Smithsonian - An American Institution Welcomes All Visitors

An American Institution Welcomes All Visitors

By Joan Leotta

If you're one of the 29 million tourists last year to visit the Smithsonian Institution's sixteen museums and the National Zoo, you may have noticed a disability perspective throughout the exhibits. And if the accommodations made your visit more enjoyable, credit the small but effective Smithsonian Institution Accessibility Program.

Established in 1991, the SIAP helps ensure visitor accessibility in exhibits, publications, programs, and physical access. So that their efforts reach beyond Smithsonian grounds, the office carefully documents their works, making their success stories available to other institutions. In small ways as well as large, the office provides a welcoming touch to patrons with disabilities: Rather than call itself a disability program office, SIAP's focus—in name and in spirit—is on making programs more accessible.

History and Focus

"Janice Majewski was the program's first director. She is responsible for spearheading most of the efforts for persons with disabilities in the Smithsonian," says Elizabeth Ziebarth, the program's Acting Director (Ziebarth served as Majewski's assistant for six years before becoming acting director last year).

The focus of the program is visitors. Though the SIAP's staff is small—with one full-time and one part-time employee—they are supported by a cadre of volunteers and liaisons in each segment of the Institution and in the disability community.

In one way or another, the SIAP's work touches the day-to-day operations of the entire Smithsonian. Because there are more than 70 distinct Smithsonian offices, Ziebarth maintains that frequent contact with and cooperation by all units is critical to the success of accessibility efforts. SIAP staff coordinate with architects, exhibition designers and program planners to ensure accessibility at the Smithsonian's 16 museums: 14 in Washington, DC and two in New York City. SIAP staffers also work closely with the equal opportunity office that covers the Institution's 6,400 employees. In addition, Ziebarth's office provides resources for disability sensitivity training for any of the Smithsonian's more than 5,000 volunteers who deal with the public.

Specifics

One of the SIAP's largest undertakings is the continuous conversion of all publications to audio form for visitors with disabilities. About 30 volunteers work directly with the program to create audio versions of Smithsonian publications, while another 20 people from ABC News-Washington Bureau, work exclusively with National Zoo materials. Publications in Braille and other formats are still available on request. Explains Ziebarth, "We have limited funds and audio serves the largest number of people."

Many Smithsonian publications are also available on the Web. The SIAP ensures not only that exhibits are accessible, but also that their content reflect the experiences of people with disabilities (See the Solutions Marketing Group's August 2000 Profile in Excellence feature on the Smithsonian's exhibit on the history of the disability rights movement.).

Community outreach adds to SIAP's service role. Leaders in the disability community often propose or help develop programs hosted by the Smithsonian. "We are currently involved with outreach to Latinos with disabilities and are working with Gallaudet University on the Deaf Way II Cultural Arts Festival," said Ziebarth. "We are also hosting a VSA Arts exhibit in October to celebrate National Disability Awareness Month." (VSA Arts was featured in the February 2001 Profile in Excellence.)

In addition the Smithsonian works with other cultural organizations on policies that affect people with disabilities, such as program accessibility guidelines and emergency planning.

Gathering and Sharing Information

The contributions the Smithsonian makes to the disability community extend beyond their own museums and zoo grounds. The SIAP takes a proactive approach to sharing their knowledge and resources with other institutions. In addition to seeking regular input from people with disabilities, they also regularly review their policies and processes to ensure that all works well.

The Smithsonian conducts visitor surveys to assess how the public enjoys the exhibits. In addition, the SIAP holds focus groups to assess the effect of various efforts to make the exhibits and programs more accessible. Finally, the staff learn from and exchange ideas with the broad community and professional associations.

"The Smithsonian has done a lot of work accommodating persons with disabilities," says Ziebarth, "but we want to make sure what we offer is what people with disabilities actually want. We want to be responsive, to really understand how people with disabilities use museums and what they need to use the museums in the way they want."

Says Ziebarth, "We have had formal advisory groups, but we realized that structure didn't allow us quick response to access issues. Now we have switched to a network of advisers so that when an issue comes up, rather than having to convene a Board, I can just go out to the groups affected by the issue and work with them directly. It makes it a lot easier to have a discussion that zeroes in on what is needed."

While the Smithsonian is one of the largest museum complexes in the world, staff in the SIAP do not view themselves as the quintessential institution with all the answers. Rather, the SIAP acts as a resource for others to use the information in the way that their budget and needs demand. "The Smithsonian has material and resources that other museums may not be able to develop on their own," says Ziebarth. "We have guidelines for our staff to help carry out Smithsonian policy, and there are guidelines covering facilities, exhibition design, publications, programs, and media. Many museums are interested in our guidelines." The SIAP makes its resources available to other museums and institutions online and through conferences, meetings, and training sessions.

The few lead the many

SIAP's small office and limited resources, enlarged by an army of volunteers, magnified by a welcome reception to its ideas from the museum community—all ensure that the next 29 million visitors, including any with disabilities, will continue to enjoy all the wonderment on display in that collective group of museums known as the Smithsonian.