By Guest Blogger Alexandria Lowery, San Jose State University
I am a student currently pursuing her Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) at San Jose State University. One of the first courses we were required to take was Information Retrieval Database Design (aka: Information and Knowledge Management).
So, what is this course about? It essentially teaches students how to organize information and learn how to make that information easily retrievable for others.
This course was designed around group projects that was related to different aspects of designing databases. For one group project, we built a database using the work previously assigned to us in the course. Our database was created in Caspio and focused on spices and spice blends.
There were many surprising components involved when creating the database. For example, we needed to determine who our target users were—home cooks who shopped online and cooked as a leisure activity—and their information-seeking behaviors (i.e., what keywords would they most likely search for). Then, we needed to create the rules for the categories we came up with. That is, the guidelines for designers to follow when upgrading the database but remaining consistent with the formatting. We also needed to ensure our database was easy to use and grasp for first-time users.
Personally, this class was both challenge and exciting. I am a person who never went dealt with the “behind-the-scenes” of a database, let alone creating one. So, it really forced me to think differently not as a user, but as a database designer. After all, we all know how annoying it is to go to a website only to find it is hard to figure out or it makes us click on too many links to get a small (but accurate) piece of information needed from the site. Overall, this course boosted my awareness on the importance of creating accessible databases for users while ensuring they are easy to maintain and update the more time passes.
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