Up and Running with Omeka

Up and Running with Omeka

Omeka makes it easy to create websites that show off collections of items.

Handout created by Miriam Posner.

Go to

Professor Amato will give you your login credentials

The pics in this handout are just generic examples to demonstrate how to use Omeka. Your site will look slightly different.

An empty Omeka site

Add an item to your archive

Click on (naturally!) Add a new item to your archive.

Describe your new item

Remember, Dublin Core refers to the descriptive information you'll enter about your item. All of this information is optional, and you can't really do it wrong. But try to be consistent.

Be sure to click the Public checkbox so that your item is viewable by the general public. If you don't click that box, only people who are logged into your site will be able to see the item.

To add multiple fields — for example, if you want to add multiple subjects for your item — use the green Add input button to the left of the text boxes.

A tricky question

I'm creating an item record for my dog, Bertie. But am I describing Bertie himself or a photograph of Bertie? If it's the former, the Creator would be — well, I guess that depends on your religious outlook. If it's the latter, the creator would be Brad Wallace, who took the photo.

The decision about whether you're describing the object or the representation of the object is up to you. But once you've decided, be consistent.

Attach a file to your item record

Once you've finished adding Dublin Core metadata, you can attach a file to your item record by clicking Files to the left of the Dublin Core form. (You don't have to click Add Item before you do this; Omeka will automatically save your information.) You can add multiple files, but beware of problems that might result from large file sizes.

Once you've added a file or files, you can add Tags by clicking on the button. You can also click on Item Type Metadata to choose the kind of thing — person, place, animal, vegetable, mineral — your item is. If you don't see the appropriate item type for your item, don't worry. We can add a new item type later.

When you're all done, click the green Add Item button.

You have an item!

This list contains all the items you've added. Notice the green checkmark that appears in the Public column. To see what the page for your new item looks like, click on the name of the item.

This is not the public page for your item.

It may look like it, but this page isn't what a non-logged-in user will see when she navigates to the page for your item. To see what a user would see, click on View Public Page. (Or you can edit the item by clicking on Edit this item at the top right.)

This is the public page for your item

This is what a general user will see if she navigates to your page.

Creating an Omeka Exhibit

Handout created by Miriam Posner.

Now that you've added items to your Omeka site and grouped them into collections, you're ready for the next step: taking your users on a guided tour through the items you've collected.

Before you begin: Map your exhibit

It pays to do some thinking before you launch into creating an exhibit. You'll be creating sections and pages, and you'll need to give some thought to the argument you want to make and how you intend to make it. In the lesson that follows, I use the silly example of my dogs. But what if I were discussing, say, silent film? My sections might be thematic (comedies, romances, dramas), chronological (early silent film, the transitional period, classical era), or stylistic (modernist, impressionist, narrative). It all depends on the message I want to convey to the site's visitors. You might draw out a map of your exhibit, showing where you want to put each digital asset.

Add an exhibit

A collection is just a list of objects. An exhibit is a guided tour through your items, complete with descriptive text and customized layouts. To create one, click on the Exhibits tab and then Add an exhibit. Fill out the form on the top half of the page. A slug is a machine-readable name for your exhibit and will become part of your URL.

Add a section

Every exhibit has sections and pages —sort of like chapters and pages in a book. Add a new section by clicking on the green Add Section button and then filling out the information on the following page.

Add a page

Pages are where you'll stick the actual items in your exhibit. Click on the green Add Page button. On the following page, you'll enter some information and pick a layout for your exhibit page. The blue squares indicate exhibit items, while the lined areas indicate descriptive text. Pick a layout; you can change it later. Then click on Save Changes.

Add items to your page

On the page that follows, you'll see a numbered grid. You'll fill in that grid by attaching items (in the places indicated by blue boxes) and typing in descriptive information about your item. Remember, an exhibit is a kind of guided tour through your items, so try to write descriptions that guide the reader from one item to the next. When you're finished adding items, you can add another page, or another section, or both.

When you're done, return to your public site to see how your Omeka site looks.

You have an Omeka site!

Now your site has items, collections, and an exhibit — all the basic units of an Omeka site!

Up and Running with Omeka / 1