The tool we will use to create this site is a website called Omeka. It is a free website that will give us the opportunity to map out all of West Chester University, past and present. We’ll be able to map out the different buildings that have made up the university in the last half century or so. We’ll also be able to see different buildings as they’ve evolved over time such as the Business Building, or the Francis Green Harvey Library
Omeka is a site similar to WordPress that allows you to build your own website or digital humanities project. there are four different types of Omeka tools to choose from as seen below:
Omeka S- For institutions managing a sharable resource pool across multiple sites. https://omeka.org/s/
Omeka Classic- For individual projects and educators. https://omeka.org/classic/
Omeka.Net -a hosted service option for publishing digital collections and exhibits, allowing users to run Omeka Class without worrying about installation or hosting. https://www.omeka.net/
Omeka Everywhere- a suite of tools enabling institutions to connect an Omeka Classic instance to a multitouch tables and mobile devices. https://omeka.org/everywhere/
Along with this site-building tool, we’re also going to take advantage of the deep, rich collection of historical picture found in West Chester University Library Archives. Here we can view hundreds of pictures from the old days of the university.
As a student at West Chester University, I know firsthand what a difference there is between the picture above and what stands there today. Recitation Hall and the Old Library still exist as they’re seen here; however, there is now a building in front of recitation and one to the right and left behind it–Asplundh and the current Francis Green Harvey Library.
