Omeka Download and Installation

Omeka is a digital content management system commonly used by libraries and archives institutions. It is open source software (GNU GPL). There is no license cost to use the system.

There are two main hosting options to run the software: pay a subscription service for a vendor to run Omeka, or install Omeka on a server you manage yourself. Paying for a hosting subscription is a valid option for small or experimental collections. Large, complex collections will require dedicated expertise -- a Linux server and an IT personnel.

This open source software uses the common "LAMP Stack" style of servers: Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP. Installing it yourself will require an IT personnel with access to and experience with a Linux server. Omeka isn't technically complex for someone with the right experience -- it is about the same complexity as installing and maintaining other mature, popular PHP-based systems like WordPress or MediaWiki. The installation instructions can be found here: http://omeka.org/codex/Installation

Omeka itself doesn't take up much server space, but you'll want plenty of starting space to hold your exhibit items.

After installation, there are additional ways Omeka can be configured. There are Add-Ons available such as new Themes and Plugins. Themes update the visual styles of your Omeka site, and Plugins add new functionality. This new functionality is often for displaying new types of exhibits -- like annotated maps, or interactive timelines. Other plugins offer features such as OAI-PMH data harvesting and advanced Solr searching.