From its initial planning stages, Access Art was designed to be as
accessible as possible to everyone, particularly people with disabilities
using adaptive computer equipment. This commitment to accessibility is
demonstrated throughout the site in many ways, some obvious and some
subtle. This section contains details about these accessibility features
in order to provide guidelines for other museum Web sites to follow.
It is beneficial to note how the addition of ramps and automatic doors has
made access to museum buildings easier not only for people with disabilities,
but also for all visitors. A similar phenomenon is likely to take place as
museums improve the accessibility of their Web sites. For instance, audio
transcripts and described videos can be used by those who do not have the
computer hardware or software to play multimedia, and by people with a slow
Internet connection. Likewise, image descriptions may be appreciated even
by people without visual impairments, since the descriptions point out details
that they might not have noticed. By incorporating accessibility features
into their design procedures, museums will take a major step toward making art
available to everyone.
Accessibility Features
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Accessibility Standards
Access Art was developed using the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as its standard
for accessible design. These guidelines are provided by the
Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web
Consortium.
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Image Alternatives
All images within Access Art are accompanied by a brief text phrase
that serves as an alternative for visitors who cannot see the image.
While they do not attempt to describe the appearance of images, these
alternatives give users an idea of what the image is and why it is there.
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Image Descriptions
All images on the site are also described at length so visitors can
learn what they look like. Image descriptions are provided not only for
works of art, but also for simple graphics such as logos and icons (as
shown on the
Graphic Descriptions page).
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Audio Transcripts
There are nearly 200 audio segments included in Access Art, and each one
is accompanied by a text transcript for the benefit of those who cannot
hear the recordings.
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Keyboard Access
Access Art is designed to be fully accessible to individuals who use a
keyboard or similar device instead of a mouse. Even the EyeSpy™
image enlargement system allows visitors to view works of art in detail
without having to use a mouse.
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JavaScript Alternative
In order to accommodate a wide variety of computer equipment, JavaScript
routines in Access Art are accompanied by script-free alternatives for
visitors whose Web browsers do not support scripting languages.
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Cascading Style Sheets
Certain design elements of this site, such as text size and color, are
implemented with Cascading Style Sheets, a flexible system that can be
changed by individual users to make text easier to read.
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Hyperlink Text and Titles
Hyperlinks within Access Art avoid ambiguous phrases such as
"click here," and they include embedded titles to further
amplify their purpose.
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Navigation Menu
Access Art provides a dynamic menu at the top of each
page that makes navigation easier and informs users of their
position within the site. It also includes a "hidden" link
that allows people using adaptive equipment to skip the
navigation menu and move to the main content of the page.
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Language Specification
While the primary language of Access Art is English, there
are many instances of other languages throughout the site.
For the benefit of those who use screen readers to vocalize
the Web pages, such changes in language are clearly identified.
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Table Layout and Markup
While tables are used for layout on this site, they are
never used to place sections of text side by side, avoiding
potential problems for visitors using screen readers. Also,
tables use embedded titles and summaries to explain their
purpose and layout.
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Form Labels and Tab Order
Access Art encourages visitors to search for artwork that interests
them, and to submit their comments and questions about the site. In
order to make response forms easier to use, input fields have been
clearly labeled, and their logical sequence has been identified.
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Accessibility Testing
The design of Access Art was evaluated using alternative
browsers, adaptive technology and accessibility testing
tools such as
Bobby, an online service provided by CAST.
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Accessibility Review
The accessibility of Access Art was also tested by a panel
of advisors with a variety of disabilities, and by experts
in the field of Web accessibility.
