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Article
Publication date: 13 November 2017

Emily Marsh

This paper describes how the content management system (CMS) Omeka supports the representation and presentation of the National Agricultural Library’s (NAL’s) digital exhibits…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper describes how the content management system (CMS) Omeka supports the representation and presentation of the National Agricultural Library’s (NAL’s) digital exhibits, including some observations on its strengths and weaknesses. It also looks at Omeka’s major features through a theoretical lens of exhibit orientation that provides another way to assess it as a digital content tool.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study method was selected to review four comparable exhibits from the same institution. The Omeka software was evaluated through a lens of exhibit design that includes two orientations (object vs information) and multiple goals (object identification and display, engagement, interpretation and education).

Findings

Omeka is a valuable tool for digital exhibits because of its strength in knowledge representation through a standard metadata scheme, the ability to group items that have some aspect in common such as author or topic, and its support of narrative exhibits incorporating text and images. Omeka needs some additional support, however, to fulfill more complex goals such as user engagement, object interpretation and user education.

Originality/value

The paper grounds the examination of Omeka within a theoretical framework of exhibit orientation that enriches its observations and conclusions.

Details

Digital Library Perspectives, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5816

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2017

Krystyna K. Matusiak, Allison Tyler, Catherine Newton and Padma Polepeddi

The purpose of this paper is to examine affordable access and digital preservation solutions for digital collections developed by under-resourced small- and mid-sized cultural…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine affordable access and digital preservation solutions for digital collections developed by under-resourced small- and mid-sized cultural heritage organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a case study of Jeffco Stories, a collection of digitized oral histories created by the Jefferson County Public Library in Colorado.

Findings

This paper describes how the Jefferson County Public Library undertook a migration project of its oral history digital collection into an open-access platform, Omeka, and selected DuraCloud as a hosted digital preservation service.

Research limitations/implications

As a case study, this paper is limited to one institution’s experience with selecting access and digital preservation solutions.

Practical/implications

This paper is relevant to librarians and archivists who are exploring access and preservation solutions for digital collections and to those who are considering migrating to open-access content management systems and cloud-based digital preservation solutions.

Originality/value

This paper presents a case of a public library and the challenges in finding affordable access and digital preservation solutions for small digital collections.

Details

Digital Library Perspectives, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5816

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 2 November 2010

135

Abstract

Details

Library Hi Tech News, vol. 27 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0741-9058

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2016

Linda Rath

This case study aims to evaluate Omeka.net, the hosted Web publishing exhibit tool, as a low-cost and technology-friendly platform encouraging dynamic academic and non-academic…

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Abstract

Purpose

This case study aims to evaluate Omeka.net, the hosted Web publishing exhibit tool, as a low-cost and technology-friendly platform encouraging dynamic academic and non-academic communities to collaborate, explore and contribute to a genre film festival resource.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review established six variables to assess Omeka.net as a viable platform for libraries seeking to administer a resource-focused website adhering to information standards with limited budgets, training and technical or institutional support. The variables identified were cost; website management; content building and management; communities, engagement and collaboration; exploration and knowledge building; and website support.

Findings

Omeka.net supports many activities with notable functions for website administration; collection building; media formats; collaboration; metadata; social media; user contributions; technical support; and the creation of simple, custom pages. While templates for page layouts offer a surprising amount of choices, some options are limited. Currently, interactive and exploratory items cannot be embedded into website pages.

Originality/value

This paper discusses Omeka.net, the hosted version of the exhibit tool offered by Omeka, as a platform to encourage cross-sector collaboration for digital humanities projects, addressing a gap in the literature which focuses on Omeka.org, the open-source software version installed by libraries with access to servers and technical staff.

Details

New Library World, vol. 117 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 November 2020

Sharon Rankin

This paper aims to describe the migration steps taken by a humanities librarian to create a new searchable website for an indigenous bibliography on the Omeka.net cloud-based…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the migration steps taken by a humanities librarian to create a new searchable website for an indigenous bibliography on the Omeka.net cloud-based service.

Design/methodology/approach

Using CSV files and Excel, the bibliography entries were moved from the old website to the new one, carefully mapping the descriptive information into Qualified Dublin Core metadata elements.

Findings

After resolving diacritic and other data normalization issues, the new site was created in Omeka.net with ease. The plugins available for Omeka.net allowed the editor to geolocate the site of publications. Using TimelineJS, the editor was able to create several timelines and link them to the new CanInuit website as an exhibition.

Originality/value

This is a unique application of the Omeka.net cloud-based service.

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2014

Juliet L. Hardesty

– This case study describes Indiana University Libraries' use of Omeka for online exhibits of digital collections.

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Abstract

Purpose

This case study describes Indiana University Libraries' use of Omeka for online exhibits of digital collections.

Design/methodology/approach

Omeka is placed in the context of other online exhibit tools being used by galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM).

Findings

Omeka provides many benefits for different types of digital library collection exhibits and different levels of technical expertise but is currently limited in the ability to manage multiple exhibits of separate digital collections.

Originality/value

Describing Omeka in the context of other online exhibit tools shows the need for this kind of evaluation to improve these tools for the GLAM community.

Details

New Library World, vol. 115 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2017

Debora A. Person and Tawnya K. Plumb

For many years, the librarians at University of Wyoming’s George William Hopper Law Library fielded questions about the history of the law school and alumni. Unfortunately, no one…

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Abstract

Purpose

For many years, the librarians at University of Wyoming’s George William Hopper Law Library fielded questions about the history of the law school and alumni. Unfortunately, no one collection of institutional historical documents was available to search for relevant answers. The result was a decision to collect historic materials in a digital archive to make them available to anyone in the law school who might field such inquiries and to preserve them for future interest. The purpose of this case study is to provide a blueprint for building a digital archives from the ground up.

Design/methodology/approach

The digital archive began with print-born historical documents, scanned as preservation copies and entered into a database of images and files to which searchable metadata could be added. In addition to historical materials, it was important to collect the materials that the law school and the law library were producing. Therefore, the project was twofold: collect, preserve and make searchable the printed historic materials in a digital environment and harvest, preserve and make searchable print-born and digital-born materials as part of an ongoing process. To do this, appropriate software had to be identified.

Findings

The following steps blueprint the building of an archive on a digital platform: establish the site’s internet address, title and description; select a look and feel template and personalize the archive; create collections; identify Dublin Core preferences; add items and files using controlled vocabulary; experiment with any available plugins; and promote and provide access to the archive.

Originality/value

The digital archives project initiated by the library has led to other initiatives and opportunities for service.

Details

Digital Library Perspectives, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5816

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2018

Deborah Maron and Melanie Feinberg

The purpose of this paper is to employ a case study of the Omeka content management system to demonstrate how the adoption and implementation of a metadata standard (in this case…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to employ a case study of the Omeka content management system to demonstrate how the adoption and implementation of a metadata standard (in this case, Dublin Core) can result in contrasting rhetorical arguments regarding metadata utility, quality, and reliability. In the Omeka example, the author illustrate a conceptual disconnect in how two metadata stakeholders – standards creators and standards users – operationalize metadata quality. For standards creators such as the Dublin Core community, metadata quality involves implementing a standard properly, according to established usage principles; in contrast, for standards users like Omeka, metadata quality involves mere adoption of the standard, with little consideration of proper usage and accompanying principles.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses an approach based on rhetorical criticism. The paper aims to establish whether Omeka’s given ends (the position that Omeka claims to take regarding Dublin Core) align with Omeka’s guiding ends (Omeka’s actual argument regarding Dublin Core). To make this assessment, the paper examines both textual evidence (what Omeka says) and material-discursive evidence (what Omeka does).

Findings

The evidence shows that, while Omeka appears to argue that adopting the Dublin Core is an integral part of Omeka’s mission, the platform’s lack of support for Dublin Core implementation makes an opposing argument. Ultimately, Omeka argues that the appearance of adopting a standard is more important than its careful implementation.

Originality/value

This study contributes to our understanding of how metadata standards are understood and used in practice. The misalignment between Omeka’s position and the goals of the Dublin Core community suggests that Omeka, and some portion of its users, do not value metadata interoperability and aggregation in the same way that the Dublin Core community does. This indicates that, although certain values regarding standards adoption may be pervasive in the metadata community, these values are not equally shared amongst all stakeholders in a digital library ecosystem. The way that standards creators (Dublin Core) understand what it means to “adopt a standard” is different from the way that standards users (Omeka) understand what it means to “adopt a standard.”

Book part
Publication date: 20 April 2021

Jaime Valenzuela

In a field where external factors can far too easily define who we are as professionals, it is up to us to prove our worth. Even when a position appears to lack opportunity for…

Abstract

In a field where external factors can far too easily define who we are as professionals, it is up to us to prove our worth. Even when a position appears to lack opportunity for advancement, we can earn recognition through hard work and initiative. In doing so, we invite other opportunities to come our way. This chapter will demonstrate how the author developed his niche as classified staff in the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library at the James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona. By showing initiative early and often, the author was afforded the opportunity to work on two important digitization projects at the library. The first project involved getting the scholarly work of students in the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program represented in the campus repository. The second project involved supervising a Law Library Fellow’s internship, which included resurrecting in-house digitizing equipment. In detailing these two undertakings, the author will demonstrate why libraries play an important role in digitization. Furthermore, the author will show how up-and-coming library professionals can demonstrate the power of the library, earn recognition, and set the stage for further professional opportunities.

Details

Hope and a Future: Perspectives on the Impact that Librarians and Libraries Have on Our World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-642-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2021

Fátima García-López, Sara Martínez-Cardama and Ana María Morales-García

The purpose of this paper is to describe the creation of a catalogue of museum objects associated with two media art collections. The proposal was formulated under the Voremetur…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the creation of a catalogue of museum objects associated with two media art collections. The proposal was formulated under the Voremetur Project “Vocabularios para una Red de Archivos y Colecciones de Media Art y sus efectos: metaliteracy y turismo de conocimiento” (thesauri for networked media art archives and collections and their effects: metaliteracy and knowledge tourism) (HAR2016-75949-C2-1-R). Collection characteristics and typologies are discussed along with the difficulties encountered and the interoperability of the platform chosen with other Web resources that foster visibility.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes a case study and a review of the protocols and standards used to catalogue media art collections. Digitised descriptions were processed with Omeka software in conjunction with the expanded Dublin Core metadata schema. This paper also reviews the literature on the conceptualisation of these collections and the challenges involved in their conservation and management.

Findings

The result was the creation of a digital repository for two media art collections: one linked to Espacio P; and the other the outcome of digitising part of the MIDECIANT collection (Archivo Media ART AEMA).

Originality/value

The methodology innovates the description and analysis of museum objects on media art in Spain. The proposed cataloguing method can be replicated and used to describe similar collections and lays the grounds for creating a Spanish network of media art archives and collections.

Details

Collection and Curation, vol. 41 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9326

Keywords

1 – 10 of 37