Philobiblion: Problems and Solutions in a Relational Database of Medieval Texts

Author(s): Faulhaber, Charles B. | Abstract: Philobiblon is a relational database for the cataloguing andstudy of the primary textual sources, manuscript and printed, for the study of medieval and early modern culture, along with the institutions and persons who created them. Here are some of the problems we encountered in fittingthe data into a relational dbms format (Advanced Revelation) as well as the solutions devised: (1) sorting manuscripts and texts in topographical order; (2) explicitly noting the contingent nature of the data as well as its source; (3) using a data type field to classify sets of associated multi-valued fields; (4) establishing views into two different tables from a single field; (5) devising mechanisms to allow dissemination in printed and networked form as well as on diskette or CD-ROM disk; (6) subject access. Unsolved problems include: (1) deciding how to define a 'text'; (2) establishing compatibility with previous standards; (3) normalized searching on unnormalized text; (4) defining reciprocal but asymmetrical relationships; (5) remote data entry; (6) balancing the need for complexity and completenessagainst interactive usability