http://omeka.org/
Before and after user experience became a consideration in web design.
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As a relatively young girl, my friends and I dreamed of creating our own websites, and I still cringe at how cool we used to think Angelfire websites were...Flash forward almost 20 years since 1996 and technology now exists in such a user friendly manner that anyone can create a properly designed website if they so want. A prime example of such a tool is Omeka, an open source software that describes itself as "a serious web publishing agent designed for non-IT specialists". Part blog, part online exhibition and part digital library, Omeka functions as a platform that is suitable for a wide variety of academia to showcase their projects ranging from curatorial seminar project; university library and a memory project, as can be explored below: |
However, Omeka places an emphasis as being used for exhibition type projects so images are going to play a large role in the formatting. Images can have searchable subject headings and tags attached to them.
I think this tool would also be very successful in high school classrooms and allow students to conduct research projects in exciting and interesting ways where they could also pick up some basic web design skills.
These days librarians and archivists are all about creating online exhibitions of their special collections or involving the community with heritage projects. Omeka is very much like Greenstone, the program taught at UWO for the Digital Libraries course, except it does not have the confusing combination of html/JavaScript and CSS mashed together for it to function. Therefore, librarians can easily create a searchable, online collection based on part of their catalogue. They would also benefit from plugins hosted by the site such as the use of Dublin Core Elements, Geo-location and Library of Congress Suggest.
I think this tool would also be very successful in high school classrooms and allow students to conduct research projects in exciting and interesting ways where they could also pick up some basic web design skills.
These days librarians and archivists are all about creating online exhibitions of their special collections or involving the community with heritage projects. Omeka is very much like Greenstone, the program taught at UWO for the Digital Libraries course, except it does not have the confusing combination of html/JavaScript and CSS mashed together for it to function. Therefore, librarians can easily create a searchable, online collection based on part of their catalogue. They would also benefit from plugins hosted by the site such as the use of Dublin Core Elements, Geo-location and Library of Congress Suggest.
The Upper Ringwood Library is a perfect example of a library using Omeka. Users can browse categories up top such as "people & places" etc. that light up when you mouse over, and allow users to see items that have just been added.
I think each Omeka site allows for libraries to become more unique and individualistic instead of simply being one of many that exists within a community to provide books. |
This uniqueness can also function as a new role of libraries as preservers of community memory, and give them a tool to use against potential impending budget cuts. By being online, the library is able to connect with users outside the community, and ensure their story will be documented instead of being lost.
For more information, here is an introductory video:
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