Annals of Library and Information Studies 51, I; 2004; 72-81

LIBRARY DATABASES: DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Prem SinghCCS Haryana Agricultural UniversityHisar - 125004e-mail: psingh@hau.nic.in

Definition, importance, advantages and disadvantagesof the database approach have been discussed. Thereare four main sources - Shelf List, Books and otherReading material, Data Sheets and international utilitiessuch as OGLG - for retroconversion of library's cardcatalogue and union catalogue of journals. The librariancan use anyone or a combination of them for data entry.Librarian has to decide the priority as to which part oflibrary collection should be computerized first. Data entrycan be done in-house or it can be outsourced. Afterweighing the economics and other pros and cons, thelibrarian can decide the mode of entry. The author of thispaper found in-house data entry fastest, reliable andcheapest. Having created the database, its managementis also essential. There is, therefore, a need for DatabaseAdministrator in each library.

INTRODUCTION

Data in an organization, be it a corporate houseor a library or government department, isregarded as a basic resource needed for itsprofessional management. It exists in thelibraries in its various Divisions - AcquisitionDivision, Serials Division, Technical Division,Readers Services Division, etc. - in variousforms such as card catalogue, shelf list, kardex,record of charged books, record of librarymembers, record of ordered books, record ofbooks received against order, and so on. Thisdata is used and processed manually by thelibrary staff. Its processing involves a lot ofrepetition. For example, some bibliographicinformation such as author, title, edition,

publisher, etc. is essential for placing orders ofbooks. For this purpose, Book Order Slips areprepared and filed in Book Order Tray. Afterthe receipt and processing of books inAcquisition Division, they are passed on to theTechnical Division for cataloguing, classification,etc., where again the staff prepares MasterCatalogue Cards containing same bibliographic

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information as recorded by the Acquisition Staffon Book Order Slips with some more additions.This amounts to duplication of labour, andresults in avoidable wastage of man, materialand money. This wastage and reprocessing ofdata can be avoided in the computerized dataprocessing approach, leading to minimizationof effort. The bibliographic information enteredby Acquisition Staff in the computer can betransferred to the Technical Section, where itcan be used as such or corrected and

supplemented, if need be, by the TechnicalStaff.

DATA AND INFORMATION

Data is the plural form of datum, but somepeople prefer to use it in singular form. It maybe defined as "a known fact/assumption whichforms the basis for an inference or conclusion

[1]." Data is raw in nature, and consists ofsymbols, numbers, alphabets, strings ofnumbers and alphabets, etc. which representcertain things, ideas or values and conveyinformation in particular contexts. It has to beprocessed or analyzed to make it meaningful.A message available to an individual remainsdata unless it is evaluated in a specific situation.If the recipient of message uses it for makingsome decision, he is said to be translating datainto information. For instance, the number "60"is data, but it has no meaning unless it is usedor ana lysed in some context such as distanceor age or weight, etc. to make a decision.Similarly the statement: '60 users visited thelibrary on 20.8.2003' is a string of textual anddigital data. This statement will continue toremain data unless it is evaluated and used to

answer the question: 'how many users visitedthe library on 20.8.2003'. Thus data culminates

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LIBRARY DATABASES: DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

into information when it is analysed and usedto make a decision or draw an inference.

DATABASE

Data is organized into 'data fields'. A 'data field'is a component of a record corresponding toan attribute. One record may have several datafields. For example, a record of a book hasseveral fields such as 'Field for Author', 'Fieldfor Title', Field for Edition Statement', Field forPublisher', 'Field for Place of Publication', 'Fieldfor Year of Publication', and so on. These fieldstaken together make a record. Collection ofrelated records, all conforming to the same typeand format, form a data file. For example, a fileon 'Bibliography of Allelopathy', containsrecords of reading material on this subject. Allthe records in this file have a common subject,and are interrelated. Each record contains such

information as author, title, place of publication,publishers, year of publication, edition, pages,etc. This file is given a name for its storage andretrieval. A collection of such interrelated

records, with a given structure for acceptance,storage, and retrieval and dissemination of data,on demand, for multiple users for one or moreapplications produces a database.

DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DBMS)

Management of data for decision making is nota new concept. This process has been goingon, in one or the other way, since long time.Libraries, ever since they came into existencein their present form, have been dealing withdata management manually. The resources ofthe library are exposed to the library usersthrough library catalogue - an aggregate ofcatalogue cards containing data of readingmaterial on it in typed or printed form. Theinformation about journals is maintained inKardex form. These are nothing but examplesof manual database management. The modernlibraries have now applied computing power formanagement of these records. Thus DatabaseManagement Systems have evolved a greatdeal from manual to computerized systems overthe last 40 years. It is the computer-basedsystem that came to be known as DBMS. Thesesystems are used for defining, creating,

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manipulating, controlling, managing and usingdatabases. Presently there are hundreds ofDBMSs. dBase, Foxbase, Sybase, Informix,Delphi, etc. are the well known examples ofgeneral DBMSs, while LibSys, Alice and SOULare the examples of library-oriented DBMSs.

ADVANTAGES OF DATABASEMANAGEMENT

Man, saddled with a fertile brain, is always ins$rch of better alternatives. If the newalternative is found to be more economic and

efficient than the existing one, he would switchover to the former. Same holds true of themodern DBMSs which have a number ofadvantages as discussed below:

Economy

In general, economy refers to the fact that thecollective cost of several combined operationsshall be less than the sum of the costs of the

individual operations. Database approachculminates into centralization of applications,which leads to concentration of larger, costlyand more powerful computers, and technicalexpertise in one location. This usually resultsin an economy of scale. Further, since manyusers share the same. database, anyimprovement in the database will potentiallybenefit all of them. If there are two sets of

systems for library automation - one consistingof integrated, and the other consisting ofindependent modules for acquisition,cataloguing, circulation and serialsmanagement work, the integrated system willdefinitely be more economic than the other.

Greater amount of information from thesame amount of data

Transformation of data into information is the

primary goal of a computer system. Even if, allthe data, that a user requires for producing areport, is available in the computer files, yet hewould not have access to it easily, and thuswould not be able to obtain the desired·

information for the report. Assume that thebibliographic details of books available in alibrary are available in a file in a file-oriented

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Prem Singh

system. The data available in this file cannotbe used for producing a list of books on asubject. If, however, the same data wereavailable in a well-designed database, it can beused to have a list of books according to titleor subject or class number. Thus, the same datacan be used for producing several types ofreports.

Sharing of data

In a database approach, same data can;;.~eshared by several authorized users. Forexample, holdings of a library, stored in acomputerized database management system,can be used by the library users for searchingof books by subject or author or title or classnumber from any node through OPAC; for checkout and check in of books by the Circulationstaff; for duplicate checking by the Acquisitionstaff, and so on. Similarly online cataloguescan be shared by libraries amongst themselves,and any change therein would be flashed to allthe users automatically. In addition, newapplications can be developed using the existingdata in the database without the added burden

of creating separate files.

Balancing conflicting requirements

Database approach maintains the balancebetween the conflicting requirements of differentusers of data. Keeping the overall interests ofthe organization in mind, the DatabaseAdministrator - an expert or a group of experts,within the organization, to manage the database- ensures that the database serves the purposeof the entire organization, and not just a singleuser or a group of users. While an individualuser group might be served less potentially ina database approach than it might have been ifit had its own isolated system, the overallorganization will definitely be benefitted. If theorganization benefits, so do the individual usergroups. Thus database approach takes care ofthe requirements of the individual users as '!Veilas the organization as a whole

Enforcement of standards

Central control of data ensures the enforcementof standards. There are several formats for

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exchange of information at international level.MARC format and Common CommunicationFormat (CCF) are the most important ones.Some library DBMSs might follow MARC, whileothers CCF. Whatever standard is adopted bythe library, its meticulous implementation isensured in the database approach. Similarlythere are different cataloguing codes such asAnglo-American Cataloguing Rules andClassified Catalogue Code in use in libraries.An inbuilt arrangement is made in the libraryDBMS to follow the code for display of therecord. The user of DBMS need not worry tokeep the rules in mind while producing a list ofdocuments according to AACR or CCC format.The reins for implementation of the code aretaken over by the DBMS.

Control over redundancy

Every library requires information of thePublishers for use in Acquisition, Technical, andPeriodicals Sections. In a file-oriented system,this information will have to be stored in the

three Sections separately. But the storage ofsame data in one file in a DBMS will meet the

requirements of all the three user Sections.Thus redundancy of maintaining multiple copiesof the same data can be minimized. In practice,however, there might be places where we mighthave to introduce some limited amount of

redundancy into the database for performancereasons. But even in these cases, we are ableto keep it under tight control. This is why wesay that redundancy is minimized rather thaneliminated.

Consistency

Consistency emanates from the control ofredundancy and enforcement of standards. Letus assume that the author of a book is a

corporate body. Its name is rendered accordingto some cataloguing rules, say AACR II. In adatabase approach, if this name occurs at oneplace, there will be no scope for change in thestyle of its rendering in case of other documentsauthored by the same corporate body. But if itoccurs in different files, there are chances thatits name is rendered in different styles in

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LIBRARY DATABASES: DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

different files. Same applies to the names ofpublishers. Thus database approach ensuresconsistency.

Data Integrity

Data in the database must follow the rule of

integrity constraint. Data integrity implies thatthe data should be accurate, relevant, complete,and easily and timely accessible for the uses itis intended for. For example, database of booksof a library should contain data of entire bookcollection, it should be complete in respect ofbibliographical details of each book, it shouldbe relevant to the purpose for which it has beencreated, and it should be easily accessible andretrievable whenever required. If the librarydatabase indicates the availability of a book inits collection, which is actually not present; or ifthe author of a book is not correct, then the

integrity of the database can be deemed to bedoubtful. Database approach helps to ensurethe integrity of the database because of its verystructure.

Data Security

Security of data is the main concern of everyorganization. Security measure is a checkagainst the unauthorized users and hackers,who may destroy the valuable data. Datasecurity is achieved through the scheme ofpasswords. Since Database Administrator(DBA) has control over the operational data, hecan define authorization procedures to ensurethat only legitimate users have access to thedata. DBA can further allow different users to

have different types of access to the same data.For example, the staff of Technical Section maybe authorized to enter and/or change the datain the Library Catalogue, while the library usersmay be allowed only to access the data but notto enter or change it. Such a provision forsecurity of data is possible in the DBMS.

Flexibility and responsiveness

In a file-oriented system, data maintained indifferent files by different users is not flexibleand responsive. Assume that a list of books isarranged in an alphabetical order by author in

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a file in the file-oriented system. The systemwill not respond to queries for displaying thislist in different orders such as alphabetical orderby title or subject or publisher or date. If thesame data is available in a structured database,it will be possible to get response from the samedatabase by a user in all the different waysstated earlier. Further, the flexibility furnishedby the DBMS aids the programmers to developnew programmes to satisfy specific userrequests.

Enhanced productivity of the Programmer

There is a facility in almost all the DBMSs for .writing applications. The programmer canemploy this facility to write applications to meetlocal requirements. Writing a file-orientedapplication is a more complex job in comparisonto writing a similar application using DBMSfacility, because the programmer does not haveto worry about the mundane data manipulationactivities. So, he will be more productive.Studies have shown that on the average, hewill be two to four times more productive i.e. anew application can be developed in one­quarter to one-half of the time it would take if itwere a straight file-oriented application. Inaddition, with the advent of fourth-generationlanguages built around database managementsystems, the productivity increase can be muchmore dramatic. Ten to twenty-fold increase inproductivity is not a matter of surprise.

Easiness in maintenance of programme

A DBMS is a collection of thousands of .

interlinked small programmes. When interactingwith a DBMS, programmes, though interlinked,are relatively independent of the actual data inthe database. This means that any change tothe structure of the data itself may not requiremaintenance of the existing applicationprogrammes. But this is not true in a straightfile-oriented environment. Even a simplechange to file layouts can force substantialchanges in every programme that accesses thefile. In addition, since the low-level datamanipulation is handled by the DBMS, detailsconcerning this manipulation do not appear inprogrammes. Thus, programme maintenance

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becomes relatively easier in a databaseenvironment.

Data independence

While easiness in programme maintenance isan important advantage of database approach,having programmes independent of thestructure of the database has other advantagesas well. Without data independence, it wouldbe difficult to change the database structure toimprove performance and meet the changingrequirements of the organization. No soonerthe database structure is modified in a file­

oriented system, all or some programmes in thesystem will have to be changed. This fact wouldact as a strong incentive not to make anychange. Fortunately, data independence helpsremove this obstacle i.e. the obstacle to changethe structure.

DISADVANTAGES OF DATABASEMANAGEMENT

The dictum: there is a counter reaction to everyaction, holds true in database approach also. Ifthere are advantages of database approach,there are disadvantages as well. Some of theperceptible disadvantages - size, complexity,cost, additional hardware requirements anddifficult recovery - are discussed below:

Size

In order to support all the complex applicationsthat it must offer to the users, a DBMS has tobe a large programme, occupying severalmegabytes of disk space as well as substantialamount of internal memory. For example MS­WORD is a simpler programme as comparedto dBase or Sybase or Informix, and the formeroccupies less hard disc space in comparisonto the latter. Size of the programme increaseswith its complexity.

Complexity

Complexity and breadth of the applicationspresented by a DBMS make it a complexproduct. Programmers and analysts mustunderstand the features of the system well inorder to make full exploitation of its power. In

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addition, with many choices to make whiledesigning and implementing a new applicationusing a DBMS, there are possibilities of makingincorrect choices, especially if theunderstanding of DBMS is not thorough enough.And a few incorrect choices can spell disasterfor the whole project.

Cost

A good DBMS is an expensive product. By thetime all the appropriate components related toDBMS are purchased for a major mainframesystem, the total cost may run into millions ofrupees.

Additional hardware requirements

Because of the size and complexity of theDBMS, greater hardware resources would berequired which would not be necessaryotherwise. This means that if the hardware

resources are not upgraded when a DBMS ispurchased, users of the system may very wellnotice a severe degradation in performance.Purchase of additional hardware resourceswould further add to the cost.

Greater adverse impact of hardware!software failure

In the database approach, many of the dataprocessing resources are concentrated in thedatabase. Failure of any component ofhardware/software would have far-reachingconsequences than in a non-databaseenvironment. All the nodes will go down indatabase environment, while only one node willstop working in a file-oriented system.

Data recovery more difficult

Due to complex nature of DBMS, the recoveryof data in the event of a disaster is far more

difficult and complicated than a file-orientedenvironment.

LIBRARY DATABASES

Acquisition of books, subscription of journals,reference and information services, circulationof reading material, and accounting andmanagement are the major functions of a library.

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Accounting and management functions exceptmanagement of budget for books and journalsdo not normally form an integral part of a Iibrary­oriented system. However, the followingdatabases are created in libraries:

i. Acquisition Database

ii. Online Catalogue

iii. Serials Database

iv. Circulation Database

v. In-house Bibliographical Databases

Each of these databases may have several sub­databases. Circulation Database will consist ofDatabase of Checked Out Books, Database ofLibrary Members, etc; Acquisition Database willconsist of Database of Ordered Books.Database of Publishers, etc.; Serials Databasewill consist of Database of Current Serials,

Union Catalogue of Serials; and so on.

SOURCES FOR LIBRARY DATABASEDEVELOPMENT

The computing technology found libraries andinformation centres as one of the most potentialareas for application ever since its advent in1960's. Most of the libraries and the information

centres in the developed countries are alreadyautomated. Introduction of this technoiogy inlibraries in the developing countries has alsoassumed high priority during the last few years.Automation of library activities involvesapplication of computers to routine jobs,retroconversion of library catalogue,construction of online union catalogue ofjournals, construction of in-house bibliographicaldatabases, sharing of resources, etc.Automation of routine jobs of all types oflibraries, and all operations of a new library or alibrary with a small collection is not a difficulttask. But retroconversion of library catalogueand construction of online union catalogue oflibraries with large collection of books and backfile of journals are strenuous and arduousmissons. Five main sources - Shelf List cards,documents themselves, Data Sheets,international utilities and Kardex/Shelf List of

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journals - are at the disposal of the librariansfor achievement of these missions.

Shelf List of Journals/Kardex

When we talk of library automation, we usuallytalk of and devote much of our energy forconversion of Card Catalogue into OnlineCatalogue and construction of Union Catalogueof journals. Almost all the libraries have ShelfLists of books, and Kardex/Shelf List of journals'holdings. There is no denying the fact that theShelf List cards/Kardex in Indian libraries do not

have complete bibliographic information aboutthe information resources. But they definitelycontain such important elements ofbibliographic information as author, title, edition,imprint, pages, call no. and accession no. incase of books; and title of journal, publisher,periodicity, volumes and issues available inlibrary, class no., etc. in case of journals. Thisminimum information, if entered in the computer,will automate the library at least partially. Thesepartially automated catalogues will offer fasterand more comprehensive access to the libraryresources than the manual systems. Theremaining bibliographic details such as paralleltitle, co-authors, collaborators, key terms/subject headings, ISBN, price, series,editor ofseries, etc. can be entered in second phase.This is the fastest method of retroconversion of

the Card Catalogue and Union Catalogue.

Books, Journals and other Reading Material

Ideally books and other reading material shouldbe used as a source for entry of data directlyinto the computer, but the data entry operatorshall have to be both a qualified librarian as wellas a professional data entry operator. Such acombination is rarely found except in case ofin-house keying in. This process is highly labourintensive and costly, and will take years for

complete data conversion.

Data Sheets

Data sheet containing full bibliographicinformation is also an ideal source for

conversion of card catalogue into onlinecatalogue and construction of online unioncatalogue of journals. In this process, the

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librarian designs a data sheet for recording ofbibliographic details of a book and other readingmaterial. Either the library staff or theprofessionally qualified hired manpower will fillup the data sheets from the books and otherreading material. Data entry will be done fr0mthe data sheets. Filling of data sheets andsubsequent data entry from the data sheets intothe computer are time consuming and costlyprocesses.

International utilities

This method is applicable to data entry of booksonly. OCLC databases contain bibliographicdetails in MARC format of almost all the bookspublished in English language in all subjects allover the world. Chances of finding bibliographicdetails of books and other reading material inEnglish language, stoc;ked in Indian libraries,in OCLC databases can be rated as high as 90per cent. So Indian libraries can use OCLCdatabases to automate their catalogues. Thelibrarian shall require a licenGe from OCLCmanagement for accessing their database anddownloading the bibliographic details of thebooks. In the Indian scenario, it is a costly matterfor reasons of licence fee andtelecommunication/internet connectivity.

PRIORITIES FOR LIBRARY DATABASEDEVELOPMENT

The librarian should decide as to which libraryactivity he would like to automate as a firstpriority. Obviously his decision would go infavour of such day-to-day routine jobs asacquisition, cataloguing of current additions andsubscription of current journals, followed byretroconversion of card catalogue and back.fileholdings of journals. He has to take separatedecisions for both the retroconversionprocesses. Two options - data entry from headto tail, and automation of current additions andlive collection - are open to him forretroconversion of card catalogue.

Data entry from head to tail

Reading material in all the big libraries isorganized in several sequences depending

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upon its nature. Some reading material mayform part of general collection, some is placedin reference collection, some is kept in closedsequence, and some is organized in textbooksection, and so on. Having decided the source

.for database development, the librarian decideswhich of the collections should be taken up fordata entry as a first priority. Having decided thecollection, data entry can be started from thehead of that collection and continued till tail isreached Le. start data entry from class number'000' (DC number)of the selected collection andcontinue up to class number '999'. The firstpriority collection is followed by second prioritycollection, and so on.

Automation of current additions and livecollection

Each library has some dormant and some livecollection. Reading material in less use formspart of dormant collection, while, to the contrary,reading material in frequent use f~rms part oflive collection. Current additions also form partof live collection. Some librarians advocate thecomputerization of current additions and livecollection as a first priority. They base theirargument on the premise that majority of theinformation requirements of library users canbe met from this collection. In this process,besides current additions, books borrowed bythe users are picked up for data entry. As soonas these books are returned, the circulation staffsends them to the computer section for dataentry before transporting them back to thestacks for circulation. Dormant collection can

be taken up in the second phase.

DATA EN•.•.RY FOR RETROCONVERSION

There are two ways of data entry forretroconversion - outsourcing and in-housedata entry. Under outsourcing, either aprofessional agency can be hired orprofessional data entry operators can beengaged for data entry of reading material inthe libraries.Eachmode has itsown advantagesand disadvantages.

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LIBRARY DATABASES: DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

a. Data Entry by Professional Agency

Advantages

i. It is faster than the other modes.

ii. Library staff shall be free for other jobs.iii. Agency will be responsible for integrity of

data.

Disadvantagesi. It is very costly.ii. The agency will ask for data on sheets

which the library will have to prepare withthe help of existing staff, or else some otherprofessionally qualified people will have tobe hired. On the contrary, if the librariandecides to use shelf list for data entry, thisdisadvantage will not be there.

iii. The agency will have to be provided a copyof the software for data entry if they decidefor data entry at their own site or else someconversion programme might be required.

iv. If the agency is asked for data entry in thelibrary, then they might ask for pes andother facilities such as accommodation,etc.

v. If any data problem comes to notice at alater stage, it will be difficult to catch holdof the agency.

b. Data Entry by Professional Data EntryOperators

Advantages

i. It will be less costly than (a).

ii. It will be as fast as (a)

iii. Librarian will have direct control over the

operators.

Disadvantages

i. The operators can key in data from thedata sheets prepared either by the librarystaff or some other staff engaged for thispurpose.

ii. Lot of time of the library staff will be wastedin filling data in data sheets. If the librariandecides to use shelf list for data entry, thenthis disadvantage will not be there.

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iii. Librarian and other senior staff will have

to devote a lot of time to supervise theirwork.

iv. It will be costlier than in-house keying in.v. If any data problem comes to notice at a

later stage, it will be difficult to catch holdof the operators.

c. In-house data entry

Advantages

i. Library staff to be deputed for data entry .is more competent for this job because oftheir long working experience, andprofessional qualifications which theypossess.

ii. They can key in the data directly from thebook or shelf list cards. So, filling of datain data sheets can be avoided.

iii. The time and money which the library willhave to devote on preparation of datasheets will be saved.

iv. Library staff will be deputed for this jobafter duty hours, and will be paidhonorarium in lieu thereof. The amount of

honorarium will certainly be less than thecharges of the professional agency/dataentry operators. Hence this alternative willbe far cheaper.

v. This alternative is more economic due to

(ii), (iii) and (iv) above.

vi. Library work will not suffer on account of(iv) above.

vii. Data security will be far greater than theother modes.

viii. During the process of data entry, the librarystaff will get training and gain confidencein handling the ·software. This is the mostoutstanding advantage.

Disadvantages

i. It will be slower than the other modes.ii. The librarian and other senior staff will

have to devote lot of time on supervisionand organization of work.

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Prem Singh

DATABASE MANAGEMENT

Database management is a very importantfunction in the library. If the library databasesare not properly handled and maintained, thelibrary services will go haywire.

Database Administrator (DBA)

Database management is a vital data resourcemanagement function. It dwells upon theestablishment and enforcement of policies andprocedures for management of data as astrategic resource of the library. This amountsto collection, storage, and dissemination of alltypes of data in such a manner that the databecomes a standardized resource available to

all end users. Data management involves thedefinition, creation, control, use, maintenance,preservation and disposal of database insupport of library's functions and objectives.These functions demand the presence of aprofessionally competent DatabaseAdministrator (DBA) in the library. DBA isprofessionally competent if he possessesdegrees in computer applications. Training inlibrarianship will add to his competence andproductivity.

Definition, creation, redefinition anddisposal of the data

Design of logical structure is the first step inthe database definition process. The processof database structure design essentiallyconsists of identification and naming ofstructural elements of data, grouping of dataitems and relating the groups. The DBA solicitsthe advice of users to define the meaning ofthe data, seeks their agreement so as to resolveany conflicts which may arise and establishcertain standards and procedures which mustbe adhered to in the design process. Havingdefined the data, the DBA establishesmechanism to capture and store new data inthe system leading to creation of database. Thisstep is accompanied by editing and validationof the incoming data. The DBA must also payattention to the redefinition of data structure.

He should redefine the data structure, if needbe. Implementation of management policies

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regarding data retention and disposal is anotherimportant responsibility of the DBA. The valueof data diminishes with the passage of time. Itis, therefore, desirable to aggregate older data,store it in offline archival files, and eventuallydispose them of, if they are not needed anymore. Library-oriented softwares are availablein the market. So there will no need for

developing a software from scratch, but DBAhas to be there for its implementation andmaintenance.

Use of database

Promotion of use of the database within the

organization is the duty of the DBA. In order toachieve this objective, he must educate, trainand advise the library staff in the use of thesystem. He must provide formal as well informaltraining to the library users in the use of OPACand other tools such as sending online requestfor reservation of books, submitting onlinerequisition for purchase of reading material, etc.Users' manual on the use of facilities and

languages of the database management toolsmust be made available to the library staff andthe end users if the need arises. Library staffand other users might need guidance of theDBA in the use of these manuals.

Maintenance of database

Maintenance places a very special responsibilityon the DBA. Archiving is essential for restorationof data in case of a disaster. It demands control

over physical existence, well-being, quality,updation and concurrency of the database. TheDBA should try to update the database everyday in such a manner that the work of the libraryis not disturbed. He can update the databaseeither in the morning or in the evening beforeor after working hours. Obsolete should bedeleted and less required data should bearchived on tapes. Temporary files, generatedduring use of the database, should be deletedregularly to keep the disc space free for otheruseful operations.

Database security

DBA must ensure the security of databaseagainst attack and misuse by the cyber

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LIBRARY DATABASES: DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

criminals. For this purpose, he will have toemploy latest technologies such as firewalls forfiltration of incoming and outgoing data by e­mail. Standalone anti-virus system forstandalone environment, and network anti-virussystem for network environment are essentialtechnologies which should be used for databasesecurity. Arrangements for recovery ofdatabase, if lost or destroyed accidentally orotherwise, must also be made. Use of back uptechnologies for taking back ups of the databasefrom time to time is an essential measure for

database preservation and recovery. More thanone copy of the back up should be maintained.The DBA should use password system toprovide authorizations to the users to ensureprotection of the data. Authorizations should beregularly monitored.

Monitoring operations and performance ofdatabase

The DBA is generally responsible for data­related aspects of operations. He must ensurethat the database remains in operation all thetime. For this purpose, he will have to purchaseUPSs for constant power supply, and make surethat the server works uninterruptedly. He shouldmaintain control over all the operations relatedto it, and strive to obtain maximum efficiencyfrom the database. A recorded history of data­related events should be kept. This will help theDBA to solve problems of similar type in future.

CONCLUSION

Data has always been an important resource inall the organizations, but it has assumedstrategic importance in this -competitive age.fhere is no denying the fact that its power mustbe exploited to the benefit of the organization.This goal can be achieved through databaseapproach because of its numerous advantagesover file-oriented system. Libraries are noexception to it. Shelf Lists, Kardex, Data Sheets,document themselves and iilternational utilitiessuch as oeLe databases can be used assources of data for creation of databases in

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libraries. Each mode has its own merits and

demerits. Some Librarians may advocate the .hiring of Professional Agency forretroconversion, some may argue in favour ofData Entry Operators, some may prefer dataentry by their own staff, while others may like touse international utilities. During a lecturedelivered to a gathering of about 20 very senioragricultural librarians at Ahmedabad on7.8.2003 from across the country, this subjectwas debated. The audience were almost united

in declaring that they would prefer in-house dataentry provided they had sufficient staff. Sincethey did not have sufficient staff, theychampioned outsourcing of data entry. Hereagain they were almost evenly divided. About40% were in favour of data entry by aProfessional Agency, while the rest wereproponent of hired professionally competentData Entry Operators. The second mode (dataentry by Data Entry Operators) at LBS NationalAcademy of Administration, Mussoorie in 1991,and third mode (in-house data entry) at ees .Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar a yearand half back has already been tested. ShelfList cards were used for data entry. Priority ofcollections for data entry was decided. Dataentry was started from class number '000' ineach sequence and finished before embarkingon to the next sequence. On the basis ofexperience, it can be concluded that in-housedata entry is far more economical andadvantageous than other modes, particularly indeveloping confidence in the staff which theywould not get even after formal training.

DOCUMENTS CONSULTED

1. The New Lexican Webster's Dictionary of the EnglishLanguage. 1991. Lexican Publishing House; NewYork,; p. 245.

2. DESAI (Bipin C). Introduction to database systems.2001. Galgotia; New Delhi; p. 27-30.

3. EVEREST (Gordon G.). Database management:Objectives, system functions and administration.2001. Tata McGraw-Hili; New Delhi.

4. SINGH (Shailendra K), KUNDU (Subhash C), andSINGH (Shobha). Database management. 1998.Mittal Publications; New Delhi; p.: 3-13.

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