Building a digital collection with Omeka: a possible answer to the provision of digitized materials in libraries

Abstract

There is an increasing demand from the users of public collections to have access from home and via the Internet to the materials preserved there. For this, the technical adaptation of digitization itself is an essential, however, insufficient step. Scanned materials have to be transmitted to users – following substantial post-processing – by means of a framework system, in a most convenient form possible, and in a user-friendly way. This study shows a feasible solution for this task: the Omeka open-source software package. Omeka is primarily used around the world for providing image-based content. At the same time, various plugins enable its wider application, for the provision of text, audio and video materials etc. The plugins, which can be installed optionally, make extra features possible, such as crowdsourcing functions, a map view, annotation of images, and creating virtual exhibitions. According to the examples shown, Omeka can offer a comprehensive solution for a wide range of public collections (public and academic libraries, museums and archives) to provide their locally digitized materials properly.