I actually visited two museums in Bath before visiting the Roman Baths, and though this one is the least related to libraries and archives, I was very impressed with the measures taken here to promote accessibility, so this is the one I choose to write about.
A bit of background first: in 60 AD when the Romans came through and conquered the Celts in England they discovered a hot spring, and decided to set up a temple to the goddess Minerva, who the Romans figured was the same as the Celtic goddess Sulis. After the temple, they built this huge spa/ bathing house to relax and recharge in their leisure time because, you know, #selfcare.
For a while the Baths were neglected, but had a renaissance in the 18th century when it became extremely fashionable to spend a season in Bath "taking the waters" and attending dances. Even Jane Austen lived in Bath for a short while at the end of her life, as it was considered the best place to go for anyone with ailments.
Much of the ruins have been preserved and the site is now a museum drawing in tourists from all over the world. What I found most impressive about the museum was how the experience was designed to accommodate peoples with disabilities and who spoke different languages.
When you first walk in audio guides are available in several different languages, and there are even three separate audio guides for English speakers: a straight forward standard tour, a Rick Steves travel tour, and a tour for children. I appreciate how they thought to design a separate tour just for kids to make the experience more enjoyable for them.
I also noticed that at a lot of the different exhibits, where sculptures or dioramas were on display, or in places where there was an impressive view, great measures were taken to accommodate blind people. On the stand where the descriptions were, they would also be available in braille, along with a plastic replica fixed to the podium that a blind person could feel to get an understanding of what everyone was looking at. The maps were designed this way as well. I have never seen that before!
Honestly, between the very descriptive audio guide and model sculptures for the blind, I probably could've gone through the entire museum with my eyes closed and still leave with a clear understanding of the place. That is quite an accomplishment!
There were also elevators to help those less able to see all of the different levels of the bath house, and all of the walkways were wide enough for wheelchairs.
It was probably an expensive undertaking to make the museum so accessible but not a single penny has gone to waste. User Experience design has become a bit of a buzz word in the library community but it's important to make sure that if you're going to make changes to the library to facilitate use, that you consider it from everyone's perspective-- including those with disabilities.
They've done a great job at the Roman Baths, and I sincerely commend them.
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