Library monitoring system with barcode scanner

The rationale of the Study

Library Monitoring System with Barcode Scanner is a system designed to manage the transactions of books with the use of barcode scanner. Its purpose is to provide a reliable system that will improve and organized the operation in the library. Nowadays, the library is considered as the heart of the school. It is a place of discovery where it provides learnings on certain things that are beyond what the teacher discuss inside of the four corners in the room, a vast collection of academic books, and the storehouse of knowledge where students can read books without any disturbances.

In the past decades, all operation of the library was tracked by hand, it was tedious and slow, but it wasn’t very different from the computer methods we use today. Like when a patron wanted to get a book, he could go into the library and walk straight to the shelf and browse for what he wanted and if he knew exactly which book he wanted, but not which shelf it was on, he could go to the card catalog, open the drawer full of title cards, find the book’s card by its title, write down the call number, then go find the book on the shelf. The student could then take the book to the circulation desk and present it, along with his library card, to either the librarian or library staff there.

Compared to today’s generation, most of the higher education institutions try to meet the needs of the academic and research community by improving their services and enhancing their resources. One of the means is the provision of an effective reference service where the librarians use a computer-based system to enhance the operation of the library.

Benedicto College Library is one of the schools that currently use the traditional style of processing books. They manually record all the transaction happened during borrowing and returning of books and gather information manually. It’s time-consuming and lots of effort in accomplishing all the works. That’s why the researchers want to overcome and develop a system that will help both the librarian and staff in managing the operation.

Background of the Study

Benedicto College is a private college, founded by Ambassador Francisco L. Benedicto. It was born in 2000 out of the founder’s sense of gratitude to the community where his family and businesses grew and flourished. This institution is a vehicle for upward social mobility to the less-privileged by providing quality education at an affordable tuition.  It offers primary, secondary and tertiary education. In 2000, the school opened four-year programs leading to a B.S. in Information Technology and a B.S. in Computer Science. In 2009, the school opened its high school department. In 2015 the school opened K-12 programs for senior high schools which offers STEM, HUMS, ABM and GAS strands.

One of its facilities in the library and is a privilege to the students to use for them to broaden their knowledge. It provides a range of learning opportunities for both large and small groups as well as individuals with a focus on intellectual content, information literacy, and the learner. In addition to classroom visits with collaborating teachers, the school library also serves as a learning space for students to do independent work, use computers, etc.

As times goes by, students in Benedicto College are increasing in the primary, secondary, especially that the K to 12 started. The responsibility of the librarian and the staff is also increasing. Based on the information gathered by the researchers, the personnel records all transactions manually: the borrowing and returning of books, reserving a book, and the payment of books that are overdue. Technology nowadays has been very influential that’s why the researchers want the school to improve and to enhance its capabilities in handling the processes of transactions inside the library.

Present System Analysis

Figure 1 Manual Library Process
In this figure 1, the researcher uses Use-Case Diagram to show the manual process of the library. The librarian checks the attendance of every student entered in the library and also the checkout and check in on the books. It states that the student can borrow books and should be returned in due date or else they should pay the fine of the book, they can also renew the book after it borrowed after a few days and they can search a book through the library staff. The teachers can also do what the student can do except that they don’t have to pay the fine of the book if it is overdue and they can also reserve a book ahead of time and return it every semester. After the student and teacher accomplish what they need, the job of the library staff starts. The library staff also checks the attendance of every student and records the checkout and check in on the books and send it to the librarian.

Objectives of the Study
General Objective
The main objective of this study is to provide a convenient and reliable system to reduce time and effort for librarian, staffs, and patron for the operation in the library.

Specific Objective
To provide security measures and database that will accommodate all transactions inside the library.
To generate reports in the specific area of the system.
To automatically compute the penalties and fine of the book.
To create a transaction for borrowing and returning of books using a barcode scanner.

Statement of the Problem
General Problem
Since the Benedicto College is using the traditional style of processing books there is a possibility that data might get misplaced during manual transactions and time-consuming. Too much paperwork, since everything and every detail, is written down manually in the paper.
Specifically, this answered the following:

The significance of the Study

The main objective of the researchers is to help change the transaction of the library in Benedicto College. To make their library system to be automated. So that managing of their library will be more efficient and secure.
1. Students/borrowers
It will be easy for them to know if the book they’re searching in the library is existing and they will have lesser time to locate where the books located.
2. Library Personnel
It will lessen their paper works when it comes to maintaining data that contains all the records in the library as the computer restore the details.
3. School
The library management system is to provide quality data in the School in a timely fashion through systems that are completely integrated. This will provide opportunities for operational efficiency.
4. Researchers
We are encouraged to cooperate each other for the success of this study. For we know that this proposed study can help for the betterment of the files of our chosen school.

Scope and Limitation

It helps the librarian handle the inventory of the books especially the borrowing and returning of books by using the barcode scanner so that the librarian and library staff can easily record the ISBN of the book without typing it. The other features of the system other than the borrowing and returning of books are: the librarian serves as the admin of the system in which she can add, remove, view, manage the account not only for the books but also the students, the library staffs, and as well as the teachers account, the library staff can only add and view accounts, automatic fine calculation for late returns and generates payments as per receipt, different criteria to for searching a book, easy way to check-in and check-out of account, classify book subject using DDC (Dewey Decimal Classification), it also have reserve section to reserve books ahead of time, and generates various reports including record of book and issued books.

Methodology

It can make the job both librarian and library staff easier so that they can do other things like checking the students while the other one is managing and operating the system. To create a module that will compute penalties for borrowers. A function that will generate a minimum amount of penalty for the borrower of the library. The penalty will be based on the standard amount given by the librarian.
To create a module that will generate reports. The system will generate standardized reports such as a list of borrowed books and returned books including the penalties/fine, lists of books, and the other options can be included. To create a security and model of the audit trail.

The proposed system will improve the record keeping process of their current system by having security measures and database that will accommodate all transactions inside the library. Each user will be given a certain level of security to ensure the security of the database. The module has a login system that will require username and password before the system can be used. Level of accession will be implemented to protect confidential records that other users should not see or use. An audit trail will be used to track transactions that require the modifying or updating of sensitive and confidential records.

To create a transaction module for borrowing and returning of the book(s).
Having a computerized system of borrowing, returning, and searching for books. It is easier and more convenient for the user to find a certain book, by title, by the subject author. The time required for searching and processing these transactions is faster than the traditional style.