Make a Database From a Book?

September 29, 2012 7:06 AM

Are there examples of databases based upon a single book?

I am going to create an online database based upon a 70 year old, 1500 page historical dissertation. I'd like to build a relational database based upon all the people, dates, events, organizations, etc in the dissertation.
Are there some examples of this?
Is there software I should know about?

posted by PHINC to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

There must be digital humanities projects like this. Off the top of my head, I don't know of one based on a book, but your project reminds me of the Early American Foreign Service Database built as a dissertation project by a grad school colleague of mine. She uses a relational database to track the names and assignment locations of early American diplomats as well as the correspondence networks between them. Last I knew, she was working on some open source software to trace the social networks implicit in the database.
posted by Naiad at 7:56 AM on September 29, 2012

Response by poster: These look promising thank you.
One of the few other things I've found is a military database project.
posted by PHINC at 8:14 AM on September 29, 2012

There are lots of Wikis on the net based on book series, if you're looking for organizational ideas there are The Lord of the Rings and The Harry Potter Series to name two.
posted by NoraCharles at 9:25 AM on September 29, 2012

If you consider the Bible to be a single book, then there are concordances and whatnot.
posted by hattifattener at 10:45 AM on September 29, 2012

Response by poster: I could I forget about the Bible, and its chapter, er books.
posted by PHINC at 11:01 AM on September 29, 2012

Response by poster: That should say:
How could I forget about the Bible, and its chapters, er books?
posted by PHINC at 11:14 AM on September 29, 2012

The Patrick O’Brian Mapping Project is based on a series of books that are not unlike the Bible.
posted by migurski at 12:31 PM on September 29, 2012

Oh, do concordances count as databases? A Shapenote/Sacred Harp songbooks have them; see this list for some examples.
posted by capricorn at 5:06 PM on September 29, 2012

*A lot of
posted by capricorn at 5:07 PM on September 29, 2012

I also pinged on concordances.
posted by nita at 5:25 AM on September 30, 2012