Digital Libraries, Digital history and the use of Omeka Shawn Martin Department of Information and Library Science School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering

Andrew and Theophilus Wylie

Glenn Black Lab

Isabella D’Este Archive http://isabelladeste.web.unc.edu/

Six Degrees of Francis Bacon http://www.sixdegreesoffrancisbacon.com/

Wylie Project Site http://tawylie.omeka.net

Issues Need for historical contextualization Multiple types of materials Archival materials from IU Archival materials from other libraries Archival materials from digital collections (Hathi-Trust Museum objects and artifacts Archaeological site excavations Published scholarship about Wylies Original (student) scholarship about Wylies

Issues Metadata Some items cataloged Some items not cataloged Items existing in more than one online collection Items within items Bringing items together within exhibits – to make historical argument

Inventing Europe http://www.inventingeurope.eu/

Capturing the Body http://www.oberlinlibstaff.com/omeka_cast202/

War of 1812 Site http://collections.libraries.indiana.edu/warof1812/

Conclusions Omeka is focused on highlighting individual items Exhibits and other features predicated on highlighting those objects in particular ways History (and other forms of humanities scholarship) try to make an argument or narrative Objects (evidence) secondary to argument How do we reconcile these differences?

Conclusions Focus on objects that in and of themselves tell an important story about the Wylies Hope to further explore ways that we can work around Omeka’s limitations to enhance narrative/argument

Lets Think About Your Projects What is the role of individual objects? Do those objects fit into a larger narrative structure or argument? How do you plan on reconciling these issues (if they exist)? What other possibilities or limitations does Omeka provide for your project?

Lets Think About Your Projects Do you intend to create exhibits? How would you do that? Are the examples discussed relevant? Why or why not? What types of items do you have? What metadata is required? Does Dublin Core (DC) meet your needs? How might you have to work around DC in order to meet your needs?

Lets Think About Your Projects What kinds of plugins would be helpful? Exhibits CoiNS – Zotero importable Simple pages Api How are you going to use HTML One way to get around some of limitations Imposes its own limitations