburyStockport SK6 2SGTelephone 0161 355 2000www.nlbuk.org

The Partially Sighted SocietyQueens RoadDoncasterSouth Yorks DN1 2NXTelephone 01302 32 31 32 Email: info@partsight.org.uk

RNID19-23 Featherstone StreetLondon EC1Y 8SL Telephone 0808 808 0123 (freephone)Textphone 0808 808 9000 (freephone)www.rnid.org.uk

Sense11-13 Clifton TerraceFinsbury ParkLondon N4 3SRTelephone 020 7272 7774 Textphone 020 7272 9648 www.sense.org.uk

International organisations

Art Education for the BlindThe Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens829 Riverside AvenueJacksonvilleFlorida 32204. USATelephone (904) 356 6857www.arteducation.info

Australian Human Rights and EqualOpportunities Commissionwww.hreoc.gov.au

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Accessible informationConfederation of TranscribedInformation Services (COTIS)67 High StreetTarporleyCheshire CW6 0DPTelephone 01829 73 33 51www.cotis.org.uk

RNIB Transcription Services105 Judd StreetLondon WC1H 9NETelephone 020 7391 2341

RNIB Web accessibility team105 Judd Street London WC1H 9NETelephone 020 7388 1266Email: webaccess@rnib.org.uk

Talking Newspapers Association ofthe UKNational Recording CentreHeathefieldEast Sussex TN21 8DBTelephone 01435 86 27 37www.tnel.co.uk or www.tnauk.org.uk

Inclusive DesignSensory Design ServicesRNIB PeterboroughBakewell RoadOrton SouthgatePeterborough PE2 6XUTelephone 01733 37 52 80Email: sds@rnib.org.uk www.sds-uk.org

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OPHRYS SystemsBCM Ophrys SystemsLondon WC1N 3XXTelephone 0800 028 1308Email: ophrys@ophrys.netwww.ophrys.net

Producers of tactileimages, maps and modelsThe Dog Rose Trust83 GreenacresLudlowShropshire SY8 1LZ Telephone 01584 87 45 67Email: information@dogrose-trust.org.ukwww.dogrose-trust.org.uk

Living Paintings TrustQueen Isabelle HouseUnit 8, Kingsclere ParkKingsclere, NewburyBerkshire RG20 4SWTelephone 01635 29 97 71www.livingpaintings.org

National Centre for Tactile Diagrams

University of HertfordshireHatfieldHerts AL10 9ABTelephone 01707 28 63 48 Email: info@nctd.org.ukwww.nctd.org.uk

RNIB Tactile Images and plansSue King Customer Liaison Officer RNIB Peterborough PO Box 173 Peterborough PE2 6WSTelephone 01733 37 07 77

Accessible environmentsCentre for Accessible EnvironmentsNutmeg House60 Gainsford StreetLondon SE1 2NYTelephone 020 7357 8182Minicom 020 7357 8182www.cae.org.uk

JMU Access Partnership105 Judd StreetLondon WC1H 9NETelephone 020 7391 2002Email: info@jmuaccess.org.ukwww.jmuaccess.org.uk

National Register for AccessConsultantswww.nrac.org.uk

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