As part of Aberdeen City Council, the Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museum service is committed to, and believes that all people and sectors of the community have a fundamental right to engage with, use and enjoy the collections, buildings and programmes it provides.
We recognise that there are many barriers to access at all levels but are committed to making all aspects of our activities as fully accessible as our resources allow, including access to buildings, collections, events, exhibitions, learning programmes, and to our staff and volunteers as well as visitors.
We define access as something that is made possible when physical, cultural, social, sensory, intellectual, financial, emotional and attitudinal barriers are removed or reduced.
To eliminate and reduce barriers and ensure equality of access we will consider the following aspects of accessibility to our services and collections:
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Physical: enabling people with physical disabilities, the elderly and those caring for young people to reach and appreciate every part of the service and its collections
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Sensory: to build into all aspects of the services activities a wide range of different sensory experience
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Intellectual: we acknowledge that people have different learning styles and we will support this by adopting clear interpretive guidance
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Cultural: we acknowledge and recognise cultural differences and seek to represent varied cultural experiences and issues through our programmes and exhibitions
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Emotional / attitudinal: to ensure that all visitors feel welcomed and valued
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Financial: we will aim to minimise financial barriers to the use of sites and the collections and wherever possible.
How will we deliver on our commitment to access?
We plan to improve our service for all and have grouped our activity under two areas: care, and share. Priorities under these strands include:
Care (for the collection, the venues, the city’s heritage and culture, the environment and the generations to come after us)
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ensure we are relevant and accessible to all
Share (the collection, knowledge, information, enthusiasm, experiences, spaces and the resources we are entrusted with)
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understand our audience
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share the city’s collection in engaging ways
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create opportunities for people to access the collection and venues
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promote and enhance what's on offer
Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums will adhere to all national and international statutes of law, including specifically in relation to access, but not exclusively the Equality Act 2010, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Data Protection Act 1998 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.
This statement is consistent with Aberdeen City Council’s Equalities Plan for 2021-25
https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/people-and-communities/equality-and-diversity/equality-outcomes-and-mainstreaming-report
The plan will follow the law of the Equality Act to:
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stop discrimination and treat people equally
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make sure people have the same choices and chances
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make sure there are good relationships between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not.
In addition, we will:
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Actively participate in Aberdeen City Council’s Equality Ambassador Network.
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Engage with local and national networks which include but are not limited to North East Sensory Services, Museums Galleries Scotland and Engage.
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Adopt best practice guidance for interpretation including exhibition texts and interactives.
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Consider varied audience needs and learning styles in programme planning including formal learning at sites as well as across the service.
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Consider access issues, barriers and priorities at each site with appropriate action plans.
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Consult regularly with our audiences and non-users to ensure the broadest possible access to our facilities, services and collections.
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Ensure that contractors, consultants and outside agencies working for, or with Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums adopt and observe our access intentions, statement and plans.
