Re: Ladino Database

[Joel Bresler <jbresler...>]

Hi, I will try to answer your questions, interleaved. Thanks for your
interest.

Joel

At 06:38 AM 11/18/98 EDT, Robert Wiener wrote:
>Joel:
>
>Wow!  It seems like quite a project.  I have an old 4x6 card catalogue
that I stopped once I anticipated that computers could create a database
more efficiently.  (Would that be 15 years ago?)  Unfortunately, I've never
taken that step and now 1/2 of my LPs and all of my cassettes and CDs are
uncatalogued.  So I'd appreciate advice from any list members. 
>
>Can you (and others) share with us your experience and recommendations for
such a venture?  What software to use, how to set it up (e.g., what
information/fields to include), transliteration consistency...?  

***I have engaged someone to develop it in MS Access for me. We have just
had an extensive discussion of record cataloging software, etc. on the 78
mailing list. I can send a digest of same to anyone that would like to
email me a request privately.

I am absolutely punting on transliteration consistency right now - far too
big a nut to crack for the hundreds of different song titles (and total
thousands of songs.) Ultimately I hope to do a table of equivalents (i.e.,
this song denoted x equals that song denoted y) that would let users do a
definitive search.

I've heard of programs that read CD information on the CD-rom.  Do you know
of them?  

*** All they can do is get the number of tracks and their timings.  Any
actual song information is not embedded on the CD.

I've also heard of some databases of recordings that you can use as a
source so that you don't have to do all the entries yourself -- it seems
that you electronically check off the albums you own.  Has anyone used them?  

*** www.cddb.com. They are unlikely to have a very good representation of
Jewish music. Also, beware of errors in the entry.

Would a scanner help in downloading the information?  

***I think not. You would have to be a ferocious proofreader for any OCR
text (actually, you have to be a ferocious proofreader for titles you enter
yourself, too.)

What sort of hardware do you need (for example, for a collection of about
4,000 LPs, 2,000 CDs, and 1,000 cassettes?  

***Virtually anything even remotely current will do fine.

What do you wish that you had known before you began the project (in
addition to how much time it would take)?  

***I would not have spent any time trying to develop the database structure
on my own in Access, and would have engaged someone right away.

Are there any resources for funding such a venture? 

***There may be. I haven't investigated it, since I want complete control
over the project.

For those of you who have created databases for Yiddish or Hebrew, did you
do it in both that language and Hebrew? 
>
>Thanks,
>Bob
>
>


Joel Bresler
250 E. Emerson Rd.
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