Design_and_implementation_of_an_online_library_system.

Thesis Overview

<p> INTRODUCTION<br>1.1 LIBRARY SYSTEM<br>A library can be defined as a room or building where books are kept<br>and referenced. It is an area of multifarious activity on book management. A<br>library as a repository of knowledge, houses collections of books, both<br>reference and general, technical reports, periodicals, journals, conference<br>proceedings and the likes. Consequently, truth and knowledge can be found<br>and acquired from the library through the aforementioned sources. The<br>information contents of any of the collections can be recorded on<br>microfilms, audiotapes, microchips and other materials traditionally kept in<br>the library, which is charged with the responsibility of acquiring, organizing,<br>maintaining, and judicial circulation of the books and other library materials<br>through the various sections of the library, for efficient use of the library by<br>the users.<br>The acquisition, cataloguing, bindery and circulation sections of the<br>library undertake the acquiring, organizing, maintaining and circulation of<br>the books/library materials respectively. When the library through the<br>acquisition section of the library acquires a book, its record is taken and<br>accession number is given to the book after which the book will be sent to<br>cataloguing section of the library. Under this section, the book will be<br>carefully studied and given catalogue number before it will be sent to<br>circulation section of the library as the case may be. The circulation section<br>is responsible for circulation or distribution of books.<br>This section also arranges the consulted books in the shelves.<br>There are other sections like reference section, which provides reference<br>questions and bibliographic service, and serial section where periodical,<br>journals and related materials are kept. The library also houses special<br>collections and also operates circulation<br>control in which books are lent to users. In fact it is indeed a place of<br>multifarious activities on book management.<br>1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM<br>In human endeavors, there are a lot of developments, researches, and<br>discoveries, which result in multifarious production of publications and<br>library materials. These have brought increase in complexity of library<br>system and its operations.<br>Based on these, a number of problems are facing the library systems, which<br>include:<br>(i) Unnecessary delay in library processes.<br>(ii) High cost of staff recruitment and maintenance.<br>(iii) Error prone operations/processes.<br>(iv) Inefficiency in library operation.<br>(v) Too many paper work and replication of data on multiple pieces<br>of paper.<br>(vi) Unreliable card catalogue system.<br>(vii) Mutilation of books by students i.e. students tear/hide books.<br>1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY<br>There is hardly any aspect of human endeavor that is today not being<br>assisted by computerization. The objective of this project: Design and<br>Implementation of Oline Library Services System with a reference to<br>Caritas University Library. The application program developed in this<br>research essentially monitors and keep records of the individual book<br>movement together with the operations going on in various sections of<br>the library particularly concerned with book control. These operations<br>include book lending, returning of the borrowed books, reservation of<br>books, acquisition processes, registration of users and other related<br>activities in Library management system.<br>In this study therefore, the researchers hope to accomplish the<br>following objectives:<br>To design a better way of avoiding loss of books in the library.<br>To solve the problem of delay in locating books.<br>Assist the Liberian to carry out library operations more<br>effectively.<br>Eliminate manual operations in the library.<br>To achieve high efficiency in the library services.<br>1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY<br>This project looks into the processes involved in keeping tracks of the<br>books in the library system. The researchers concentrated on the operations<br>going on in the Acquisition, cataloging and most especially, circulation<br>sections in the library.<br>1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY<br>The study gave birth to a new system Online Library Services System)<br>designed to bring efficiency in the library system operations. It will<br>eliminate some of the problems associated with the old (manual) system of<br>library management, which include cost of equipment and staff maintenance<br>and also allow institutions to manage the affairs of libraries easily.<br>1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY<br>This study will not look in detail into other sections of the library except<br>the only three sections aforementioned. The intuitive works like reading of a<br>book before classification and technical work like ownership stamping<br>conveyance of books etc, this section is not part of this study.<br>1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS<br>DESIGN: It is a detail plan or arrangement to achieve a particular<br>purpose.<br>A SYSTEM: It is an assemblage of interrelated elements, which we find<br>interesting to study. It could be a process, a machine or a program.<br>A PROGRAM: It is a set of instructions and procedures that tells the<br>computer what to do.<br>AN APPLICATION: A program designed to perform particular tasks.<br>THE RESEARCHERS: This refers to the developers of the system in<br>study (i.e. Richard).<br>THE USER: The user here refers to the library staff or the people who<br>make use of the library. It also refers to the person who uses the program<br>(e.g. library staff).<br>AUTOMATION/COMPUTERIZATION: It is a process of making a<br>system to carry out its processes on its own. That without much helps<br>from man.<br>MODULE: An independent unit that is part of a larger development. It is<br>the same thing as sub-tasks.<br>VISUAL LIBRARY SYSTEM: It is an application or program designed<br>by researchers to manage library operations. It is a program designed<br>with a visual programming language in which the user will make use of a<br>mouse in operating. It is event driven and objects appear in their visual<br>forms to the user. <br></p>