Testing a Workflow for Creating Accessible Scores for Music Archives: A Pilot Study
Abstract
Archival music scores are typically made available digitally as PDF or image-based files. For many users, this is not a problem – but, for some Disabled users, such files are inaccessible. These files cannot usually be remediated, so new alternatives are needed. Here, I discuss a workflow used to create Braille, modified stave notation, and audio files using the Music Encoding Initiative (MEI). I also present the findings of a survey about participants’ habits around finding and using music scores and 4 usability tests conducted on the resulting files. Ultimately, the workflow is successful but requires increased automation to be implemented more broadly.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Diverse Musicological Studies
Music and Audio Processing
Library Science and Information Systems
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Music Reference Services Quarterly
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 119–148
- Publication date
- 4 January 2026
- Language
- EN