Build Your Own Database.

A publication about database design is not one of those items likely to generate animated conversation. It more resembles a good map. When people need help getting from point A to point B, they have to have that map. Databases are a natural part of the library profession, with OCLC and MEDLINE being but two well-known examples. Hardware and database software for microcomputers have grown in sophistication to include text, numbers, calculations, and images. Librarians are incorporating database applications into many aspects of daily work, including activities such as surveys, studies, directories, and ongoing activities such as oral history projects. They can be used to organize data, to generate reports, to create mass mailings, and more. Build Your Own Database offers guidance on selecting the database and on software aspects of implementation by presenting a readable, well-constructed manual for professionals who want to build databases of better value and quality, and for beginners ready to travel a new road. The book is divided into two parts. Part one, containing the first three chapters, is called “Content and Organization of the Database” and part two, “Software Issues.” The book is designed to be used by individuals or for use in classroom instruction. Throughout the work, the authors look at database construction from the point of view of what should be considered when contemplating the creation of a new database. Chapter one describes database types, such as bibliographic, full text, image, numeric and statistical, descriptive, and directories. In chapter two, the authors move to discussing database content, including domain, accessibility, predictability, continuity, currency, and critical mass. Here the authors also discuss database content such as dataware. Chapter three discusses quality and usability factors such as retrievability, number of access points, optimum level of indexing, consistency of terminology, and more. In general, part one focuses on the general principles connected with the overall quality, purpose, and practicality of database construction. Some of these principles may seem obvious, such as not creating a database that duplicates what may already be available in another source. Relevant questions regarding these principles include: Is the database for inhouse use only? Is it intended to produce a profit? Is the data easily searched and useful? Does it require updating? Part two comprises the longest portion of the book and deals with the nuts and bolts of database design. Because database construction is specific to software, all of the chapters in this part contain some discussion of software packages that are well supported, well documented, and widely used by librarians (e.g., AskSam, Data Magician, EndNote, Fangorn, FileMaker Pro, Library Master, ProCite, and Reference Manager). The authors do not provide a detailed review of any one program, nor are their comments intended as recommendations. All discussion of particular programs is secondary to detailing the elements of database construction. The authors refer to programs as they illustrate the topic under discussion. Although the discussion of database programs is not complete, it gives the reader a sense of how a database concept may depend significantly on the capabilities of the program in which the database will be developed. This part of the book will become dated as new programs and new versions of old programs are introduced, but this fact should not affect the book as a reliable manual on database construction. Chapter four also discusses categories of database software, such as turnkey versus off-the-shelf products, operating system platforms, and selection. Chapter five, “Record and Database Structuring and Data Entry,” elaborates on data fields and subfields; maximum number of fields, which can be a software limitation; record types; length of fields; interdatabase linking of fields and records; data entry criteria; template design; verification features; and importing records. Chapters six, “Index Creation,” and seven, “Index Browsing,” deal with issues related to choice of data elements for indexing, modes of indexing (word versus phrase), and prefixed indexing, as well as indexing browsing and term selecting. The authors point out that none of the off-the-shelf database programs allow the creation of thesauri. Chapter eight concerns searching. Every software should offer “and,” “or,” and “not.” Yet the convenience of using these operators can vary between programs. Here the authors discuss database structure in terms of searching, including Boolean operators, truncation, case sensitivity, proximity and positional operators, and natural language searching. The authors have excluded any discussion of search strategies. The remaining chapters, nine through eleven, discuss sorting, displaying, printing, downloading, and interfacing considerations. In addition to arranging records, sorting can also be useful in overcoming the search deficiency of a program. The authors also discuss how predefined and user-defined output layouts can add to or detract from the quality of a database. The book also contains a useful index and two appendices. Appendix A contains a list of uniform resource locators (URLs) for software products and Appendix B contains the import and export formats of bibliographic records. This book is a handy one that belongs on the shelf of every librarian designing databases.