Comments on: Make a Database From a Book?

Question: Make a Database From a Book?

PHINC — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 07:06:55 -0800

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?

By: Naiad

Naiad — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 07:56:46 -0800

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.

By: PHINC

PHINC — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 08:14:15 -0800

These look promising thank you.
One of the few other things I've found is a military database project.

By: NoraCharles

NoraCharles — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 09:25:51 -0800

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.

By: hattifattener

hattifattener — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 10:45:53 -0800

If you consider the Bible to be a single book, then there are concordances and whatnot.

By: PHINC

PHINC — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 11:01:28 -0800

I could I forget about the Bible, and its chapter, er books.

By: PHINC

PHINC — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 11:14:29 -0800

That should say:
How could I forget about the Bible, and its chapters, er books?

By: migurski

migurski — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 12:31:40 -0800

The Patrick O'Brian Mapping Project is based on a series of books that are not unlike the Bible.

By: capricorn

capricorn — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 17:06:53 -0800

Oh, do concordances count as databases? A Shapenote/Sacred Harp songbooks have them; see this list for some examples.

By: capricorn

capricorn — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 17:07:05 -0800

*A lot of

By: nita

nita — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 05:25:37 -0800

I also pinged on concordances.