Communicating Access Information

Beyond compliance, properly communicating information about your organization is one of the single most important steps you can take toward comprehensive accessibility.

People aren’t always comfortable asking for access information and don’t always have the time and/or resources to track it down. Having multiple paths for people to easily find information and make requests helps remove access barriers, empowering individuals to maintain their independence and make the decisions that are best for them.

Share a wide range of access information: Go beyond just describing your front entrance or event services. Try to communicate all types of accessibility, including:

• Attitudinal accessibility: Your mission, beliefs, and values around access
• Organizational accessibility: Your access policies and procedures and how people with disabilities are included in your staff and decision-making
• Physical accessibility: The features of your physical space — including arriving, entering, and moving through various areas; your restrooms
• Programmatic accessibility: Your programmatic features, communication, and offering
• Access services: The specific access services you offer and how visitors can request them, including for events. (Visit the Hub page on Fulfilling Access Requests to learn more.)
• Barriers to access: Share where barriers exist within your organization, as well as alternative options and solutions. It is always better to be open and share a plan than for individuals to be surprised and/or unprepared.

Share what is available rather than who it is available to: Avoid assumptions about who can benefit from specific services.

• For example: “Floors 2-4 of the building are accessible via elevator” rather than “For wheelchair users: Elevator available.”
• For example: “ASL interpreters can be requested for all visitors and events. Please allow one week notice” rather than “For Deaf visitors, ASL interpreters are available upon request.”

Share accessibility contact information: While you may not have a dedicated staff person, it is important to have an identified accessibility contact for your organization who can be reached directly via phone or email.

• This contact information should be listed in multiple locations, including: in job descriptions, tech riders for your building rentals, and event publicity.
• It is best if this is a specific person rather than a general “info@museum.com” contact. This staff person should also have the capacity to respond quickly and reliably.
• Including a photo and description of this person is always helpful.

Share general pre-visit and planning materials: Be sure to share all visit and planning materials, including:

• Photos, videos, virtual tours, maps, pre-visit/”Know before you go”
• Any additional information that visitors might want to know. (Visit the Hub page on Preparation Materials to learn more.)

Share access information wherever you share any other information, including:

• On your website, social media or any digital platforms
• On printed marketing materials such as brochures, mailers, postcards, etc.
• On large format print marketing materials such as exhibition posters, billboards, etc.
• In general and event/program specific materials
• In links in email signatures

• Make it easy to find: Don’t bury access information in your website or in your print materials. Put it front and center: no more than two clicks away from the main webpage, as well as at your front desk and on nearly all shared materials and communications.
• Use access symbols: Access symbols are a great way to visually communicate your offerings. (Visit the Hub page on Access Symbols to learn more.)
• Ensure communication is accessible: Consider using plain language, captioning and ASL for video content, screen reader accessibility, translated versions, etc. (Visit the Hub pages on Website Accessibility, Accessible Digital Materials, and Accessible Print Materials to learn more.)
• Use inclusive language: It is important to have a conversation amongst your staff on what language you will use. (Visit the Hub page on Inclusive Language and Communication to learn more.)
• Connect with the disability community: Communicating accessibility information is fabulous, but if you are not making a concerted effort to connect with the communities using these services, why are you doing it?

• Make sure staff is prepared and trained: Everyone who works at your organization should know which access resources you can and cannot provide and where/how they are accessed. (Visit the Hub page on Providing Services and Fulfilling Requests to learn more.)
• Communicating access information isn’t just for visitors: Many other people benefit, from your staff (with or without disabilities) to independent contractors, teaching artists, guest speakers, and more!

Personal reflection/Insights from karen Krolak:

“Sometimes access intimacy doesn’t even mean that everything is 100% accessible. Sometimes it looks like both of you trying to create access as hard as you can with no avail in an ableist world. Sometimes it is someone just sitting and holding your hand while you both stare back at an inaccessible world.” Mia Mingus, Access Intimacy The Missing Link, Leaving Evidence Blog “As someone with an acquired and dynamic disability, I am very aware of the importance of having access resources communicated to me in a variety of formats and locations. It may be helpful to check a website before I head to a museum to see if there is a quiet room that I can use to take my medications. When an unpredictable pain episode hits , however, I probably will not be able to use my cell phone to map out how to get to that quiet room. If your staff has never heard of it or needed to use it and/or your wayfinding materials don’t highlight it, that quiet room is not useful to me. On the other hand if a pain episode hits and an attendant comes over to ask if it would help to go to the quiet room and then offers to guide me there or gives my companion directions, I feel safe and appreciate the access intimacy.”