 You have been hired to create a Database for the new library in town.  We initially tried to use Excel to keep track of our data, but realized that we just couldn’t keep track of our data in a spreadsheet.  Over the course of the next five days you will learn the concepts of creating a database and making it functional for every day use.

EXCEL  Creates spreadsheets  Stores flat data  Analyzes data and performs sophisticated mathematical functions  Presents data in charts and graphs. ACCESS  Create databases  Stores LOTS of data and relates it  Retrieves data based on criteria  Enables easy data entry  Creates customizable reports

In Excel we realized that we would have to duplicate the book record every time a the book was borrowed, or essentially create a new record for the book each time.

Access can store one record of a book in a database and tie all the instances of a book borrow to that one book.

We tried to create a record for a patron, but we realized we couldn’t do it unless they checked out a book at the same time.

We can have a separate table for Patrons and just connect each patron to a borrow when they check out a book.

We needed to change a patron’s phone number, but we realized we’d have to change all the instances of a patron borrowing a book. Such a headache!

We can just go to the patron’s record in the Patron table, change their phone number and every borrow will still be connected to the same record.

We wanted to delete a borrow from the spreadsheet, but we realized that in doing so we’d also delete the customer information. What if that were the only time they checked out a book? We’d loose that information completely.

Because the patrons are stored in a separate table from the borrows, we can delete a borrow without deleting the Patron.

 Access can store data in separate tables and relate them  Access can create queries that can pull out very specific pieces of data  Access can create forms that allow for quick and user friendly data entry  Access can create reports to present your data.

 What fields should we include in the Books and Patrons table?  Data types  Each field should be the smalled data chuncks you can think of.  Example: Separate First_Name and Last Name into two different fields.

Get into pairs and define the relationships between the following entities: For example how many social security numbers would one citizen have? One to one How many passengers can one bus have? One to many or Many to many

 Resources—what kind of resources do we need to keep track of for the library?  Events—what kind of events will we need to track in the library?  Agents—Who will be the participants in the library?

ResourcesEventsAgents =one to many

 Let’s start creating the tables in Access and make the relationships between them!