1. INTRODUCTION >> What do we mean by learning?

What do we mean by learning?

Improving access to learning

Group of school children drawing at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford

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To provide learning opportunities for all, museums, archives and libraries must explore learning and access together rather than in isolation.

You can use many different strategies to make learning more accessible, but a commitment to putting the needs of users first and working with them to overcome the barriers they encounter is essential.

Improving access to learning requires:

New partnerships and new approaches
Working with people to establish what they want from museums, archives and libraries
Involving users in deciding what we collect or buy
Inviting them to arrange, display or interpret resources and collections and ensuring that this process is itself accessible to all those who wish to participate.

Working in this way needs to be integral to any organisation supporting learning, whether public, private or independent - it is fundamental to Inspiring Learning for All.

For guidance on how to increase access to your museum, archive or library. Go to the MLA self accessment toolkit Access to Museums Archives and Libraries for Disabled Users.