Allison Blakeslee Technology for Information Professionals Professor Naresh Agarwal October 24, Omeka Tutorial

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1 Allison Blakeslee Technology for Information Professionals Professor Naresh Agarwal October 24, 2011 About Omeka Omeka Tutorial Omeka is an open source web authoring tool that is geared towards helping libraries, archives, and museums create online exhibits. There are two ways to use Omeka: through Omeka.org and Omeka.net. Depending on what amount of storage and customization you need to create your online website, Omeka.org and Omeka.net have benefits and drawbacks. Omeka.org requires that you install software on a Linux operating system and that you store your data on a web server. This is best for larger institutions that have their own web servers to host data on. Omeka.net does not require installation and provides cloud server storage. This is best for individuals or smaller organizations that don t require as much customization. Both Omeka.org and Omeka.net are free. That is, provided that you own a web server and meet system requirements prior to installation, or that you select the Basic free account on Omeka.net. If you select one of four other account plans on Omeka.net, or if you have to purchase a server or operating system to run your Omeka account, then Omeka will cost you. This tutorial will focus on Omeka.net, hereafter referred to as just Omeka. Pre- requisites for Learning Omeka To get started, you should be familiar with the general concepts of exhibits, web authoring tools, and metadata. An exhibit is generally an interpretive display of objects that often follows a thematic or chronological sequence in order to teach a topic. A web authoring tool is a piece of software that helps you to create a website without needing to know much about web development Metadata refers to the properties of an object that help to identify and describe the object

2 The Value of Omeka There is a plethora of software products to help libraries, archives and museums compile lists of records describing their objects. But these record systems leave a void in that they do little to use the records to teach something. Omeka fills the void that online catalogs and databases leave behind. Omeka makes it possible to place records in an interpretive context. It gives users a richer, more immersive online experience with a library s collection. In a nutshell, Omeka saves time and effort by acting as a template for an online exhibit. There are two ways in which to build content on an Omeka site; by adding items, and by adding collections. This template- like system makes it easy for a library to import and organize content specific to exhibits, such as long lists of objects or multiple photographs assigned to one object. Omeka is most useful to libraries that produce exhibits or have special collections. While exhibits are fleeting and usually change every couple of months, Omeka allows an exhibit to carry on and make the same information accessible long after the objects are taken down from public view. This effectively prolongs the life and usefulness of library exhibits. Steps to Get Started with Omeka 1. Go to and click on the big red Sign Up! button. 2. Set up an account by choosing the free Basic plan, which comes with 500 MB of space, 1 website, 7 plugins, and 4 themes.

3 Fill in the account form with an address that you can easily access. You will need to check your once you submit this form to activate your account. 3. Once you have activated your account, you will be brought to your dashboard page. Click on the Add a Site link on your account dashboard. Decide what your site will be about and give it a name, title, and description. Choose your subdomain name wisely, and note that it cannot include special characters. The subdomain plus omeka.net will be your permanent site address. Then click on the green Add Your New Site button. 4. Hooray! You ve created your site! View it by selecting View Site on your account dashboard page. Notice that your site s default theme is white, blue, and grey. To switch to one of the three other available themes, go back to your account dashboard page and click on Manage Site. 5. From the Manage Site link you will be transported to your site s dashboard page.

4 You can then change the look of your web page by clicking on Manage Themes under Settings. 6. Or, you can start to add content to your Omeka site by creating a collection. Select the Collection tab from the top of the dashboard. Then, on the Collection page, click on the Add a Collection button. 7. Create a name for your new collection, e.g. My Mug Collection. Write a brief description of your collection, e.g. A personal collection of mugs collected from around the United States. Fill in the collector and status fields. Save your collection by hitting the Save Collection button. 8. Now redirect to the dashboard and select Add a new item to your archive.

5 9. In the Add an Item page, you will be first be faced by a form containing the fifteen Dublin Core metadata elements. This how you will describe the item you are adding, using elements such as Title, Format, Creator, and Date. 10. Enter information in as many fields that apply to your object. Then, use the tabs on the left side of the page to add a file (such as a picture) to the object, specify the collection it belongs in, add the object to a world map, or add tags. Then hit Add Item. 11. Repeat Step 8 as many times as may be necessary to grow the number of items on your site. 12. Once you have built up your items and collections, select View Public Site at the top right of the web page. 13. You have now successfully created a free website to display your interpretive collections into the future.

6 Resources for Further Learning To make your Omeka site work impeccably, look beautiful, and meet metadata content standards, here is a list of resources to learn more about Omeka, metadata, and web authoring tools. Table of Differences Between Omeka.org and Omeka.net o Examples of websites built using Omeka.org and Omeka.net o o Introduction to Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, Version 1.1 o Definition and examples of web authoring tools o

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