How to Design Inclusive Archives: Accessibility in Physical and Digital Spaces

Archives embody the principles of access, stewardship, and service. However, for some users, physical and digital archives remain challenging to navigate, use, or even enter. Barriers to archival access are often unintentional, stemming from outdated facilities, inaccessible technologies, or limited awareness of diverse user needs.   

As archivists strive to uphold ethical commitments to inclusion, accessibility must move from a technical checklist to a central design principle, shaping everything from reading rooms to online catalogs. Addressing accessibility in archival design concerns compliance and a commitment to equity, dignity, and participation.  

Go Beyond Ramps and Elevators 

In physical archival spaces, accessibility is often approached through a compliance lens. Buildings may meet basic legal requirements, such as providing wheelchair ramps or elevators, but still fall short of offering welcoming or functional experiences for users. Reading rooms with narrow aisles, high counters, dim lighting, or inflexible furniture can create barriers. Restrooms may be technically “accessible” but challenging to use, and signage may be sparse, confusing, or printed in fonts that are unreadable to those with low vision. 

True physical accessibility in archives begins with the understanding that people navigate the world in many ways. For example, adjustable height tables, magnifying tools, and chairs with armrests provide better usability for various bodies. Offering assistive technologies such as screen readers, alternative keyboards, or captioned instructional videos extends the archives’ reach beyond normative ability assumptions.  

Staff training is important, as frontline employees should assist users with disabilities respectfully and knowledgeably without making assumptions or drawing attention to differences. 

Archivists must also consider how their spaces can serve people with sensory disabilities. Quiet rooms, scent-free policies, and lighting that avoids harsh fluorescents can make archives more accessible for neurodivergent users or those with sensory sensitivities. Significantly, these features benefit all users and enhance usability for everyone. 

Design for Inclusion from the Start 

As archives expand their digital presence through websites, finding aids, digitized collections, and online exhibits, accessibility in the digital realm has become just as crucial as in the physical one. Unfortunately, many digital archival resources are created without this perspective in mind. Unlabeled images, complex navigation structures, poor color contrast, and inaccessible file formats may be familiar. These barriers can exclude users who rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation, or alternative input devices.  

To address this, digital accessibility must be embedded in the design process. Websites and discovery tools should follow recognized standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which offer detailed guidance on making content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users. Alt text for images, logical heading structures, transcripts for audiovisual materials, and clearly labeled navigation elements are essential components of accessible design.  

However, beyond technical compliance, accessible digital archives must be intuitive and inclusive. That means reducing cognitive load by simplifying language and avoiding jargon. It means ensuring that search tools are compatible with assistive technologies and that digitized materials include OCR (optical character recognition) and descriptive metadata. It also means providing multiple pathways to access, allowing users to browse, search, or explore based on their needs and preferences.  

Collaborate with Communities 

One of the most potent ways to improve accessibility in archives is to include disabled people in designing and evaluating archival spaces, tools, and services. Too often, accessibility decisions are made without consulting those most affected. By engaging users as collaborators, advisors, and stakeholders, archivists can gain valuable insight into what works, what does not, and what needs to change. 

This collaboration should be ongoing. Accessibility is a process that evolves with technology, user expectations, and institutional priorities. Building feedback mechanisms, conducting usability testing with disabled participants, and incorporating accessibility into strategic planning are all ways to make accessibility a structural commitment rather than a reactive fix. 

Value Archival Access as Ethical  

Accessibility is a legal, logistical, and ethical issue. Excluding users based on ability undermines the archival mission of serving the public good and preserving collective memory. It reinforces systemic inequalities and limits who engages with, interprets, and contributes to the historical record. 

When accessibility is prioritized, archives become inclusive, participatory spaces that reflect and embrace the diversity of the communities they serve. They acknowledge that disability is a part of human variation that institutions must accommodate. 

As the profession progresses, accessibility must be recognized as a core element of archival practice in physical planning, digital infrastructure, outreach strategies, and user services. Only then can archives fulfill their promise of access for all.