By Bruce A. Love
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Information is the currency of democracy.” Jefferson obviously understood the value of information. With accurate and timely information, businesses can identify market trends, make wise investments, and develop successful strategic plans to steer their businesses through difficult economic times and capitalize on good times.
We receive daily bombardments of facts, numbers, documents and other data. Such data becomes usable information only after it is processed and organized. In this “Information Age,” we have some powerful tools to bring organization to clutter. One of the most powerful tools we can use to process raw data into usable information is the database.
Whether you realize it or not, you have probably used databases in one form or another. When we go to a library to look for a book, a user-friendly computer interface gives us access to the library’s database so that we may search the library’s entire holdings by author name, subject, keywords, or book title. If you shop online, you can search or browse store inventories on databases located on web servers. These databases also have product descriptions, images of products, prices, and links to other related products (which are used to promote other products that customers may be interested in). When you make a purchase online, you enter billing and shipping information, which is shared with other databases belonging to your credit card company as well as shipping databases.
I really love databases. Without them, I would never be able to stay organized. I guess my enthusiasm for databases has spread to infect other family members. My wife and daughter have helped me launch e-stores and build virtual art galleries by entering inventories into databases. Karen, my wife, spends many hours each week searching online genealogical databases in the hope of finding long lost, and long departed, relatives. Alysia, our daughter, accesses her grades and assignments online, as do most students these days. Alysia also spent the past summer entering confidential information into a medical database at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, DC. Our son Tim, who is a chef in the suburbs of Philadelphia, is interested in having all his recipes stored in a safe, secure location, and has expressed an interest in putting this valuable information into a database.
Although databases are fairly easy to use, I’ve found that becoming proficient in developing databases can take years. However, in most circumstances, someone has already developed any database you may want to use. MS-Access is a database that is sometimes bundled with other Microsoft products on new computers. If you have to buy the software, it isn’t cheap – usually over $200. Once you have this software, however, you can develop and use your own databases with Access, or you can use the databases already developed by others.
When you launch Access, you are given the option of starting a new database, opening up an existing database, or loading a database template that either came with your Access software or is located on the Internet. A sampling of free Access-based databases that you can find include an issues database (for tracking tasks), a classroom management database, inventory management, and address books. If these don’t satisfy your needs, you can often purchase templates that will.
Have fun with data and stay organized!
