Learn how to set up Omeka, add items to the database, create metadata, add tags, build collections and exhibits, enhance the features of your Omeka website by installing plugins, and how make your site fully searchable.

1. ASHLEY SANDERS, PH.D.
CLAREMONT COLLEGES LIBRARY
GETTING OFF THE
GROUND WITH OMEKA
Last Updated: October 14, 2015

2. ROAD MAP
1. What is Omeka?
2. Your Dashboard
3. Adding Items: Metadata
4. Creating Collections
5. Exhibit-Building
6. Adding Plugins: Expanding Possibilities
7. Making your site searchable
8. Managing Appearance
9. Managing Users

3. 1. WHAT IS OMEKA?
• Searchable Scholarly
Database
• Web Publishing
Platform
• Exhibit Builder
• Built by & for Scholars
• Open Source
• CHNM @ George
Mason

4. Swahili
“to display or lay
out wares; to speak
out; to spread out;
to unpack”
WHAT DOES
“OMEKA” MEAN?
1. What is Omeka?

5. WHAT IS CHNM?
•Center at George Mason University
•Mission: to use “digital media and computer
technology to democratize history”
•Funding: Federal agencies, such as NEH, and
private foundations that support education,
including IMLS, Mellon, Sloan, and Kress
1. What is Omeka?

6. 2. YOUR DASHBOARD

7. 3. Adding Items

8. 3. Adding Items

9. 3. Adding Items
Publication, archive,
website

10. 3. Adding Items
Donor or person entering
item
Rights statement from archive
or CC license
Ex: 3”x5” B/W photograph

11. 3. Adding Items
For more see:
https://omeka.org/codex/Item_Types

12. 3. Adding Items

13. 3. Adding Items

14. TAGS: THE KEY TO SEARCH

15. MORE ON TAGS…
TAGS are the keywords, the descriptors of your items, by
which you can relate and group sources and help your
visitors find what they’re looking for.
Use SimpleVocab plugin to easily add a controlled
vocabulary for your tags.
Install
SimpleVocabPlus
plugin to create a
clickable tag cloud like
this…

16. 4. CREATING COLLECTIONS
For more on creating collections, see:
https://omeka.org/codex/Managing_Collections

17. 5.EXHIBITBUILDING

18. 5. EXHIBIT BUILDING

19. 6. ADDING PLUGINS:
EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES

20. 6. ADDING PLUGINS:
EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES
www.omeka.org/add-ons/plugins

21. PLUGINS:
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Bulk Metadata Editor
• Contribution:
Allows others to contribute to your
collection
• Digital Object Linker:
embed digital images from
external sources on item pages
• Exhibit Builder:
an absolute must
• Flickr Import
• Item Order: custom
order items in collections
• PDF Embed
• PDF Text: makes PDF
text searchable
• Posters:
Create interpretive
posters using Omeka
items

22. BULK UPLOAD
Plugins
CSV Import
Dropbox
Instructions
CSV Import
Instructions
Dropbox Plugin
Instructions

23. 7. MAKING YOUR SITE SEARCHABLE

24. 7. MAKING YOUR SITE SEARCHABLE
To enable your visitors to search by specific
metadata elements:
1.Install SimpleVocab plugin to create a controlled
vocabulary
• This also makes adding Tags to items much easier
1.Install SearchByMetadata plugin
• Instructions for SearchByMetadata plugin

25. 8. MANAGING APPEARANCE

26. 8. MANAGING APPEARANCE

27. 9. MANAGING USERS

28. 9. MANAGING USERS
Roles:
1.Super: only users with access to the Settings panel
2.Admin: add & edit items, collections, files, exhibits, and
use any installed plugins
3.Researcher: view items & collections that are not
public
4.Contributor: add & edit their own items, view non-
public items, create their own exhibit

29. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
• http://omeka.org/codex/Documentation
• Using Omeka with other tools & plugins
• Questions? Search the Forum