[Athen] Information on E-Text Production Database?

[Sean Keegan]

 > I’m looking for advice or suggestions on creating a database for
 > tracking e-text production.

There have been a lot of good suggestions already about developing an 
e-text database for tracking production.  You have a few options 
depending on how complex or simple you want to make your system.  Some 
additional thoughts:

Functionality and Workflow
Consider exactly what you want the system to do.  This sounds simple, 
but generally requires some iterative process of figuring out what you 
are currently doing, comparing that to what you want, and then making 
changes to both.  You mentioned your essential features, but what is 
your workflow and how do these essential features interact with current 
operations?  Do you want individuals to be able to access this system 
from any office on campus, from a single computer, etc.? What types of 
reports are you looking to create for administrative purposes?

Technical Resources
You can probably develop something in-house using a simple database 
program like Filemaker or Access, or a spreadsheet program (Excel).  If 
you want to build scalability and flexibility from the start, then a 
Web-based interface with a database back-end provides a lot of options 
(LAMP configurations, MS SQL Server/SharePoint, etc.).  Having someone 
on staff who knows these systems is a big advantage.  Just make sure to 
provide sufficient release time for not only developing, but maintaining 
the system.  If going with a customized Web-based system, make sure to 
get the code documented!

As I mentioned before, there are a lot of good suggestions that have 
already been posted and these are intended to give more to consider 
(lucky you!).  I am not sure if you are interested in specific data that 
you want to track (e.g., ISBN, Author, etc.), but when you get to that 
point, feel free to ask.

Take care,
Sean