[Art_beyond_sight_theory_and_research] tactile book for museum exhibition case study

[Lisa Yayla]

tactile book for museum exhibition case study


link
http://www.tpyf.com/server/show/nav.00n00n001004
pdf link
http://www.tpyf.com/upload/pdf/Tactile_book_CS_Final_21_March_06.pdf


Making a Tactile Book

Case Study: Making a Tactile Book for Blind and Visually Impaired People
Intended readers
Are you aiming to broaden access for visually impaired and blind people 
to your museum, gallery or archive? Are you looking for a tool to make 
education sessions more inclusive, particularly for the visually 
impaired? A tactile book could help to broaden access to collections and 
make museum visits more valuable and inclusive for people with a visual 
impairment.

Background
The Their Past Your Future Tactile and Large Print Book was created as 
part of an educational Outreach Kit developed to support a Touring and 
Online Exhibition. The exhibition, and subsequent book, focused on the 
impact of the Second World War on the people and places of the UK. 90 
books were created in total and its content was a sample of the core 
content of the exhibition.

The book was developed to provide greater access and inclusion to 
facilitated learning sessions where the Their Past Your Future Outreach 
Kit (see Outreach Kit Case Study) was being used, primarily for visually 
impaired and blind people of all ages. However, the book could also be 
used in museum education sessions related to the Second World War more 
broadly, or simply made available for independent learning.

The tactile book had four main themes: the impact of war on individuals 
and their families, its impact on the places and landscape of the UK, 
its long term impact on UK society and how and why we continue to 
remember the Second World War. The tactile and large print books were 
presented in a bespoke B4 size ring binder. This allowed greater 
flexibility of use: not only could the different sections be used with 
different groups simultaneously, the contents could also be added to as 
venues developed their own resources. 90 books were designed and 
produced with 10 of these in Welsh; the Welsh venues received both an 
English and a Welsh copy.

The Their Past Your Future Tactile and Large Print Books were 
distributed at the beginning of December 2005 to all Touring Exhibition 
venues around the UK.

The Their Past Your Future Tactile Book binder cover design. The design 
was wrapped around the binder, with the Their Past Your Future logo on 
the spine of the binder.


The Their Past Your Future tactile book with a braille title label 
affixed above the image.

Aims

The aims of the tactile book were to:

Broaden access to the themes of the Their Past Your Future touring 
exhibition and Outreach Kit through provision for visually impaired and 
blind people of all ages
Encourage visually impaired and blind people to explore the impact of 
the Second World War on the people and places of the UK
Develop a flexible resource that can be used in learning sessions that 
include visually impaired/blind as well as sighted people



For the readers our main intended learning outcomes were:

Knowledge & Understanding

A deeper understanding of the variety and diversity of people’s experiences
That the Second World War has helped to shape present-day UK society



Skills

Encourage learning in social, informal and personal ways
Greater confidence to explore, investigate, and make personal 
connections with items displayed



Attitudes & Values

Deeper sense of understanding for people of different ages, races, 
religious experiences and backgrounds to themselves, and a positive 
appreciation of diversity



Creativity, Inspiration & Enjoyment

Making lateral connections between other people’s lives and their own, 
through personal stories



Why is this important?
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) aims for museums and 
galleries to ‘broaden access for all to all museums and galleries’ and 
to ‘develop and promote the educational potential of museums and 
galleries…’. These incorporate some of the core aims of all Government 
departments, which are to promote education, social inclusion, 
regeneration and community cohesion. In addition to this, the Disability 
and Discrimination Act of 1995 (DDA) requires that all organisations 
providing public services must make them accessible to disabled people, 
who are, according to the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, 
‘among the most excluded in society’. The contents of both the tactile 
and large print book were also made available in Welsh in compliance 
with the Welsh Languages Act 1993.

The RNIB estimates that there are approximately 20,000 Braille readers, 
and approaching 2 million visually impaired people in total, in the UK . 
Information and books provided in tactile and large print form are 
examples of auxiliary aids that contribute to institutions meeting the 
standards set out by the DDA, providing an alternative means of 
accessing a service. They can also help museums broaden their access to 
visually impaired and blind people to their collections, exhibitions and 
learning activities. Improving provision by providing for broader and 
independent access to graphic, pictorial and textual information for 
visually impaired and blind people is a step towards promoting equality 
of opportunity and social justice, as well as developing new audiences 
for museums.


Nuts & Bolts
Budget £15,000
Quantity 90 units (80 English, 10 Welsh)
Contractors RNIB and Be a Tiger Ltd
Distribution 70+ venues across the UK
Timeline
Nov 2004 - Initial presentation from and discussion with the RNIB to 
consider book for visually impaired and blind people
Feb 2005 - Launch of touring exhibition
July 05 - Outreach kit distributed
Tactile book and artwork contractor research and tender process
Aug 05 - Liaison with RNIB: start of process to choose suitable images
Research into end-user needs
Oct 05 - Choice of images and accompanying exhibition text finalised
Descriptions of chosen images written by a consultant expert, Tactile 
Images Officer, RNIB
Welsh translation of all content
Proofreading of all content
Oct/Nov 05 - Design of bespoke binder and large print booklet covers
Dec 05 - Distribution of 90 tactile books throughout the UK


Expenditure:

Tactile contents (90 units x 37pages) £6,000
B4 ring binder A4 booklet,
collation, artwor £4,900
Packing & distribution £1,000
Other (project management,
courier delivery, travel etc) £500
Marketing contribution £1,500
Conferences/training £350
Total £14,250


What we did
Allocated £15,000 to design, production and distribution of 90 tactile 
books (80 English, 10 Welsh) around the UK.
Chose images and materials (swell, or microcapsule, paper) for 
production of tactile contents of book in consultation with RNIB. 12 
images chosen with related stories and information from Imperial War 
Museum (IWM).
Descriptions of original as well as tactile images written by RNIB, 
verified by IWM and added to content. Images labelled. English version 
transcribed into braille. All content translated into Welsh and 
transcribed into braille.
B4 size bespoke binders designed and produced to hold the tactile pages.
Large print book with the same content as tactile book produced and held 
inside front cover of binder. Helvetica in 16-point typeface used for 
the book, a sans serif font in the recommended minimum size for large 
print text.
Each recipient contacted prior to distribution with information about 
the contents, tactile images and their uses, and how to locate local 
organisations for blind and visually impaired people for partnerships.
Distributed to all education contacts from Their Past Your Future 
Touring Exhibition venues. Welsh partners received both an English and a 
Welsh unit.
Marketing undertaken by creating tactile Christmas cards, sent to UK 
organisations for visually impaired and blind people. Included letter 
about the tactile book and contact details for more information.

Together poster (IWM PST 3158) with its representation in tactile 
diagram to the right

The hats and faces of the servicemen were chosen as the most effective 
way of demonstrating the content and meaning of the original poster. 
Each hat is distinct and by them each of the countries represented is 
identifiable. The accompanying description described the poster on the 
left as well which parts were represented in the tactile diagram.

What worked?
Working in consultation with RNIB
- Choice of suitable images was guided by the RNIB as not all can be 
effectively portrayed in tactile form, such as images with deep 
perspective or lots of detail.
- Guidance from experts on Best Practice for producing good large print 
information.
- Use of swell (or microcapsule) paper produced very clear images and 
can be used for braille and images. Images can be easily reproduced if 
damaged, as kept in electronic format.
- Contextual descriptions produced to accompany tactile images – of the 
original image or object and what the tactile image represents – are 
also essential. Tactile images are often inaccessible without them.
- Extensive experience and expertise in working with museum and galleries
Producing final product in a ring binder in a bespoke binder allowed 
each page to be removed and making it more adaptable for use in 
education sessions and allowing for recipients to add own items.
Free resource provided for Touring Exhibition host venues to help 
improve accessibility.
Consulted with visually impaired museum accessibility officer outside 
the Museum highlighted issues such as need for information to be 
provided in a book that opened flat, not tightly bound.
Production of 10 copies in Welsh, which is different from English braille.
Presentation in binder also allows for the contents to be read flat, 
rather than tightly bound, which makes reading braille and tactile 
images difficult
Providing tactile book recipients with information about tactile images, 
their uses and links to create partnerships with local organisations for 
blind and visually impaired people
CPD opportunity for other museum professionals to help improve 
accessibility which they might not otherwise have had
Innovative marketing by designing, producing and distributing tactile 
Christmas cards
- Tactile Christmas cards designed, produced and distributed to 
organisations for blind and visually impaired people. Letter included 
with information about the book. See Download section below.
What didn’t?
Time constraint which did not allow for consultation with visually 
impaired and blind end-users as fully as would ideal throughout whole 
process
Braille of swell paper was flattened slightly by the large print book 
inside the cover if it came out of the pocket. Over time would damage 
pages to point of illegibility.
Would have been good for it to be produced at same time as the outreach 
kit so that it all went as a piece but time constraints did not allow
What would we do differently next time?
Consult more widely with end users about their needs from conception to 
production, including piloting, to determine if content is accessible 
and effective.
Visual and tactile perception are different. To discover if something 
works well in tactile form rather than visual requires proofreading by 
touch.
Chose a method to protect the swell paper pages, such as a sturdier 
pocket to hold large print book.
Produce audio version of text with descriptions of images to further 
increase accessibility. Not all visually impaired people read braille or 
tactile images, so information provided in audio form invaluable for 
allowing them enjoyable and beneficial access to museum collections.
Feedback quotes
“Many thanks for the copy of the tactile book - a really useful example 
of something we want to do with our forthcoming museum guidebook”, 
(Access Officer, Exeter City Museums Service)

“Many thanks for the Tactile Book, it is fantastic”, (Head of Education 
and Learning, IWMN)

Downloads
Contents of the English large print book
Happy Holidays from Their Past Your Future 22 Feb 06
Useful links
www.rnib.org.uk - the Royal National Institute for the Blind

www.rncb.org.uk - the Royal National College for the Blind

www.dogrose-trust.org.uk - charity working to make all environments 
accessible to people with visual and other sensory impairments

http://www.mla.gov.uk - The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council has 
produced a Disability Portfolio. This is a collection of 12 guides about 
how best to meet the needs of disabled people within the museums, 
archives and galleries sector.