Is Omeka.net suitable for online exhibitions?
March 4, 2017 1:31 PM Subscribe
I've been trying out Omeka (the online.net version), and am surprised that the exhibits it creates are not as elegant or functional as I'd like (in exhibits, you can't click to expand thumbnails, for example). Am I missing something? Or should I consider a different solution?
I'm working, temporarily, at a library that has a display case it uses for small displays of books and such. Often, in connection with one of these displays, the library will also put up an online version of this exhibition, which has in the past been a Powerpoint presentation.
I was thinking of moving these exhibitions to Omeka.net, since Powerpoint is a bit clunky, and not ideally suited to citing books and images properly. I'm also interested in experimenting with Omeka, since I've heard a lot about it, even though we do not really need to take advantage of Omeka's ability to keep track of detailed records of large numbers of objects.
However, after trying it out for a while yesterday, I'm discouraged. It seems like the .net Omeka (the kind that doesn't require you download it and install it to your own server) is rather inflexible. There is a Exhibit Builder plug-in for creating online exhibits, but it has important limitations (as well as less important but surprising ones, such as the inability to customize colors or fonts). For example:
*Exhibits can begin with a "summary" front page, but you can't put an image on the summary page (wouldn't most people want an attractive "cover" to an exhibition?)
*You can make a page with a "gallery" of small image thumbnails, but you can't make it so that clicking on these thumbnails expands them, or reveals a caption, or links to a larger image (clicking a thumbnail will always takes visitors to a detailed item record). Users nowadays expect to interact with images, and doing so should do more than bringing up a dry item record.
I know that Omeka.org offers much more flexibility, but for the sake of maintainability and because of my own dubious php/css abilities, I'm not really interested in the downloadable .org version of Omeka. The Omeka.net website is also sort of disappointing (for example, I've had trouble finding a list describing the functions of the extra plugins available with a paid subscription to Omeka.net).
So, to sum up: is there a way to allow users to interact with images in exhibit galleries more in Omeka.net, or to add images to exhibit summary pages?
Also, I would be interested in tutorials that patiently show how to optimally configure an exhibit in Omeka (rather than quickly rushing through an image upload), or suggestions for other solutions to presenting an online exhibit that might be a little better suited for presenting an online exhibit than either Powerpoint or Omeka.
I'm working, temporarily, at a library that has a display case it uses for small displays of books and such. Often, in connection with one of these displays, the library will also put up an online version of this exhibition, which has in the past been a Powerpoint presentation.
I was thinking of moving these exhibitions to Omeka.net, since Powerpoint is a bit clunky, and not ideally suited to citing books and images properly. I'm also interested in experimenting with Omeka, since I've heard a lot about it, even though we do not really need to take advantage of Omeka's ability to keep track of detailed records of large numbers of objects.
However, after trying it out for a while yesterday, I'm discouraged. It seems like the .net Omeka (the kind that doesn't require you download it and install it to your own server) is rather inflexible. There is a Exhibit Builder plug-in for creating online exhibits, but it has important limitations (as well as less important but surprising ones, such as the inability to customize colors or fonts). For example:
*Exhibits can begin with a "summary" front page, but you can't put an image on the summary page (wouldn't most people want an attractive "cover" to an exhibition?)
*You can make a page with a "gallery" of small image thumbnails, but you can't make it so that clicking on these thumbnails expands them, or reveals a caption, or links to a larger image (clicking a thumbnail will always takes visitors to a detailed item record). Users nowadays expect to interact with images, and doing so should do more than bringing up a dry item record.
I know that Omeka.org offers much more flexibility, but for the sake of maintainability and because of my own dubious php/css abilities, I'm not really interested in the downloadable .org version of Omeka. The Omeka.net website is also sort of disappointing (for example, I've had trouble finding a list describing the functions of the extra plugins available with a paid subscription to Omeka.net).
So, to sum up: is there a way to allow users to interact with images in exhibit galleries more in Omeka.net, or to add images to exhibit summary pages?
Also, I would be interested in tutorials that patiently show how to optimally configure an exhibit in Omeka (rather than quickly rushing through an image upload), or suggestions for other solutions to presenting an online exhibit that might be a little better suited for presenting an online exhibit than either Powerpoint or Omeka.
Best answer: I run and maintain an extensive exhibitions site running on Omeka. You are correct that the .net (omeka hosted) version is pretty limited. You really need to to use the self-hosted version to get the flexibility it sounds like you want. It's easy enough to set up, but once you start really customizing it, it will really help if you have someone who thoroughly understands basic web development and php. You can, without too much trouble, get your own theme up and running and install the more advanced plugins that allow more exciting image presentation. An example of how far you can take the self-hosted version is the Grateful Dead Archive Online, that UC Santa Cruz runs - completely built on Omeka, albeit with a lot of in-house additions.
Do keep in mind though that Omeka was conceived and built intentionally to be simple out of the box - limited choices, limited extensions, etc. - for students, tiny non-profits, and small institutions to put up respectable looking online exhibits without a lot of overhead and investment. If you are hitting the ceiling with the hosted/.net version, and need something more powerful or flexible, the self-hosted/.org version is really the way to go.
posted by gyusan at 5:39 PM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Do keep in mind though that Omeka was conceived and built intentionally to be simple out of the box - limited choices, limited extensions, etc. - for students, tiny non-profits, and small institutions to put up respectable looking online exhibits without a lot of overhead and investment. If you are hitting the ceiling with the hosted/.net version, and need something more powerful or flexible, the self-hosted/.org version is really the way to go.
posted by gyusan at 5:39 PM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks very much! Will probably stick with Omeka.net for now, and look into the self-hosted version in the future.
posted by washburn at 10:06 AM on March 6, 2017
posted by washburn at 10:06 AM on March 6, 2017
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posted by parmanparman at 5:04 PM on March 4, 2017