International museum and
library of music of Bologna

Museum accessibility mapping project

This project on museum accessibility is promoted by Comune di Bologna in collaboration with Istituzione Bologna Musei and local associations selected for their long-time experience in the field of motor, sensory and cognitive disability.
First of all visits to the city museums have been arranged to test their accessibility to visitors with disabilities. The resultant Accessibility Map was meant to collect, organise and share information on how accessible each Civic Museum is; all information has been published on the museum website.
More specifically, the accessibility of each museum with regard to spaces and collections is described in detail on the museum website according to three different kinds of disability (motor, auditory and visual). A unique and updated information system is now available to visitors and tourists with temporary or permanent disabilities.
Furthermore, a series of aids and services were provided to make museum spaces and collections more accessible to visitors with special needs.

The Music Museum and the new audio tactile path for people with visual impairments

Thanks to a project curated by La Girobussola APS with the support of the Lions Club Bologna San Petronio, the new audio-tactile path and access to the collections by people with visually impaired and blind people become available in its entirety.
After two years of forced stop and a slow-paced work due to restrictions from Covid-19, rethinking the accessibility and use of museums has become a priority for the museum.
La Girobussola, a city association that promotes cultural accessibility for visually impaired and blind people, in collaboration with the museum, has designed and created supports (texts in Braille, audio files and tactile maps) that allow the visitor with temporary or permanent visual impairment a more immersive visit to the museum heritage.
Of fundamental importance is the creation of a series of relief maps in A3 format, which reproduce in an exhaustive and faithful way details of instruments, books and musical objects currently exhibited in the rooms.
All maps are accompanied by texts in Braille that guide the exploration by giving detailed information on the history and characteristics of the object represented. Furthermore, the files in mp3 format contribute to enrich the information already available online, in order to satisfy anyone who prefers to listen to the recordings to personal reading. The files are included in the path dedicated to the Museum of Music of the MuseOn app.
Both the texts in Braille and the relief maps are available on request at the ticket office of the Music Museum where, thanks to the operators specifically trained by the same association, it is possible to receive the necessary information support on their use.