Omeka Workshop

Date: July 20, 2012

Instructor: Rebecca Goldman, MLS

Supporting Instructor: Jazmin L. Idakaar, MLIS

I attended a two hour workshop on Omeka at the Van Pelt Library at University of Penn yesterday.  Omeka is an open source web publishing service.  Here is the definition of the service from the website:

Omeka.net is web-publishing platform that allows anyone with an account to create or collaborate on a website to display collections and build digital exhibitions. No technical skills or special server requirements are necessary. Sign up, and start sharing. Instructions for using Omeka.net are in the right column.

• Share Collections
• Gather Stories
• Build Exhibits
• Map Photos
• Create Simple Web Pages
• Customize Web Design Templates
• Share data through feeds
• Collaborate

We used the free plan, which limits some of the tools you can use, but what is available seems very useful.  For those who would like to set up a website to display collections and do not know a lot about designing a website this service is great.  There are templates with room for control of the design, so you can make it more complex as you become familiar with the tools and/or learn HTML or CSS.

It was a little tricky when I first started designing the practice site, but I can see that if I spent a few hours here and there I would get the hang of it.  I really liked the LOC autosuggest feature that allows you to check the authorities and vocabulary while describing items.  A paid version has a GIS plugin to connect geographic information to your descriptions.

I would definitely like to take another workshop and learn more about Omeka.
If you missed it yesterday, here are some slides to get you started! Many thanks to Rebecca Goldman for sharing them!