Developing IIM Calcutta Archives: A Comprehensive Study of Omeka Classic

Abstract

Open-source software (OSS) has played a transformative role in making the landscape of digital platforms and offers institutions' libraries an opportunity to develop dynamic online presences. The prestigious B. C. Roy Memorial Library at IIM Calcutta was entrusted with developing digital archives internally by library professionals to preserve its history throughout its long journey utilizing the Omeka Classic platform. The archives is now globally accessible through the URL https://archives.iimcal.ac.in, containing more than 2614 photographs, 82 audio, 11 videos, and 121 documents to date. The primary objective of this paper is to share the valuable experiences acquired during the journey, from planning to launching on the web.

This paper is well-structured, consisting of three critical units covering the entire journey. Unit 1 talks about the end-user organization with an overview of Omeka Classic. It also highlighted several essential prerequisites, the financial requirements, and the formulation of comprehensive administrative policies for making it public. Unit 2 focuses on system specifications, steps of installation, customization, configuration, and integration of WordPress 6.3.1, details of installed plugins, essential steps for public IP mapping, etc. Unit 3 describes the collection and processing of archive materials, the selection of metadata schema, the steps of individual and bulk data upload, the creation of inverse and reverse relationship rules, the integration of helpful features like user access and contribution systems, metrics and usage, commenting, and steps of backup and restoration, along with highlighting several technical issues encountered during development. Omeka Classic and Omeka S have not been utilized much by Indian libraries, possibly due to a lack of awareness regarding this powerful software. The non-availability of required literature may be another reason to hinder the professionals from developing the Omeka instances. This paper acts as a bridge to fill this knowledge gap by providing a comprehensive guide that systematically encompasses the necessary steps for developing and maintaining digital archives.