Quality, as applied to databases, is not something abstract or theoretical. It is a very practical issue. In the simplest terms, a databases is of high quality if it's useful to the community it's designed to serve.
Commercial databases serve some of your users' needs, but not all needs are met. For instance, you may wish to create databases of community resources or unique documents in your collection. with ever-improving computer technology, it's easier than ever before to create a database. However, the challenges of creating a gook database remain.
In build Your own Database, authors Peter Jacso and F.W. Lancaster show you how to create quality in databases with advice in such areas as
designing content with consideration of domain of coverage, accessibility, currency, critical mass, and other criteria
constructing database with retrievability of useful information in mind.
comparing the types of database software with specific examples of those that are commonly used in libraries and selecting the best tool for your needs
Developing strategies for indexing your data learning how software features affect the structure of your data, the handling of multiple record types, template design for easy updates, and other database capabilities.
Peter Jasco is an associate professor in the department of Information and Computer Sciences Library and Information Science Program at the University of hawaii. He has been developing textual databases for Libraries and information centers and has been teaching database design courses for more than twenty yeas. Jasco won the 1998 ALISE/Pratt Severn Faculty Innovation Award for his course development work related to database design, implementation, and publishing. He has published extensively in scholarly and trade Journals for Library and information science and technology and has been a consultant for various U.N. agencies and major online and CD-ROM database publishers. Jasco is a Columnist for Computers. Jasco in a columnist for Computers in Libraries, Database and Information Today and has won several awards for his writings, including the 1998 Louis Shores/Oryx Press Award for his discerning database reviews.
F. Wilfrid Lancaster is Professor Emeritus in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois where he has taught courses relating to information transfer, bibliometrics, bibliographic organization, and the evaluation of library and information services. He continues to serve as editor of Library Trends. Lancaster was appointed University Scholar for 1989-1992. He is the author of eleven books, six of which have received national awards, and has three times received Fulbright fellowship for research and teaching abroad. From the American Society for Information Science he has received both the Awards of Merit and the Outstanding Information Science Teacher award. Lancaster has been involved in a wide range of consulting activities, including service for UNESCO and other agencies of the United Nations. He is coauthor of the 1997 book Technology and Management in Library and Information Services and is writing a book on the potential applications of artificial intelligence and expert system technologies within libraries.
