The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009. The ADA is a broad civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords protections to Americans with disabilities, that are similar to those created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal. Disability is defined by the ADA as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity”.
Though the ADA was passed almost twenty years ago it’s implementation in the museum environment has been slow and spotty partly due to the difficulties of translating exactly what compliance means in a given situation. It is clear that it will be effecting all of us more as time goes by.
Having a limited working background on the topic myself, I was happy to receive valuable links to ADA guidelines and their interpretation and implementation from some of the good folks at NAME - the National Association for Museum Exhibition – a Standing Professional Committee of AAM – the American Association of Museums. www.name-aam.org
Hopefully as time passes specific issues and how they are addressed can be shared in this forum. In the mean time to try and figure things out for yourself here are some resources.
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