When we released Omeka Classic fifteen years ago, I don’t know that any of us really thought we would still be working hard to provide open source web publishing platforms for stewards of cultural heritage and their communities. But, thankfully, here we are!
As the Omeka Team celebrates its fifteenth birthday, the project is sustainable and continues to provide software alternatives that serve the needs of our users as they endeavour to reach, engage, and collaborate with their communities. In part, this longevity can be attributed to the intelligence and dedication of the more than two dozen designers, developers, and digital humanists who have worked with Omeka over the years. In part, it can be attributed to our early decision to meet our users where they are. This commitment led to the launch of the Omeka.net hosted platform in 2010 to serve the needs of users who for a variety of reasons were unable or disinclined to host their own Omeka Classic sites. Then, in 2017, we launched Omeka S to serve the needs of institutional users and those who had an interest in working with more sophisticated approaches to digital pubishing such as using linked open data and embracing emerging standards such as the International Image Interoperability Framework.
In celebration of this milestone fifteenth year, the Omeka Team is launching a series of service offerings that demonstrate our commitment to continue meeting the needs of our wide range of users.
- Intensive Training Curricula for Omeka Classic and Omeka S: For many years, our users have asked for training options that would allow them to develop a deep and thorough facility with the Omeka publishing platforms. Guided by experienced instructors, participants in these eight-week courses will gain an understanding of the best practices for working with either platform, preparing them to undertake new work with confidence. With the first set beginning in June 2023, courses will be offered three times a year.
- Managed Hosting: For some Omeka users, the hosting options provided by Omeka.net are not satisfactory. As a result, the Omeka Team has begun to provide fully managed hosting for Omeka Classic and Omeka S. Each installation offers users direct access to an isolated server. The Omeka Team takes responsibility for maintaining, backing up, and upgrading the core installation and all Omeka-created plugins/modules and themes.
- Support Packages: The Omeka Team tries to provide extensive documentation and prompt replies to forum queries, but some users have sought the surety of having a more direct support relationship with the team. These packages offer a direct ticketing system for support issues and consultation.
Together, we hope that these services will help enable our users to undertake the work they want to do with the Omeka platforms, as we all move forward into the future.
As always, we want to hear from you about what you want out of Omeka Classic and Omeka S. Visit the Forums with your questions and comments today!