UNESCO Launches New Publication on Accessible Documentary Heritage

From UNESCO:

The publication, Accessible Documentary Heritage, offers a set of guidelines for parties involved in the digitization of heritage documents, including librarians, archivists, museums workers, curators, and other stakeholders in carefully planning digital platforms and contents with a view to incorporating disability and accessibility aspects.

The publication draws upon key features of the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2015 UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage Including in Digital Form. This is in promoting and facilitating maximum inclusive access to, and use of, documentary heritage. The means to this is by empowering memory institutions to provide equitable person-to-person access services to original documents.

The publication has been structured in a way that makes it easy for different types of stakeholder to navigate and assess various aspects to which they must commit. For this purpose, two types of guidelines are proposed by the publication: a) basic guidelines – intended for stakeholders who commission documentary cultural heritage platforms; and b) advanced guidelines – prepared for content creators of these platforms.

Direct to Full Text Report: Accessible Digital Documentary Heritage: Guidelines for the Preparation of Documentary Heritage in Accessible Formats for Persons with Disabilities

Direct to Complete Publication Announcement

Filed under: Digital Preservation, News, Preservation