Omeka
Encyclopedia
Omeka is a free
, open source
web publishing system
for online digital archives, and uses an unqualified Dublin Core
metadata
standard. Completely web-based, it allows users to publish cultural heritage
objects, extend its functionality with themes and plugins, and curate online exhibits with digital objects. A light-weight solution in comparison to traditional institutional repository software like DSpace
, Omeka has a focus on display. Its software is currently being used by the New York Public Library
, the Newberry Library
, as well as many small museums and historical societies. The Missouri School of Journalism
uses Omeka to share their archive of 38,000 photographs from the Pictures of the Year International contest.
Developed by the Center for History and New Media
at George Mason University
, Omeka was recently awarded a technology collaboration award by the Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
web publishing system
Content management system
A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
for online digital archives, and uses an unqualified Dublin Core
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata terms are a set of vocabulary terms which can be used to describe resources for the purposes of discovery. The terms can be used to describe a full range of web resources: video, images, web pages etc and physical resources such as books and objects like artworks...
metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
standard. Completely web-based, it allows users to publish cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
objects, extend its functionality with themes and plugins, and curate online exhibits with digital objects. A light-weight solution in comparison to traditional institutional repository software like DSpace
DSpace
DSpace is an open source software package that provides the tools for management of digital assets, and is commonly used as the basis for an institutional repository. It supports a wide variety of data, including books, theses, 3D digital scans of objects, photographs, film, video, research data...
, Omeka has a focus on display. Its software is currently being used by the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, the Newberry Library
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...
, as well as many small museums and historical societies. The Missouri School of Journalism
Missouri School of Journalism
The Missouri School of Journalism at University of Missouri in Columbia, claims to be the oldest formal journalism school in the world. Founded in 1908, only the Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Paris established in 1899 may be older...
uses Omeka to share their archive of 38,000 photographs from the Pictures of the Year International contest.
Developed by the Center for History and New Media
Center for History and New Media
The Center for History and New Media at George Mason University was established by Roy Rosenzweig in 1994 to research and use digital media and information technology in historical research, education, digital tools and resources, digital preservation, and outreach.- Digital preservation...
at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
, Omeka was recently awarded a technology collaboration award by the Andrew Mellon Foundation.