Blog Series – Access requirements specific to performing arts – Part 6

This sixth and final part of the digital preservation guidance focuses on the subject of access requirements specific to the performing arts. It considers who our audiences are and what needs they may have around the material that we are digitally preserving. It focuses on specific issues around performing arts materials, looking at metadata challenges, front end facilities of digital preservation solutions, access rights such as copyright and GDPR as well as content warnings that you may need to add to your content. The guidance concludes with a detailed look at accessibility and how content and design can be made more accessible to audiences. There is a resources section too for extra reading.

This guidance is supplemented by case studies from colleagues at the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe and the University of the Arts London.

This brings the digital preservation guidance series to an end. All parts and case studies are available on the APAC website. If you have any feedback or suggestions then please do get in touch with the Digital Preservation Working Group digital@performingartscollections.org.uk. 

Resources

APAC (2022) “Archive Recordings Cataloguing Guidance”, Resources. APAC Website

[Online] available at: https://performingartscollections.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-Archive-Recordings.pdf

APAC (2022) “Appendix A: National Theatre Archive Recordings Quality Guide, October
2022”, Resources. APAC Website [Online] available at: https://performingartscollections.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-Archive-Recordings.pdf

Chilcott, Alicia (2019) “Towards protocols for describing racially offensive language in UK
public archives”, Archival Science. 19: 359-376. [online] available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-019-09314-y

Digital Preservation Coalition (2023) Access. Digital Preservation handbook. [online]
available at: https://www.dpconline.org/handbook/organisational-activities/access

Digital Preservation coalition (2022) DPC Digital Preservation Competency Framework.
[online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.7207/dpccf22-01

Disabled People’s Archive, Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People

Lisney et al (2013). “Museums and Technology: Being Inclusive Helps Accessibility for All”.
Curator: The Museum Journal. 56 (3): 353 [online] Available at: doi:10.1111/cura.12034

W3C (2018) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.1. W3C Website. [online]
Available at: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/