Analysis of the accessibility of virtual museums for blind visitors: a case study in alagoas, Brazil

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/1518-2924.2026.e109420

Keywords:

Accessibility, Virtual Museum, Visually Impaired People, Blind People, WCAG Guidelines

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the accessibility of virtual museums for blind visitors in the state of Alagoas (a federative unit of Brazil).

Methods: This applied exploratory study began with a narrative literature review to establish the conceptual background and identify accessibility needs of people with visual impairments in virtual museums. Interviews with seven blind participants collected qualitative data on web navigation experiences. Virtual museums related to the state of Alagoas were evaluated using WCAG-based automated tools, and one was selected as a case study to implement accessibility improvements. An experiment with ten blind participants validated the adapted museum.

Results: Seven virtual museums related to Alagoas were identified. The analysis revealed that on a scale of 0 to 10, the accessibility of most virtual museums is below 6.0, with an overall average of 5.4. In the selected case study, corrections increased the average accessibility score from 7.1 to 9.97. Validation with ten blind participants confirmed the museum’s accessibility.

Conclusions: Since the accessibility conditions of real museums are critical, virtual museums are an alternative for disabled people to access culture and leisure. Therefore, we proposed a method to evaluate the accessibility of virtual museums for visually impaired visitors.

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Author Biographies

Juliana de Carvalho Cavalcanti, Universidade Federal de Alagoas

Juliana de Carvalho Cavalcanti received the B.Sc. degree in Computer Science from Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), Maceió, Brazil, in 2020. Her research interests include analysis and modeling of user behavior of multimedia and web systems, user experience and QoE, accessibility in museums and web engineering.

Jonathas Patrick Hermenegildo de Azevedo, Universidade Federal de Alagoas

Jonathas Patrick Hermenegildo de Azevedo received the B.Sc. degree in Computer Science from Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), Maceió, Brazil, in 2024. His research interests include UX of visually impaired users, accessibility audits in museum websites and policies and guidelines for digital accessibility in museums.

Floripes Teixeira Santos, Universidade Federal de Alagoas

Floripes Teixeira Santos holds a Master's degree in Computational Knowledge Modeling from the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL) in 2018. She is currently a researcher at the Théo Brandão Museum of UFAL. She participated in research projects supported by organizations. Her research interests include accessibility to museums, gamification, sign language acquisition, assistive technologies in digital museum access and related areas.

Fábio José Coutinho da Silva, Universidade Federal de Alagoas

Fabio José Coutinho da Silva holds a PhD in Systems and Computer Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2012), a Master's degree in Systems and Computing from the Military Institute of Engineering (2004), and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Federal University of Alagoas (1999). He is currently an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL). He leads research and innovation projects in accessibility, with the support of national organizations and industrial partners. His research interests include gamification, web accessibility, instructional design, sign language acquisition, indoor positioning systems, data quality, and interoperability in smart cities.

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Capa do periódico Académico Encontros Bibli, da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). Volume 31, ano 2026 Nela se mostram as mãos de uma pessoa com a pele morena segurando um punhado de terra escura, na qual um pequeno broto verde com duas folhas está plantado. As mãos estão centralizadas na imagem e são enquadradas por um fundo que mostra um solo seco e rachado, sugerindo um ambiente de seca ou desértico. No topo da imagem, o título da publicação, ENCONTROS BIBLI, está em letras maiúsculas brancas. Abaixo, há uma citação entre aspas: "Ética e integridade informacional: a responsabilidade científica e socioambiental da Ciência da Informação diante da urgência climática". Na parte inferior da capa, há informações institucionais: No canto esquerdo, o logo da UFSC. Ao lado, o texto "Departamento de Ciência da Informação", "Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência da Informação" e "Portal de Periódicos UFSC". Abaixo, a data "2026", o volume "V. 31" e o ISSN 1518-2924. No canto inferior direito, o logo da publicação, que consiste em um escudo roxo com as letras "EB" estilizadas em laranja. A capa utiliza as cores roxo, branco e laranja, com a maior parte da imagem ocupada pelo cenário do solo e as mãos. A arte visual e o tema do título da publicação sugerem um foco na interseção entre a ciência, a informação e as questões ambientais, como a crise climática.

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Published

2026-04-30

How to Cite

CAVALCANTI, Juliana de Carvalho; AZEVEDO, Jonathas Patrick Hermenegildo de; SANTOS, Floripes Teixeira; SILVA, Fábio José Coutinho da. Analysis of the accessibility of virtual museums for blind visitors: a case study in alagoas, Brazil . Encontros Bibli: electronic journal of library science, archival science and information science, Florianópolis/SC, Brasil, v. 31, p. 1–22, 2026. DOI: 10.5007/1518-2924.2026.e109420. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/eb/article/view/109420. Acesso em: 10 jun. 2026.

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Vol. 31 (2026): Ethics and informational integrity in the climate emergency: the socio-environmental responsibility of Information Science.

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Copyright (c) 2026 Juliana de Carvalho Cavalcanti, Jonathas Patrick Hermenegildo de Azevedo, Floripes Teixeira Santos, Fábio José Coutinho da Silva

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