Omeka is an open-source web application that can be used to create and display online digital collections. Developed by programmers at George Mason University, Omeka was designed to be user-friendly, both during installation and setup and during daily usage.
The Penn Libraries has a robust set of guides to using Omeka on its website. Head on over to learn about:
Need help installing Omeka on your Domain? Check out our step-by-step guide.
To get started you’ll need to log in to your control panel (https://domains.library.upenn.edu/dashboard) using your PennKey.
Once logged in you’ll be on the homepage of your cPanel. Navigate to the Web Applications section of the cPanel and find Featured Applications. Then select Omeka.
This page gives you more information about the Omeka software. To begin the install, click install this application in the upper right-hand corner.
On the next page, the installer will ask for some information about this install. The first thing you’ll want to do is decide where to install it. If you’re wanting to install Omeka on your main domain, you can leave the directory area empty. If you created a subdomain, you can select it from the drop-down menu. You also have the option of installing Omeka in a subfolder by typing in the folder name in the Directory field.
Scroll down to the next Setting section. Set an Administrator Username and Administrator Password. You will need this again shortly.
By default the installer will automatically backup your website and update it anytime a new version comes out. While we recommend you keep this option, it is possible to only do minor updates, or turn them off completely. The installer will also create a database for you automatically, but if you’ve already created one for this website you can choose Let me manage the database settings and enter the details. Click Install to continue.
The installer will take just a few moments to install Omeka and a progress bar will keep you updated. When it is complete you will see a link to your new Omeka site as well as a link to the backend administrative section for your Omeka site. Click the Omeka Admin link to configure your new Omeka installation.
When you visit your new Omeka Admin link, you are asked for the admin username and password. Enter the Username and Password that you set for the administrative superuser (i.e. yourself).
Begin adding content in the Admin Dashboard. You’ll find lots of instructions, tips, and ideas on the Omeka.org documentation site.
Web accessibility is a shared, continuous responsibility for members of the Penn community involved in the development, creation, publishing, or sharing of digital resources.
Penn websites and content are accessed and used by diverse people within the U.S. and around the world. Some users have visual, hearing, or cognitive impairments that create challenges in accessing website content, and require the use of assistive technologies, such as screen readers and text-only browsers. Other users of Penn websites may be using outmoded technology, or have very slow connection speeds. As such, it is imperative that Penn ensures its online presence and content remain accessible to the widest array of users.”
Source: Penn’s Accessibility Statement
Accessibility is a very broad concept that includes a huge array of considerations, but essentially you are hoping to design your digital materials so that people can interact with your site in a variety of ways. Your goal is to make sure that people with disabilities can access your content equally, but these considerations also help a variety of users in many ways.
Information adapted from the University of Minnesota.
Below, this concept is broken into seven basic principles to help you implement simple design elements to make your site accessible to the most people. You can watch this video or read the tabs below (hint: multiple modes makes the content more accessible!).
Alternative text, or “alt text” describes the content of images, graphs and charts. It should be added to every image that conveys meaning. If you don’t include alternative text with an image, a visually impaired person or user who disables image loading or encounters a broken image won’t know what the image is meant to convey.
Ensure a strong color contrast between foreground and background on every document, slide, and web page. Always use color plus another visual indicator (for example, color plus boldface type or color plus size) to communicate important information. Screen readers don’t offer a way to search by color, and people in or with a wide variety of conditions and in certain environments won’t be able to see the difference either.
Structure your document using paragraph styles (for documents) or heading tags (for web pages). Headings make the structure of your documents accessible to screen readers while improving both scannability and maintainability. Structure is critical for adaptive technology users, who rely on properly formatted headings to understand and navigate documents and web pages. Without this structure, there is no easy way to navigate a document because the document is read as a single long section.
Links
You can improve both the usability and accessibility of links by making them concise, descriptive, and meaningful out of context. Well-written and well-placed links help both sighted people and those who use screen readers or other adaptive technology to consume content. Research has shown that sighted users typically scan pages for links to help them find what they’re looking for. People using screen readers can do something similar by touching a button and hearing a list of all the links on a page. Well-placed links provide enough context to help all users make an informed decision about which links they want to follow.
Lists
Presenting a “wall of text” in a document or website can discourage reading. Instead, present key concepts as lists where possible. Lists help users comprehend text more quickly. Writers can use them to reduce reader fatigue resulting from trying to comprehend dense or complex paragraphs. Lists can provide a break in the document flow and encourage users to stick with the content.
Accessible tables are simple, rather than complex, have an identified header row, and include a table summary, either as a caption or as alt text. These techniques help screen reader users read the information contained in the table. When sighted users focus on a table cell, they are able to visually determine which row and column the cell is in by scanning up and down or left and right. This adds context to what the value in a particular cell means. On the other hand, a screen reader can only read aloud each cell one by one from left to right and top to bottom. If the table is not formatted correctly, there is no easy way to determine what label a particular value in a cell might have.
Video and audio content, such as podcasts, videos, and narrated slideshows, are increasingly being used to enrich and deliver online experiences. Videos should include accurate captions and audio descriptions. Audio-only content should include an accurate transcript. When sharing audio and video recordings, don’t use auto-play.
Answer: Attribution! Copyright law is complex, so in this section, we will breakdown the basics you need to know to make sure you are within your legal rights to post material to your website. The first, and most important, thing you need to remember is to always give credit where credit is due. In other words, provide citation information anytime you post text, images, videos, or any other materials you did not create yourself. Here is a fun animation that illustrates why this is so important (sorry for the ear worm!):
Copyright in its most basic form is actually just that: the right to copy. The term “copyright,” however, is a bit misleading: copyright is not just one right – it is several exclusive rights that an author (usually the creator) has over their work. copy rights. The copyright holder has the exclusive right to do (and allow others to do) the following:
Examples of copyrightable works include:
These categories should be viewed broadly for the purpose of registering your work. For example, computer programs and certain “compilations” can be registered as “literary works”; maps and technical drawings can be registered as “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.”
Copyright is applied to any original work of authorship in a fixed, tangible form. This means that once you prepare a creative work and write it down, you own the copyright to it. Many of the original, creative works you prepare in your daily life are subject to copyright – owner, you! That holiday letter I (finally!) sent off to my family this morning? Copyrighted. The selfie I took last night? Copyrighted. The notes I took in class last semester? Yes, those are copyrighted, too. The grocery list I prepared for my roommate? Not so much. While it is written down, there is nothing “original” or “creative” about it. It is just a factual list of things I intend to pick up from the market – it has no creative spark!
