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The varied and episodic nature of volcanic eruptions requires numerous and diverse observations for study and successful forecasting. Volcanological databases are important resources for the community because they enable investigation of questions that are not answerable by single datasets. Large-scale or synoptic studies are increasingly accessible through the use of machine learning applied to those often complex databases. In this paper, we describe the existing volcanological database landscape, the complexity of linking between various resources, the challenges of data standardization, and the challenges associated with long-term growth and sustainability of databases. Many challenges to database interoperability can be addressed through use of global unique identifiers and standardized data formats when populating databases and when publishing scientific studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]