INL 120 - Theme 5 - 2024

INL Theme 5
ORGANISING INFORMATION: DATABASES

120 Presented by Ruth Wakjira and Stewart Coetzee
Learning outcomes
After the completion of this theme, you need to be able to
discuss the following concepts:
• Understand the basic structure and elements of a
database.
• Understand the different models of database structure
including: Flat file; Hierarchical; Network; and Relational.
• Understand the types and structure of library databases
including: Bibliographic; Fulltext; Abstracting; and
indexing.
2
What is a database?
• Definitions:
• Organized collection of logically related data
• Data
• Known facts
• Types: text, graphics, images, sound, videos
• It is built using a Database Management System (DBMS)
• Software package for defining and managing a database
Other definitions
In computer science a database is a structured collection of
records or data stored in a computer system so that a computer
programme or person using a query language can consult it to
answer queries.
In information science the properties and design of database

systems are studied.
A database is a collection of data stored in a specific format
(usually electronic).
This data can be manipulated and retrieved.
Basic elements of a database
• Field: Stores one type of element (alphabetic or
numeric about each subject in the database.
• Record: A collection of related fields
• File: A collection of related records
• Database: A collection of files
What is a table?
A table is a set of data elements (values) that is organized using
a model of vertical columns (which are identified by their
name) and horizontal rows, the cell being the unit where a row
and column intersect.
Student No Name Home address Email
P.O.Box 57
123456 Brown Jane Janeb@gmail.com
Pretoria
66 Willow way
98765 Nduli Kay Ndulika@yahoo.com
Brooklyn
Examples of Basic Databases
• Class roster
• Company employees
• Literature (published articles in a certain field)
Designing a Database Structure
• Identify goals
• Determine output requirements
• Determine input requirements
Identifying Goals
Determine output requirements
Determining input requirements
1. Names
2. Emails
3. Phone Nr
4. Gender
5. Hobbies
Building a Database
• Name the database
• Create new tables
• Define fields
• Enter initial data
Modifying an existing database
structure
• Add and delete tables
• Rename the database and tables
• Modify field structure
• Modify records (rows in tables)
Reports, documents and other output
• Types of output
• Document
• Page layout
• Content layout
• Saving on database
Database Models
There are several database models.
We look at four models namely:
1. Flat File Database
2. Hierarchical Model
3. Network Model
4. Relational Model
1. Flat File Model
• It consists of a single table.
• You can set up a basic flat-file database table in a wide variety
of different types of applications, including a table in a word
processor or an HTML document, or a worksheet in a
spreadsheet application.
• Many of these types of tables can be sorted by the values in
any column; spreadsheet tables can also be queried and
manipulated in other ways.
• These applications are adequate for simple database tasks.
Example
2. Hierarchical Database Model
• Data is organized into a tree-like structure.
• A single upward link in each record to describes the
nesting.
• A sort field keeps the records in a particular order in each
level
• It collects all the instances of a specific record together as a
record type.
• To create links between these record types, the hierarchical
model uses Parent Child Relationships
• This structure is very efficient to describe many
relationships in the real world - any nested and sorted
information.
• This structure implies that a record can have repeating
information.
• Hierarchical DBMSs were popular from the late 1960s
3. Networked Database Model
• The Network Database Model was invented by Charles
Bachman in 1969 to enhance the existing hierarchical
database model
• Created to represent complex data relationships more
effectively than the hierarchical model.
• The network model permits the many-to-many relationships
in data M:M
• Improves database performance.
• Network databases generally implement the set
relationships by means of pointers
• Network database model is composed of at least two record

types including an owner and the member record type.
Example
Example
4. Relational Database Model
• A relational database is a collection of data items
organised as a set of formally-described tables from which
data can be accessed or reassembled in many different
ways without having to reorganize the database tables.
• The main advantage is that relationships between the data
can be established whenever the user requests
information.
4. Relational Database Model
• A database based on the relational model developed by E.F.
Codd.
• Relational databases are created using a special computer
language, Structured Query Language (SQL), which is the
standard for database interoperability. SQL is the foundation
for all of the popular database applications available today.
• SQL (Structured Query Language) is a standard interactive
and programming language for getting information from and
updating a database.
Example: Hotel Room Booking Scenario
• A local hotel needs a system that keeps track of its
bookings (future, current and archived), rooms and guests.
• A room can be of a particular type and a particular price
band.
• Room prices vary from a room to a room (depending on its
type, available facilities, band, etc.) and from a season to a
season (depending on the time of the year).
• A room booking can include more than one room and more
than one customer.
• Tables are related to each other by sharing common entity
characteristics.
• The Entities required include:
• Customers
• Guests
• Rooms
• Bookings
• Payments
• Room Types
• Price Bands
• Room Facilities
Example
• The Entities are related as follows:
• A Customer can make one or many Bookings.
• A Booking can be for one or many Guests - the Guest is not
necessarily the person who makes the Booking.
• A Room can be on one or many Bookings.
• A Room may have many different Room Facilities.
• When asking questions of the database we may need to
know:
• How many rooms are currently available for booking?
• What facilities are available in particular rooms?
• Which Guests are booked in this week?
Example
Databases in LIS (Library and Information
Science)
• There are many types of databases.
• The following will be discussed:
A. Bibliographic database
B. Full text database
C. Abstracting database
D. Indexing database
A. Bibliographic database
• A bibliographic database is a reference database which refers
or points the user to a source such as a document, an
organisation or an individual - for additional information, or
for the full text of a document.
• It thus comprises a set of records which refer to documents
such as books, films, reports, journals etc.
• A library catalogue is an example of a bibliographic database.
There will be fields for author, title, publication details etc.
Bibliographic databases on the Web
B. Full text database
• Full-text database is a source database and contains the
original source data. After successfully consulting a
source database, the user should have the information
that is required.
• Full text databases contain the complete text of various
documents that are indexed. They can contain the
bibliographic references to the documents as well as
indexing terms but not all full-text databases contain
that information.
• There are a growing number of full text databases
available today, especially in multimedia such as
encyclopaedias, Shakespeare in full-text, Bible, etc.
• Many government publications and newspapers also
available as full-text databases.
• Scholarly open access journals
C. Abstracting database
An abstracting database contains

i)bibliographic references and indexing terms leading the user
to a particular document
ii)as well as a summary of that document, be it an article or a
chapter in book.
Abstracts may be in the language of the original document or

may be translated.
D. Indexing database
• Indexing databases are possibly the most common type of
databases used for information retrieval.
• In an indexing database terms are allocated to documents
according to their content i.e. the terms used to index the
document, also known as descriptors, identify the subject
content of the document.
• The worth of an index (or indexing database) is evaluated in
terms of the time that it takes a user to find the required
information, and also by the accuracy with which the subjects
of the documents or records are covered.
• In other words, if a record is retrieved quickly that is good, but
the database also has to retrieve all the information in the
database on that particular topic. Speed alone is not enough.

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INL Theme 5

ORGANISING INFORMATION: DATABASES

In information science the properties and design of database

Student No Name Home address Email

• Network database model is composed of at least two record

An abstracting database contains

Abstracts may be in the language of the original document or

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