I would definitely pick postgres over mysql. It has all of the same features and more, plus it is easier to use (in my own opinion).

But before I even pick a database I would consider these:
What are the speed requirements? 
How do you plan on doing searching? 
How much data? 
Does it need to be redundant? 
What about clustering? 
Geographically diverse for faster local retrieval? 
What languages or other technologies do you plan on interfacing with?

and then, based on those answers more questions will arise.
Best of luck!
________________________________________
From: Code for Libraries [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ben Cail [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2016 2:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Good Database Software for a Digital Project?

I would suggest looking at postgresql <http://www.postgresql.org/>. It
may not be as widely used as mysql, but it is used a lot, and it's a
high-quality piece of database software. It's also free.

-Ben

On 04/15/2016 02:18 PM, Matt Sherman wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I am looking to pick the group brain as to what might be the most useful
> database software for a digital project I am collaborating on.  We are
> working on converting an annotated bibliography to a searchable database.
> While I have the data in a few structured formats, we need to figure out
> now what to actually put it in so that it can be queried.  My default line
> of thinking is to try a MySQL since it is free and used ubiquitously
> online, but I wanted to see if there were any other database or software
> systems that we should also consider before investing a lot of time in one
> approach.  Any advice and suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> Matt Sherman