Just personal preference, but you might like it. IMHO it makes it easier to read the SQL - try formatting the DBI SQL like this:

  $query  = q{
     SELECT field1,
            field2,
            name
     FROM collection_information
     WHERE CLIENT = ?
  };

  $sth = dbh->prepare($query) || die "prepare failed: $DBI::errstr\n";
  $sth->execute($alias) || die "execute failed: $DBI::errstr\n";
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And, most(?) DBD:: modules support table aliasing, like this:

   $query = q{
      SELECT c.name,
             c.state,
             c.zip,
      FROM collection_information c
      WHERE c.CLIENT = ?
   }
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which makes it so that you don't have to type the long table name in front of each field. In fact, when you're selecting from just one table, you don't need to use the table name at all in front of each field being selected.

HTH.