What's a database?

A database is a collection of data that is organized so that its contents can easily be accessed, managed, and updated. The most prevalent type of database is the relational database, a tabular database in which data is defined so that it can be reorganized and accessed in a number of different ways. http://whatis.techtarget.com/

In library catalogs and periodical databases, each book, videotape, recording, or article is represented by a record. Each record contains fields which are searchable: author/title/date/subject - for example.

See: Anatomy of a database