Design and implementation of a database of Postcolonial African literature published in Spain

Abstract

This paper evidences the absence of a repository or databa- se that scompiles the publications of Postcolonial African writing in Spain, thus precluding comprehensive quantitative or qualitative studies on the impact of these works. This is a significant obstacle for both academic research and the book market, which up to now has been unable to analyse market selection and reception trends. To cater for this need, the aim of this paper is to describe the design and implementation of a relational database, based on MySQL and set up using specific and accurate parameters, that includes all the literary works penned by African writers and published in Spain and in Spanish from 1972 (when Spain first joined the ISBN system) to 2014. After determining a num- ber of specific design criteria and compilation protocols, the methodology has been divided into four steps: data collection, storage, statistical processing and online dissemination. Thus, the database BDAFRICA achieves a twofold objec- tive: firstly, it provides researchers with unbiased data as a framework for their studies, and secondly, it offers unprecedented statistics on the evolution of the publication of African literature in Spain over the last 42 years.