Maintaining Accessibility in Museums

Maintaining Accessibility in Museums
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section
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Introduction
According to the Institute for Museum and Library Services, there are about
17,500 museums across the United States that care for more than 750 million
objects and live specimens in order to engage the public in learning about
everything from artists’ masterworks to the composition of an atom to the
history of barbed wire. (1,2) These museums – a term used broadly to include
zoos, historic sites, botanical gardens, aquariums, planetariums, children’s
museums, and science and technology centers -- range in size from a small
historic house to a large art museum with a related range in annual budgets
from a few thousand to several hundred million dollars. (2)
Regardless of size or income, most museums have legal obligations to provide
and maintain accessibility for visitors with disabilities: Privately operated
museums are covered as public accommodations under title III of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); museums operated by state or local
governments are covered by the ADA’s title II; and museums that receive
Federal funding – whether they are covered by title II or title III -- are also
covered by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Museum Investments in Access
Since the 1970s, numerous museums across the country have initiated
efforts to improve the accessibility of their buildings and programs for visitors
with disabilities. Today, museums that invest time and money to remove
barriers from their facilities, design accessible exhibitions, and provide
effective communication for their programs can potentially attract to their doors
more than 50 million Americans with disabilities, more than 20 million families
with members who have disabilities, and millions of graying Baby Boomers. (3,4)
Elements such as entrances without stairs, exhibit labels that can be read by
visitors who are seated or standing, large-print exhibition brochures, and
captioned multimedia programs help museums reach this huge and growing
audience.
Characteristics of an
Accreditable Museum
“The museum strives to be
inclusive and offers
opportunities to diverse
participation.”
American Association of
Museums
January 1, 2005
Code of Ethics for Museums
“Thus the museum ensures
that: . . . programs are
accessible and encourage
participation of the widest
possible audience
consistent with its mission
and resources . . . programs
represent pluralistic values,
traditions, and concerns . . .
American Association of
Museums
November 12, 1993
The key to protecting these investments is maintaining the accessibility that
has been put into place -- both the general features of a public accommodation
and features and programs that particularly define a museum experience.
When accessibility programs and services are discontinued or accessible
building features are blocked by temporary exhibitions or removed during
renovations, the loss of invested time and money can be substantial.

Maintaining Accessible Features in Museum Buildings
Museum buildings are often city landmarks and as much a part of
the museum experience as the exhibitions and programs within
them. The following are examples of typical museum building
accessibility maintenance issues:
Accessible Entrances
• If the museum’s accessible entrance is not the main entrance
(allowable only when the main entrance cannot be made
accessible), the alternate entrance and any gates along the route
to it must be unlocked whenever the building is open for visitors,
special events, docent training, and behind-the-scenes
appointments. Signage must be provided at all inaccessible
entrances to direct people to the accessible entrances.
• The route to all accessible entrances must remain clear of snow,
leaves, and debris. It also must be checked regularly to ensure
it is not blocked by outdoor furniture, landscaping equipment, or
other barriers.
• Entry doors with power operators should remain powered
during all hours that the museum is open to the public. If they must be shut off for any reason, the museum
should have staff available to open the doors for people who cannot do so themselves.
Accessible Routes Throughout the Museum
• 	If directional signs to accessible building features are mounted
on movable pedestals, they must remain in place and continue
to provide correct directions, including information about the
accessible route(s) for special events.
• 	If accessible routes through the building are temporarily blocked
when exhibitions are installed, de-installed, maintained, or roped
off for special events, alternate routes must be created with
proper directional signage at key route decision points.
Movable exhibition seating or furniture for exhibit interactives	•
must be monitored so that they do not block accessible routes,
present tripping hazards throughout the exhibition, or prevent
access to exhibit cases, interactives, or media presentations.
Some people who are blind or have low vision use canes to	•
detect barriers that jut into the path of travel, whether along the
accessible route or any other circulation path. Objects, signage,
light fixtures, and exhibitry (or tree branches and shrubs along
outdoor paths) can present bumping hazards if they are
between 27 and 80 inches above the ground. Care must be
taken either to keep protruding objects or those with low head
clearance out of the path of travel or to install cane-detectable
barriers below them.
Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution

Stanchions that define ticket lines or serve as exhibit barriers must also be cane detectable for people who	•
are blind or have low vision.
If people must travel between stanchions or between a wall and a stanchion, passage must be maintained	•
at a minimum of 36 inches wide, measured from inside edge to inside edge of the stanchion bases or floor
moldings, except at doors where the width may narrow to 32 inches for a maximum distance of two feet. If
a person must make a turn in the route, the
minimum clear passage width is shown in
Figures (a) and (b) .
• 	Elevators serving public spaces must remain
operable. If they are out of service for repair
or maintenance and provide the only
accessible route to an area, temporary
alternate access to exhibitions and
programs may be provided using
photographic, video, or computer
presentations.
If a museum uses a non-public elevator to	•
provide people with disabilities access to public floors, clear
signage must be maintained at key decision points to tell visitors where they need to go and what they
need to do to use that elevator.
Maintaining Accessibility in Museum Programs
Once inside the building, visitors with disabilities want to fully experience all that museums have to offer –
exhibitions, programs, special events, publications, and videos. The following are examples of typical museum
program maintenance issues:
• 	Staff and volunteers working at the information desk or answering questions by telephone should know
what accessibility services are available and how to request them, including those that must be scheduled
in advance.
• 	If the museum advertises a TTY number for information, staff and volunteers need to know how to correctly
answer and use the equipment. They should also know about the telephone relay system for people who
are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities and be prepared to use it correctly.
• 	Signage and information in brochures about accessibility must be
kept current and available upon request.
• 	Alternate formats for printed brochures and program materials
(e.g., Braille, CD-Rom, large print) must be kept current, in stock,
and easy to find by the public. Generally they should be
available to visitors on the same day that the standard print
versions are available, including materials associated with
traveling and other temporary exhibitions.
• 	Auxiliary aids and services (e.g., assistive listening devices,
audio description tours, closed captioning controls in exhibitions)
must remain operable except for maintenance or repair. Regular
testing of equipment is essential to keep them in working order.

If touchable objects are used to provide access to the content of	•
exhibitions and programs for people with disabilities, care should be
taken to maintain the objects’ condition. If an object is removed from
the tactile collection for any reason, it should be replaced with one of
equal quality that conveys tactually the same information about the
exhibition or program’s themes.
If the museum offers a public website about its exhibitions and	•
programs, the information should be available to everyone, using
methods such as screen-reader-accessible web design, adjustable
font and color contrast, and high-contrast images. In addition, if the
museum uses the website to present accessibility information or to
serve as an alternate format for exhibition labels or printed materials,
the information should be current and easy to find on the site.
Maintaining Accessibility in Museum Shops
Museum shops must not allow merchandise to spill into aisles and	•
-narrow the width of the accessible route.
Sales and ticket counters that have been lowered to provide access	•
must be clear and unobstructed for use by people with disabilities.
Staff should know how to assist people who need help in reaching or	•
seeing merchandise.
For specific information about how to comply with the ADA and reach this nearly untapped audience of
people with disabilities, visit the U.S. Department of Justice’s ADA Business Connection site at
www.ada.gov; or, call the toll-free ADA Information Line:
800-514-0301 (voice); 800-514-0383 (TTY)
April 2009 	Duplication is encouraged.
References
1. American Association of
Museums. “Museums FAQ.”
n.d. <www.aam-us.org/about-
museums/abc.cfm#how_
many> (10 October 2008).
2. Able, Edward, H., Jr. “State-
ment Before the Subcommitee
on Federal Financial Manage-
ment, Government Information
and International Affairs, Com-
mittee on Homeland Secu-
rity and Government Affairs”
United States Senate. 05 April
2006. <www.hsgac.senate.
gov/public/_files/040506Able.
pdf> (14 October 2008).
3. U.S. Census Bureau.
“Americans with Disabilities:
2002 Household Economic
Studies.” May 2006. <www.
census.gov/prod/2006 pubs/
p70-107.pdf> (15 May 2006).
4. U.S. Census Bureau. “Dis-
ability and American Families:
2000.” July 2005. <www.
census.gov/prod/2005pubs/
censr_23.pdf> (7 April 2006).
Accessibility enables all
visitors to participate in an
.	e	c	n	e	i	r	e	p	x	e	m	u	e	s	u	m	d	e	h	c	i	r	n	e
Investing in access – and
maintaining that investment –
brings museums the valued
rewards of inclusive
programming and a new,
diverse audience.

The Americans with Disabilities Act authorizes the Department of Justice (the Department) to
provide technical assistance to individuals and entities that have rights or responsibilities under the
Act. This document provides informal guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA and the
Department's regulations.
This guidance document is not intended to be a final agency action, has no legally binding effect,
and may be rescinded or modified in the Department’s complete discretion, in accordance with
applicable laws. The Department’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish
legally enforceable responsibilities beyond what is required by the terms of the applicable statutes,
regulations, or binding judicial precedent.