Project Synopsis: Library Management System
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If you’re a web developer who is now learning or has learnt DBMS, a simple project such as a Library Management System is a must-build to help you navigate concepts and polish your skills.
Keep in mind that this is not the kind of project that you can put on your portfolio as a one-of-a-kind web application, but is a basic foundational project that will help you strengthen your basics and give you something that you can later add in advanced features to.
Building a DBMS project primarily focuses on the backend, for the front-end we have a website to manage the daily activities of a library. Now, all we have to do is connect the Backend to the Frontend and viola, you have a basic DBMS project ready!
Below is a Project Synopsis that you can use as a self-study guide for the aforementioned project, along with links and resources to help you build a Library Management System.
ABSTRACT:
The manual method of bookkeeping and issuing in today’s time is highly inefficient. It is very tedious for students to find a particular book, get information about whether it is available, at what time a book of choice will be available again, and search for a book through its ISBN number etc.
Moreover, on the administration side too, it is very difficult to keep student records, book records and account details.
To eliminate this problem and shift this system online while reducing the dependence on manual power, an Online Database Management System (DBMS) — A Library Management System is proposed. It is an interactive web portal for automating various manual processes conventionally done by librarians.
WHAT IS A DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
Database is a collection of inter-related data which is used to retrieve, insert and delete the data efficiently. Database management system is a software which is used to manage the database. For example: MySQL, Oracle, etc are a very popular commercial database which is used in different applications. We will be using MySQL for the Library Management System.
OPERATIONS OF DBMS:
· Data Definition: It is used for creation, modification, and removal of definition that defines the organization of data in the database.
· Data Updating: It is used for the insertion, modification, and deletion of the actual data in the database.
· Data Retrieval: It is used to retrieve the data from the database which can be used by applications for various purposes.
· User Administration: It is used for registering and monitoring users, maintain data integrity, enforcing data security, dealing with concurrency control, monitoring performance and recovering information corrupted by unexpected failure.
INTRODUCTION TO LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS):
A library management system is web application that is designed to manage all the functions of a library. It helps librarian to maintain the database of new books and the books that are borrowed by members along with their due dates. It is an implementation of a Database Management System.
CORE FEATURES OF LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
- Searching of books
- Issuing and returning books
- Checking fines (if any)
- Librarian can read information about any member
- Librarian can track the books issued by a particular student
- Librarian can add/remove any member(student).
- Librarian can add/delete books
- Librarian can update the availability status of the books
- Additional Features of Admin Dashboard:
- Displaying all members records.
- Displaying all books records.
- Update Book Records.
- Delete Book Records
- Add Book Records
- Add Member/Student Records
- Delete Member/Student Records
- Update Member/Student Records.
IMPLEMENTATION: MODULES IN LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
STUDENT/ADMIN MODULE:
In this module, we are displaying information from the database regarding all the members (students or admin) that are registered. The librarian can add or delete the students registered in the library and only the students who are registered can view the information.
· Add a student: The initial page displays all the registers members present in our database. In this file the librarian can add a member by filling up all the details such as its address, name, phone number etc.
· Update a student: If the member wants to update his/her phone number this could be done with the help of the update option available, after filling up all the new details the database will be updated using the appropriate query.
· Delete a student: We have provided an option for the librarian to permanently delete a member from the database and update the list.
After successfully logging in, the student can view his/her profile with the following details:
- Issued books
- Date of issue
- When to return
- Current fine the user has to pay
BOOKS MODULE:
In this module, we are displaying information from the database regarding all the books that are available in the library. This module provides the librarian with a systematic view of all the books divided into various categories such as new books, old books, lost books, damaged books, and books that are subject to replacement etc. In every file of books module, there is an option provided Add Books, which enables the admin to add books in various categories defined above.
SEARCH MODULE:
The search module lets users search for a specific book on the site. You can search both for the author and for a particular book. When you are on the search tab of website, you will be able to search for authors and book available on the library management system.
The books can be searched on various parameters such as
- Subject wise Search
- Author Wise Search
- Year Wise Search
LOGIN AND LOGOUT:
The default user for our project is admin. Our project provides the facility for the admin to log in and then review all the books and members in the library database. Admin also has an option of adding another person as admin to the system. Any member, be it admin or student would remain logged into the session until and unless they click on the logout button.
ER DIAGRAM:
Objects from the previous section — the members (student/admin), books, and library — correspond to entities in an Entity-Relationship model. and the operations to be done on those entities — search, issue and return, correspond to relationships.
TECHNOLOGY STACK:
FRONT END — HTML, CSS, JavaScript: This basic but powerful combo comprises of HTML (a scripting language) for giving structure to our website, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for design, and Javascript for adding functionality. We will also be making use of the frontend framework Bootstrap 5 templates for typography, forms, buttons, navigation, and other interface components as well as for responsiveness.
BACK END — PHP: PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is known as a general-purpose scripting language that can be used to develop dynamic and interactive websites. It was among the first server-side languages that could be embedded into HTML, making it easier to add functionality to web pages without needing to call external files for data.
DATABASE — MySql: MySQL is an open-source relational database management system. For WordPress sites, that means it helps you store all your blog posts, users, plugin information, etc. It stores that information in separate “tables” and connects it with “keys”, which is why it’s relational.
