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Very brief notes from my session on using Omeka.

Omeka is best suited for collections-based sites, where individual pieces, ie items, are described with Dublin Core metadata.

General categories of most Omeka sites: archiving, exhibiting, collecting, teaching.
See examples sites in the Showcase wiki (many highly customized sites): omeka.org/codex/View_Sites_Powered_by_Omeka

Do I need the downloadable version that I host or the Omeka.net hosted version?

• Comparison chart Org vs Net
• Downloadable: Omeka.org/download. Good idea to visit Documentation’s preparing to install, helps you find what you need ahead of time, suggestions for hosting.
• Hosted: Sign up for a free account, to test out Omeka basic funcationality and admin UI, or start building a site.

As with any site, you will want to set goals for the site, outline content—and know exactly what will be available on the site, and know your audience.

Try these Site Planning Tips to help you think about Omeka as a system and what it can do for you. There are many links to the documentation from this page that explain items, item types, collections, exhibits, and simple web pages.

Omeka’s core application is an archiving system, with an item as a building block, and it is extended through plugins. Front-facing design is controlled by a theme.

Start with our fantastic documentation: omeka.org/codex; when you have questions, post to forums: omeka.org/forums.