Kete is Open Source Digital Library and Archiving software. 

Kete is purpose built software to enable communities to collaboratively build their own digital libraries, archives and repositories.  Finally Web 2.0 is put into something useful!

• April 2008 Community Meeting in Auckland

Kete blog - Read the latest news on the Kete Open Source project

• kete.net.nz/blog

Who needs Kete?

Libraries need it to hold collections of photographs, documents and other objects. This is a service you can provide to your community. You generally have either technical infrastructure or the wherewithall to get it, the computer literate staff and the connections with community organisations & individuals who hold the history and culture of your city in their hands and heads. Who better to spearhead a digital library, to provide space for training, and a place for people to gather to work on their Kete - their stories,  than the library.

Museums need it to augment their offline holdings records. Kete is a way to get your holdings up on-line and to gather more information about those holdings than is typically possible in traditional cataloguing software. Your museum holdings can become accesable to other museums and researchers around New Zealand and the world using Kete's built in, standards compliant sharing technology. 

Historical Societies and other Community Groups are organisations that we see particularly benefiting from Kete because we built it with you in mind. You can be as formal or informal as you need with Kete categories and fields. You don't have to buy in to the mindset of traditional libraries and museums, you can develop your Kete organically with the resources and volunteers you have.

Iwi and Marae. We've had lots of people suggest that Kete would be attractive to Marae. You could organise the photographs and other taonga that you've become kaitiaki to, giving your whanau access digitally wherever they are in the world, but keeping the objects themselves safe. We would welcome a project to make a "marae friendly" version of Kete.

Schools and training institutions we think that Kete would be a great way for you to provide space for your students to save documents, audio and video, to share or keep private things and enable their parents to see their great work also if appropriate.

Private organisations and institutions  who want a digital library, but also want discussion about documents. If you've been considering a Wiki, but it's not quite right, or an Intranet, but again, not right, then Kete comes into a unique place enabling you to start small, see what works, and build from there. 

What is Kete?

Kete is an Open Source application writen in Ruby on Rails, released under the GPL. Initial development has been a partnership between the Horowhenua Library Trust and Katipo Communications Ltd. funded as part of the Community Partnership Fund in 2006.

Kete stores, organises, indexes and retrieves all sorts of digital files including Office documents, PDF's, images, videos, audio such as spoken word and music, website links, and html pages/text.

Kete encourages you to make links between different items that enable users to browse your collection. It also faciltates discussion about items and topics, so you can build understanding and foster collaboration.

Kete by default is open so that any member of the community can participate by adding material, or editing entries.

You can make some items private, and some public, and you can make some areas open to public input, and others "view only".

You can collect lots of detailed information about a "thing" whether that be a person, or a document, or picture, or you can not require a lot at all.

How Do I Get Kete?

• Hosted: Katipo offers leased Kete installations from $150 - $300 a month.  You can also telehouse your own equipment with Katipo and have them manage it for you from $350 a month or have a dedicated server (owned by Katipo) for $450 a month.  Each of these options has one-time setup charge which varies depending on plan starting at $500.
• DIY: Use the new Installation Guide and Configuration Assistant (http://kete.net.nz/documentation/topics/show/114-installation) to set up Kete on your own hardware.
  • It's handy to have some background with Linux or other Unix-like operating systems, but not absolutely required.  If you get in trouble, you can ask for help at http://kete.net.nz/ or contract a vendor, such as Katipo.
  • See the Technical Requirements for more information (http://kete.net.nz/documentation/topics/show/19-technical-requirements)
• DIY with help: Katipo offers training for Kete administrators and tech staff starting at $700 per day to help you make the most of your kete.
• Hosted with help: training can definitely help you get more out of Kete faster, even if you choose a hosted solution.

Getting a Kete site up and running is only the start though.  You'll probably want to distinguish your site with its own look.

Kete now includes new Theme features to quickly change the look of your Kete, even basket by basket.  You can grab existing themes from Kete.net.nz or create your own using standard Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).  Any good designer should know about how to use the CSS standard. Katipo will design a custom Kete theme based on your existing branding elements starting at $1,200.

For a longer discussion see: http://kete.net.nz/site/topics/show/101-things-to-consider-when-planning-a-kete-installation

Ask Katipo for a quote

Kete Services and Support From Katipo 

Katipo offers

• Project Planning & Consultation - what you need to know and do to get your Kete project off the ground.
• Hardware and Hosting - either hosting on your own hardware or shared on ours. 
• Installation & Setup - working through the types of items you're going to input, and the fields you need to have.
• Data Migration - we've got good experience migrating from PastPerfect, and can work with other systems too.
• Customisation & Integration - for Kete to meet the needs of your particular community some customisation may be recommended.
• Training - different levels to meet you needs, from system administrators and technical staff, to cataloguers both professional and volunteers. Refresher workshops will keep Kete enthusiasts going after the inital upload has happened, and user group meetings and online community tools will enable Kete administrators and project owners to share knowledge and support each other.
• Support - hardware, backups, software, helpdesk and even "temps" so that regular Kete jobs can be performed while your staff or volunteers are away.
• Project Management

With a little help from us getting setup, and some training, all you need to get your own Kete humming is to crank up your imagination.