Michael Good
Computerization of The Buildings of England is now over half complete; publication on CD-ROM is envisaged c.1992. Already the database is in use by English Heritage and social architectural historians. Twenty-six volumes of Pevsner's text are available for scholarly search by computer: East Anglia, East Midlands. Thames/Chilterns, North West, North East (part), and West Midlands. Michael Good demonstrated the database at the 1989 CHArt Conference. This paper outlines the project's origins in 1987, and its general design, in which the data contained in the books is structured into three parts (site, type, personal name). How can data entry be effected from a Pevsner 'perambulation'? The files and fields used in the database are described. Further sections deal with problems of typology and term-lists, sorting and indexing. How closely should the computer simulate printed index order? Design is seen as a balance between convenience of input, complexity of software requirements, and ease of end use.