Way to associate narrative interpretation with items
Exhibit Metadata
Extensible
Themes
Plugins
Themes and Theme API
Similar principle to Wordpress API, template helpers in Rails, Symfony, etc.
Plugins and Plugin API
Set of hooks implemented as a callback stack, with simple hook names
Just declare a callback:
And then its implementation:
Hooks run at the DB, controller and HTML levels
Plugins and Plugin API
Plugins can also define new output formats. Existing formats include XHTML, JSON, XML, Dublin Core RDF, RSS2
You can switch between output formats by adding a query parameter to the URL
Output Formats
For example, adding ?output=dc to the query string will convert this page:
Output Formats (cont.)
To the Dublin Core RDF format:
Example Plugins
COinS
Spits out COinS spans for all your items, making Omeka compatible with Zotero.
Eventual goal would be round-tripping through Zotero (export RDF from Zotero, import to Omeka).
Dropbox
Overcome the limitations of uploading files through HTTP by ingesting files directly into your Omeka install via FTP.
Mapping
Associate your items with geo data and plot them on a map.
TagSuggest
Suggest ways to tag an item based on its text content.
Contribution
Collect and archive submissions from the general public.
Community
Community
Omeka is free and Open Source, released under GPL
as a self-publishing tool - it's centered around users by its nature
Community
We conducted a beta testing period with 150 users, and in the past week over 300 downloads
Library community, archival community, museum community, and enthusiast groups all are involved - together working on this tool
common interest in presenting digital collections, making information accessible in open an intuitive way
New York Public Library is using it to feature items from their digital catalog
can be used to feature subsets of your collection
Extensible architecture allows plugins to meet the needs of specific communities
Goals for Future
Technomekarati — aggregate items of all Omeka collections into one website
Internationalization
Localization
Hosted Version
How to get involved
Write documentation in our Codex
Feedback about APIs
what works, what doesn't, what's missing, requests for features
Participate in Forums
trying our best to answer questions
Write and Share Plugins
plugins that incorporate library metadata standard within Omeka - add item types and metafields that supplement Omeka's dublin core standard
plugins that bring users closer to your communities - a bottom-up approach toward your collections, allowing social tagging, allowing feedback/commenting, ways for students to use items in your collection and create their own exhibits
Build and Share themes
Omeka ships with two themes - the default theme and minimalist
simple CSS tweaks can be made to pre-existing themes and redistributed
could be as simple as hacking WordPress themes - I hacked Kubrick theme for example
