Message from the Director
Dear Friends,
We strongly feel that Omeka installation that is launched should have a corresponding preservation plan. As such, the Omeka Team has spent the last couple of years thinking about how to make the work of preservation easier.
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The Exports addons allow administrators to select a universe of resources and export the related metadata as a CSV or a JSON-LD file (Omeka Classic Omeka S). -
The Static Site Export addons allow administrators to select an installation or a site and transform it into a Hugo static site (Omeka Classic Omeka S). - Alternatively, you might consider just exporting your installation database, and zipping up a copy of the files in your Omeka installation directory. This preserves the full installation so that it can be relaunched elsewhere.
- Finally, you might consider routes to preserve the exact experience of your installation. To do so, you could create a WARC file that captures your work using Webrecorder tools.
While you should certainly have a local copy of your work, you should have at least two copies offsite, and hopefully one of those should be in a preservation grade repository. Any of the artifacts mentioned above are ripe for deposit in your local institutional repository for preservation. If you don’t have access to a local IR, you could make an account at KCWorks and deposit there.
Whatever route you choose, please take a few minutes to ensure that your work is preserved for future access!
With my best wishes, Sharon
New Developments
Recently, the Omeka Team has been hard at work trying to finish up a development arc related to serving archives. An ArchivesSpace Connector module for Omeka S is now available.
The ArchivesSpace Connector module allows you to connect an Omeka S instance to a ArchivesSpace repository to import items and item sets from that repository. This module works in conjunction with the Hierarchy module to build and maintain a structured tree of collections and containers from ArchivesSpace, faithfully representing your archival arrangements within Omeka. After importing information, Omeka S will maintain a connection back to the original source material, which allows you to refresh the information from the source when desired.
Now, the Dev team is working on building an add-on that will be compatible with Archivematica. The hope is that it will not simply act as a connector to import items to your Omeka site, but that it will be able to push items from your Omeka site to deposit. Stay tuned over the coming year to follow this development!
Spotlight: Documenting Ferguson
This quarter’s Omeka newsletter Spotlight is Documenting Ferguson, a freely available resource that seeks to preserve and make accessible the digital media captured and created by community members following the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9, 2014. This Omeka S project uses the Foundation theme and houses nearly 800 digital artifacts provided by community members, including images, video, and audio related to the various events in the aftermath throughout the St. Louis region. This project was created originally using Omeka Classic by the Washington University in St. Louis Libraries in collaboration with members of the community. Please note that users may encounter offensive or harmful language in this collection. Explore the collection and learn more about the project today. Explore the Site
Share your work with us for inclusion in our directories, and for a possible future Spotlight! </div>
Meet the Team
Name: Avianna Miller
Role: Testing Associate
How long have you been with Omeka?
A little over a year!
What work have you done that our community would be familiar with?
I am involved in most things in the realm of accessibility! I test new releases and updates to ensure they are accessible and aid our planning and improvement processes as we seek to better extend access in all facets of Omeka.
Do you have a favorite project you’ve worked on or just a favorite part of working with the Omeka team/community?
Going from being an Omeka user to part of the team, it’s been especially enjoyable to test out and comment on new features firsthand. I also appreciate learning from the unique design, development, and UX-oriented perspectives of all members of the team as we work toward shared goals.
What’s a fun fact about you?
I am a lifelong vegetarian.
Omeka in the World
Come find us at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference! Sheila Brennan, the Director of Institutional Relations for Digital Scholar, will be in attendance at the conference on April 30 and May 1. She looks forward to talking with you about Omeka, but is also happy to give updates on other Digital Scholar developments related to Zotero, Tropy, Sourcery, and PressForward!
Upcoming Events
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Join us on May 12th at 11am EDT for the final workshop in our new series. “Maps & Timelines for Omeka S” will help users tell a location-based story about your research, data, or collections to enhance your Omeka S Site. Visit our website for more information on how to sign up, as well as to explore other training opportunities.
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The next Omeka Community Call is scheduled for May 14th at 11:00am EDT and will be on the theme of “Discovery.” Come prepared to share a project you would like to showcase! Register now.
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Our next round of eight-week Omeka Classic and Omeka S courses will begin June 9 and June 10, respectively. Visit our website to learn more and enroll.