Thea Evenstad LI804XO Organization of Information Emporia State University, Spring 2011 Annotated Bibliography 4/26/11 Database Design:

An Annotated Bibliography

Introduction Databases have come to play a ubiquitous and essential role in modern life. The use of a credit card, online registration for a university class, and checking out a library book are modern tasks that all rely on databases. Connolly and Begg define a database as a shared collection of logically related data, and a description of this data, designed to meet the information needs of an organization (2002; page 14). Databases are information systems designed to meet particular organizational needs. Database design underlies the organization of information in many different kinds of institutions and businesses. This annotated bibliography seeks to connect information professionals and library and information management students with resources that clarify the foundational theory and essential concepts of database design. Additionally, this bibliography includes resources that contain practical applications and case studies that are especially relevant to information professionals interested in database applications in libraries. I have divided the resources below into three sections: theory, conceptual overview, and case studies.

Theory Litwin, Paul. (2005). Fundamentals of relational database design. Retrieved from http://www.deeptraining.com/litwin/dbdesign/FundamentalsOfRelationalDatabase Design.aspx on April 26, 2011. Paul Litwin is a programmer, author of several computer science books, and CEO of Deep Training, a company that trains web developers and programmers. Fundamentals of relational database design represents an adapted and generalized overview of basic database theory from the Microsoft Access 2 Developers Handbook (Getz, Litwin, & Reddick 1994), which Litwin co-authored. The goal of this online article is to familiarize database design novices with the basic underlying theory of relational database design. The intended audience is educated adults making their first attempt at designing a database in the workplace. This articles strength is that it provides a concise and easy-tounderstand outline of the foundational concepts of database design. Since Litwins expertise lies with Microsoft Access, he does demonstrate some preference for this particular database software package, but he manages to keep his article general enough to apply to any database software. The Microsoft Access-specific figures are the articles

DATABASE DESIGN weakness, however. Overall, Litwins article is an outstanding brief overview of relational database theory written for novice practitioners.

Thalheim, B. (2000). Entity-relationship modeling: Foundations of database technology. New York: Springer. Bernhard Thalheim is the editor of Data and Knowledge Engineering as well as the Information Systems Engineering Chair and professor of Computer Science at the University of Kiel. Thalheims book focuses on the theory underlying the entityrelationship model as a basis for database design. He argues that designers should understand and utilize the theory in order to best meet the goals of database design as well as provide a sound theoretical foundation and consistent design methodology. Thalheim unapologetically favors more common entity-relationship modeling over other types of data modeling; therefore, this work does not address hierarchical, network, dimensional, or object-oriented data models. The strengths of Thalheims work include its comprehensive treatment of the subject, clear figures, and its multitude of references. Unfortunately, the prose can seem abstruse to a lay audience and later chapters deal with topics too complex for a novice. The intended audience for the work includes practitioners and researchers in computer science and database design. However, since there are few theoretical resources written at the novice level, I contend that while Entityrelationship modeling can at times be technical and abstract to the layperson, it provides a good grounding in theories of database design for educated readers willing to devote time to parsing the meaning from the text.

Conceptual Overview Connolly, T. & Begg, C. (2002). Database systems: A practical approach to design, implementation, and management (3rd ed.). New York: Addison-Wesley. Thomas Connolly is head of the Computer and Information Systems Division of the University of the West of Scotland; Carolyn Begg is a lecturer at the same university. Both are well-known for their contributions to industry research and academia in the field of computer science. Database Systems is a best-selling database design textbook that is a thick compendium of theory, figures, examples, review questions, and exercises. The textbook design provides many access points through an elaborate table of contents, students guide to features of the book, index, references, and suggestions for further reading. The main purpose of this resource is to acquaint undergraduate or graduate level students with database design concepts and applications. The strengths of this work include its formalized structure, clear figures, easy-to-understand prose, and logical organization. For the purposes of novices to database design, however, one weakness of this work is its inclusion of current and emerging trends, which adds to the books bulk, but stretches beyond the scope of the beginner. As a textbook, this work appears to be

DATABASE DESIGN more objective and balanced in its treatment of the topic. Unlike Thalheims (2000) book, this text does address multiple types of data models and explains the reasoning behind focusing primarily on relational modeling. In sum, this text is a highly recommended, thorough, and immersive introduction to database design concepts and applications. Frost, R., Day, J. & Van Slyke, C. (2006). Database design and development: A visual approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Raymond Frost and John Day are professors of Management of Information Systems at the University of Ohio, while Craig Van Slyke is a professor of Decision Sciences and Information Technology Management at Saint Louis University. Their textbook, Database Design and Development: A Visual Approach, provides a step-by-step guide to understanding relational theory, conceptual design, normalization, advanced database design, as well as creating databases and retrieving data with particular database software (Oracle, Microsoft Access, etc.). Similar to Connolly and Beggs (2002) Database Systems, this textbook attempts to provide an objective overview of database design for undergraduate and graduate students new to the subject; however, the electronic business background of the authors shapes the text and orients the focus more toward e-business applications of database design. This textbook also sets itself apart from Connolly and Begg by providing a specifically visual approach to teaching database design. The primary strength of this work is the detailed and clear visuals that accompany almost every page of the text. The focus on specific applications, however, can be seen as both a strength and a weakness of this text. Database Design and Development provides a clear and detailed introduction to database design concepts and software that will especially appeal to visual learners. Harrington, J. L. (2002). Relational database design clearly explained (2nd ed.). New York: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. Jan L. Harrington is chair of the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems at Marist College, author of over 30 books in the field of computer science, and has 25 years of database expertise. The intended audience for Relational Database Design includes students as well as those who have little previous computing background but have the responsibility of designing or maintaining a databasenovice practitioners. This resource is divided into two parts: theory and practice. Part one introduces the history of database design, entities and data relationships, the relational data model, database structure, Codds rules, and object-oriented concepts, while part two describes and teaches using SQL and CASE tools and applies these lessons to three case studies (a motor company, an aquarium, and an intelligence agency). The organization of the text is a strong point and makes this resource easy to work through in sections. Clear diagrams and easy-to-understand prose are also a plus. However, the case studies really set this resource apart from the other conceptual overview resources in this bibliography. The three case studies go step-by-step through the design process with clear and easily

DATABASE DESIGN understood examples. Harringtons book lives up to its name and provides a clear explanation of database design for the novice practitioner.

Hernandez, M. J. (1997). Database design for mere mortals: A hands-on guide to relational database design. Berkely, CA: Addison-Wesley Developers Press. Michael J. Hernandez is the owner of Datatex Consulting Group and has over 20 years of expertise designing, writing about, and teaching relational database design. Database Design for Mere Mortals aims to instruct novices in database design without overwhelming its readers with technical jargon or advanced mathematics. Hernandez strives to appeal to a general audience of educated adults hoping to understand and utilize fundamental best practices of database design. The book is organized in three parts. Part one, relational database design, addresses database history, models, design objectives, normalization, and terminology. The chapter on terminology is one of the strong points of this text. Part two addresses the design process and contains the bulk of the text. Part three contains information on bad database design and how to avoid it as well as a discussion of when to break the rules. More than any other resource in this bibliography, Hernandezs book provides a straightforward approach to learning this process as a beginner without computer science expertise. However, this book does try to appeal to the widest audience possible; for a more library-focused treatment of database design, please see Jasc and Lancaster (1999). Overall, a

Jasc, P. & Lancaster, F. W. (1999). Build your own database. Chicago: American Library Association. Pter Jasc is an associate professor in the Department of Information and Computer Sciences Library and Information Science Program at the University of Hawaii and has over 20 years of experience writing about and teaching database design; F. Wilfred Lancaster is an award-winning teacher and author, the editor of Library Trends, and Professor Emeritus in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois. In Build Your Own Database the authors provide database design information for a specific context and community: librarians seeking to create databases to aid in patron access to library resources. Jasc and Lancaster provide the information in this book as a way to support information professionals in the creation of high quality databases that may meet a librarys needs better than commercial databases available from vendors. This library focus is a primary strength of the text. Few other database design texts approach databases from this perspective; the subject is inundated with computer science-centric resources. Build Your Own Database does have its weaknesses, however. This text could use an updated edition. Also, this work would benefit from a more step-by-step treatment of this subject rather than grouping sub-topics together in an arbitrary way. Readers should refer to Harrington (2002) or Hernandez (1997) for a step-

DATABASE DESIGN by-step guide. Overall, this book is a library-focused introduction to database design and database software. Jewett, Tom. (2006). Database design with UML and SQL (3rd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.tomjewett.com/dbdesign on April 26, 2011. Tom Jewett is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Long Beach. This web-based database design resource represents further development of Jewetts previous book project. Database design with UML and SQL is intended as a very basic introduction to database design for computer science students and provides clear overviews of key concepts as well as exercises for novice students to try. This work resists proscriptions against learning specific web design languages like those put forth by Hernandez (2002) and teaches students from a specific UML or SQL techniques. While the intended audience is computer science students, the definitions, explanations, and diagrams are easy for a layperson to decipher. As a web resource, this work is more easily accessed than many other conceptual overviews. However, Database design with UML and SQL is not as easy to read through as a book and may facilitate more picking and choosing of concepts rather than the big picture. This web resource is an easily understood collection of database design concepts for the student.

Case Studies Rux, E. & Borchert, T. (2010). You have how many spreadsheets? Rethinking electronic resource management. Computers in Libraries, 30(8), 21-25. Erika Rux and Theresa Borchert are both librarians at Concordia College who previously shared these experiences at a library conference presentation. In this case study, Rux and Borchert describe their shift from an unwieldy collection of spreadsheets to an Electronic Resource Manager (ERM). The situation their library faced seemed similar to the situation that Jasc and Lancaster (1999) wrote their text in response to: they needed a database system, but none of the commercially available systems met the needs of their library. Rux and Borchert describe their selection of Zoho Creator, rather than Microsoft Access, to design their new ERM. The intended audience for this resource is library and information professionals working to improve their operations. The strength of this article lies in its easy-to-understand descriptions of the problem, the goal, the design process, the evaluation of the product, and tips and tricks for other libraries. The weakness of this article is that the lessons learned may be limited in their extension to other database design situations. In sum, a quick and easy read for understanding one case study that documents the database design process for a conversion from spreadsheets to an Electronic Resource Manager.

DATABASE DESIGN Still, J. M. (Ed.). (2001). Creating web-accessible databases: Case studies for libraries, museums, and other nonprofits. Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc. Editor Julie M. Still is a faculty librarian at the Paul Robeson Library at Rutgers University-Camden who has edited several books and authored articles on a variety of topics dealing with library science and the internet. Her edited book Creating webaccessible databases: Case studies for libraries, museums, and other nonprofits, compiles several case studies of organizations that decided to create databases on the web or make legacy databases web-accessible. The intended audience of this book is library and information professionals researching database design who are interested in what other institutions have done. The style of the writing for each of the articles included is casual and easy-to-read. One strength of this work is that it fills a nichethere are few detailed case studies that have been published about databases in libraries. Weaknesses of this book include the inability of the separate articles to come together to form a cohesive whole and the hit or miss quality of each article. This book is a facile and handy collection of examples of designing web-accessible databases in libraries or similar institutions, but look to a more comprehensive work like Jasc and Lancaster (1999) to understand the conceptual underpinnings of database design in libraries.