Emergent Data
Usage of databases may create data in the form of logs, which may be heuristically valuable. 
For instance, the BitstreamViews_110721.xls file in the DALN Database Toolkit lists in descending order all of the narratives that had been viewed 20 or more times as of July 2011, encouraging users to pose questions about the interest in particular narratives or groups of narratives, perhaps reading in concert narratives that have drawn comparable audiences and share certain other characteristics. Currently, the file lists, for each narrative, the author, the author's gender, and the title of the author's narrative, but it could be modified to list other data contained on the "AllMetaData" tab of the worksheet.
Other types of emergent data provide different perspectives on the DALN. The SearchTermFreq.xlsx file in the Toolkit lists all search terms that had been used more than 5 times to search the DALN as of November 2011, along with the actual frequency of their use. Data about how other visitors have queried the DALN can help visitors reflect on their own interests and readings of the narratives.
Explore the Data: Heatmap
With some more complex massaging of the DALN metadata, geographical and chronological data about individual submissions to the DALN can be aggregated and displayed as an animated "heat map" showing, at different geographical and chronological scales, when and where major and minor recording and archiving events have taken place to date, at least for those narratives whose contributors have provided geographical data. An example of such a "heat map" appears below. Click on the "play" button to view a month-by-month animation of the geographic distributions of contributions to the DALN between 2008 and 2011; to view contributions in a particular geographical area pan (drag) and zoom to the desired view, then replay the animation. Such time-based, emergent data about the DALN can provide some hints about the contexts in which individual narratives might have been composed and contributed. [Note: If the OpenHeatMap service is no longer available, you can view a screen shot of DALN data displayed on the service here.]
Explore the Data: Bitstream Views
In addition to the BitstreamViews_110721.xls file, users can also explore the data in a visual form like the one represented below. Each gray area represents a literacy narrative, scaled to indicate how many times it has been viewed. Clicking on the areas will allow you to view the narrative and explore its connection with other narratives that have been of comparable interest.