DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ONLINE LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

1.1 Introduction

A library is a collection of resources and services, and the structure in which it is housed; it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual. A system or computer system can be said to be an electronic device or machine, which accept data, process programs and then produce a result output from the processed as information. Similarly, library is also defined as a place in which books, manuscript, recordings, films, or reference materials are kept for private or public uses. Typically, a library must be able to handle some housekeeping information such as acquisition, inter library loan, cataloging, circulation, serial management, statistical report and references. A library management system software package is designed especially to handle such housekeeping tasks. A rapidly growing of information technology adds some features to library management or stock control system software packages such as features to handle digital-media, e-book, e-journals, online public access catalog (OPAC), a feature to connect and exchange information with a digital library system, an ability to connect with networks of co-libraries, machine-readable cataloging (MARC) standard support. Automated library is a digitalized method of storing library resources and it is also a system for cataloging and retrieval of information in electronic books, journals and other media.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Osun state polytechnic Iree was formerly a satellite campus of the Ibadan polytechnic, before Osun state was created in 12th, October 1992 by the former Head of state Gen Ibraheem Babaginda RTD) and the polytechnic became an autonomous on 2002 when the Governor of Osun state by then, Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke signed the law establishing the institution alongside and as soon as Osun state polytechnic was established the library commission was also established immediately the polytechnic commenced their operation.

The history of the library management system could date back to the late 1960s. At that time, computer technology had entered the practical stage. Meanwhile in most large-scale libraries, it’s very time-consuming and easy to make mistakes to find books or statistical information manually. In order to solve this situation, the first generation of book lending management system came into being. But due to the immature technical conditions and the constraints of demands, the user was very small. There was no doubt that its appearance showed a bright future for the management of book lending, that is, with the computer’s high speed and automation to replace the huge amount of manual work and with the computer’s high accuracy to avoid manual mistakes and errors. The second generation of the library management system appeared in the late 1970s. On account of the rapid development of computer technology, whether the popularity of computers, or the developments of computer system tools and database technology, it provided the possibility for the phasic development of library lending management system. But it failed to systematically consider the needs and concepts of book borrowing.

The revolutionary change in the library management system occurred in the late 1990s. With the information explosion and the arrival of the era of knowledge-driven economy, individuals, units and social had a higher demand on library management system. In the meantime, due to the pullulating of database technology, customer/server technology, especially Internet/Intranet technology, the third generation of books borrowing management system had become inevitable. The third generation of library management system was characterized by the angle of book borrowing management, it dealt with almost all data related to the book lending with a centralized database. The friendly user interface, powerful report generation tools, analysis tools and information sharing allowed managers to get rid of heavy daily work and focus on planning and policies of book lending from a strategic perspective.

Over the last decade, computer and telecommunication technologies have developed at an extraordinary rate. Increased computer power, advances in data transmission, attractive and user-friendly graphic interfaces present library with unprecedented capacity to collect, store, analyze and share data with stakeholders inside and outside of library. Historically, the innovation of information systems has served as the catalyst for dramatic changes in the organization work and has presented both opportunities and challenges to operators. Some libraries have made tremendous efforts in creating databases for guest information system for security purposes.

Library Management System is an application which refers to library systems which are generally small or medium in size. It is used by librarian to manage the library using a computerized system where he/she can record various transactions like issue of books, return of books, addition of new books, addition of new students etc. Books and student maintenance Modules are also included in this system which would keep track of the students using the library and also a detailed description about the books a library contains. With this computerized system there will be no loss of book record or member record which generally happens when a non computerized system is used. In addition, report module is also included in Library Management System. If user’s position is admin, the user is able to generate different kinds of reports like lists of students registered, list of books, issue and return reports.All these modules are able to help librarian to manage the library with more convenience and in a more efficient way as compared to library systems which are not computerized.

Effective and efficient management and control of library materials/stock has posed huge difficulties to libraries at different level over the years, the high magnitude of material/textbooks theft, the general inconvenience experience by both the users of the library and management as well. The e-library environment which will be implemented at the end of this research work will bring great relief to the general world of research as it regards library and the control of its stock/materials electronically.

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1.3 Statement of Problem

Investigation reveals the problems of the encountered in the manual Library Management System in institutions include:

1. Lack of comprehensive database for book stocked in the library,
2. Poor determination books due and overdue,
3. Lack of verifiable borrowed material from the borrowers (student and staff)
4. Stress to the library attendance to attended the users
5. Lack of effectiveness in their methods of record keeping, further compounds the problem.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of this study is to design software that will Design and implement an Online Library Management System. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to design and develop a software that will:

1. Control the inflow and outflow of stock/materials in the library;
2. Store books using IDs assigned to each book;
3. Assist in the management and record library stocks;
4. Give account of borrowed and un borrowed books;
5. Reduce the verbal words between the library users and the attendance;
6. Improve the academic and computerized knowledge base of both users of the library and librarians.

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1.5 Significance of the Study

The following are the relevance of the research work, which is stated as follows:

1. It would help minimize the time of search to find the information of the particular text.
2. The electronic system will be a user friendly system
3. It would create convenience to the library attendance/librarian.
4. It would help the government and school management to save more funds.
5. Cataloging of textbooks would be made easy.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.6 Scope of the Study

This research works covers the implementation of a computerized Online Library Management System that will be used to monitor inflow and outflow of library materials in other to curtail thievery/theft.

The library management system runs on the Windows system, According to the characteristics of the system, we construct the development model and then build structural analysis, system function modules and system flow chart through the demand analysis of the system.

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1.7 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials

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1.8 Definition of Terms

Library: It is a department in an organization that deals with keeping tracks of book issued, returned and added to library.

Management: It is the co-ordination of all the resources of an Organization through the process of planning, Organization, directing and controlling