Get organised with databases

It’s hard to talk about databases without causing panic.

If they are not in the news for being part of an expensive, but failing, Government project or sinister surveillance scheme, databases are usually being criticised for being difficult to use.

This is rather unfair. Databases are behind some of the most useful websites on the internet, including search engines and online shops.

What’s more, although setting up a new database can be tricky, it’s very easy to use ones that other people have created to organise your life.

In this article, we’ll explain how databases can help bring sense to your collections of books, CDs, DVDs and recipes.

After using some simple software you will never forget who you loaned a book to, and shopping lists will be generated automatically without worrying about missing important ingredients.

Your personal library
If you like to read, listen to music or watch DVDs you’ll know that your personal library of books, CDs or DVDs can quickly grow to the point where finding the item you want becomes very difficult. What’s more, if you ever loan your items to friends, it’s incredibly easy to lose track of who has borrowed what.

Fortunately you can use your computer and a simple database to keep track of all your stuff. We’ll show you how using some free software called Libra. Don’t worry if the thought of entering all your book or DVD details into the computer sounds like too much work, as Libra has some clever tricks up its sleeve to make this as quick as possible.

Follow the instructions on our website to download the Libra software to your desktop. The file is only 4.32MB, so it shouldn’t take longer than 15 minutes to download, even on a dial-up modem. Double-click on the file once it has finished downloading to start the installation wizard.

Click on Next, select ‘I accept the agreement’ and then Next four times and then Install. The files will be copied into the right place on your computer. Leave the option ‘Run libra.exe’ selected and then click on Finish.

When Libra starts, click on Default Library. This will create an empty library ready to accept the books or DVDs in your collection. Clicking on the ‘Always load the default library in future’ option will help you to avoid this step in future.

Adding your books
The next step is to start adding items to the library. We’ll explain how to add books, but the process is exactly the same if you want to add CDs or DVDs instead.

The most basic way to add an item is to enter the details by hand. This is time consuming, but it means that you have the greatest control over the information. Click the Add button at the top of the screen. Next, click on the middle tab, also at the top of the screen marked Manual, and then fill in as many details as you have for your book. Left-click on the different items to enter the information.

The Tags line is particularly useful. Here you can enter descriptions of the book, such as cookery or science fiction, each separated by a comma. This will make it easy to search for books by genre later. Similarly, the description line allows you to summarise what the book is about. Libra will generate a cover for the book, but you can also add a cover image by clicking on the book and selecting an image file.

When all the information is entered and correct, click on the Add to Library button. The book will move to the right-hand side of the screen and a blank book takes its place ready for you to add another entry.