9. Creating a Do‐It‐Yourself Database
| Pages | 46-47 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb054893 |
| Published date | 01 May 1986 |
| Date | 01 May 1986 |
| Author | Janet Fraser |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
9. Creating a Do-lt-Yourself
Database
by Janet Fraser
LM 7,5
What I'm going to do
is tell
you
a
little about the way
in
which
I
am setting up
a
text database
for an Aberdeen-based company. This is being done using BASIS — Batelle's Database
Management System. It would be possible to use BASIS to handle a variety of types of
textual material. In this particular application, the prototype is intended exclusively for the
storage and retrieval of minutes.
Assessing User Needs
By way of historical background, the first step in setting up the database consisted of
conducting a series of interviews with a selection of people who would use the database,
in order to identify their needs and then submit a list outlining the possible ways of
improving access and retrieval given the resources available locally.
It was very clear that a need existed to be able to bring together
all
sections or parts of the
minutes within a given topic. The information that users wanted to retrieve was scattered
throughout a collection which had accumulated over a number of years. Virtually no form
of indexing was provided. Retrieval of relevant information took the form of thumbing
through bundles of minutes for as long as was necessary to locate entries. It is easy to
understand that this chore was not only time consuming but haphazard, with a significant
risk that important information would be overlooked.
The options put forward consisted of:
(1) using BASIS, which had the capacity to search text;
(2) using the electronic office system;
(3) putting the documents on microfilm and retrieving them via a computer index;
(4) creating a computer index for retrieving documents which would only exist as hard
copies.
The survey of user needs revealed a demand that searches be conducted in as
straightforward and simple a fashion as possible with retrieval being effected by keying-in
terms,
keywords and subject headings or combinations of
each.
For
some,
immediacy of
access was quite important, for others this was not
a
priority. Everyone wanted a means of
retrieval that was thorough. BASIS appeared to be the best way of meeting all of these
criteria. Subsequently the decision was taken to set up a test database.
I'd like to look at this project from two angles. First, I want to explore briefly some of
the features which BASIS offers and then examine some of the problems which can
be encountered in the construction and implementation of something like the prototype
— especially as these may be of particular interest to the librarian venturing into this
area alone.
46
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