DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A MOBILE AND WEB APPLICATION
FOR THE AUTOMATION OF LIBRARY TASK
ABSTRACT
Libraries play a vital role in the educational, industrial and
technological progress of a country, of which it role is to achieve a free flow
of information from the point of generation to the point of utilization
efficiently and effectively.In School of Information and
Communication Technology (SICT) Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger
State, we have an existing manual library system this system is plagued with
the following problems: damage books; redundancies in cataloguing, inability to
read books outside of library working hours, misplacing of library books, and
vulnerability to human error. We have been able to design a library automation
to solve the afore-mentioned problems. The library automation was designed and
implemented using data collected from interviewing the school librarians. The
following technological stacks were used during development: PHP, JAVASCRIPT,
NODE JS, APACHE CORDOVA, NGINX,MYSQL, HTML5, and CSS3.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In
our society today, the rate at which technology
is growing is exponential and information is an important sign to a modernized
library. The library is fast growing in use
and the previous method of maintaining it is no longer dynamic and efficient.
Application of modern techniques i.e. use of technology, has become absolutely
indispensable for expeditious retrieval and dissemination of information and
better service for the library users (students). A properly computerized
library will help its users with quick and prompt services. Library automation
refers to mechanization of library housekeeping operations predominantly by
computerization. The most commonly known housekeeping operations are
acquisition control (ordering, receiving, and invoicing materials), serial
control (tracking magazine and newspaper holdings), cataloguing (classifying
and indexing materials), and classification and circulation control (lending
materials and receiving them back).
In the
present time of information technology, it has been progressively felt that
data is required and students must turn into the real center of consideration,
to serve understudy better. Achievement of data administration will be more
inclined to be accomplished by altering the administrations to meet the particular
needs of an individual as opposed to attempting to adjust singular client to
match with the yield of the data framework.
Libraries
assume an indispensable part in the educational, industrial and innovative
advancement of a nation. Advancement of the country relies on development
information picked up by educationists, technologists, designers and
researchers of the nation. Thus the part of libraries in Universities and
instructive foundations is to attain a free stream of data from the purpose of
era to the point of usage of data effectively and successfully. The present
instructive arrangement stresses on study toward oneself, analyses, field study
and research as opposed to classroom study. In this way, library needs to
assume basic part in the advanced education to meet client prerequisites. Ideal
utilization of library assets is conceivable through networks only.
The library
is the heart of each educational establishment which inhales learning and data
into the psyches of the understudies. The School of Information and
Communication Technology (SICT) has a decently outfitted Library with a showy
gathering of books, diaries, student project reports and different assets to
serve the students.
The term library automation was fully used in the time
past for housekeeping operations of the library. Today it has expanded its
scope and also includes all those technologies which libraries and information
centres use for collection, processing, storage, retrieval, dissemination, and
transmission of all types of information at local, regional, national, and
international level.
The Library automation web and android application
will be built for the School of Information and Communication Technology in the
Federal University of Technology, Minna Niger State.
1.2
PROBLEM
STATEMENT
The School of Information and Communication Technology
(SICT), Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna is currently running a
manual library system. This e-library automation system is built to replace it.
The manual library has several problems some of which are; damaged books,
redundancies in cataloguing, misplacing of library books. Below are some
problem faced by students and staffs
i.
The paper where
they record the student data or book data can get lost or damaged at any point in
time.
ii.
The problem of
recording group of students, which leads to queue, delay in time (please come
back tomorrow for registration).
iii.
Little or no
book security, which leads to borrowing and not returning of books
iv.
The user of the traditional
library needs to be at the library area physically which most times leads to
congestion.
v.
Inability for the library
resources to be accessed 24/7.
vi.
In a traditional library
system, the library resources cannot be simultaneously used since a book has to
be returned by the previous user who borrowed it before it can be issued to
another user.
vii.
Traditional libraries are
limited by storage space.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to design
and develop a mobile and web applications for the automation of library tasks
to improve the quality, speed, cost and effectiveness of delivering these
services for the School of Information and Communications Technology (SICT)
library center.
To be specific, it attempted to
satisfy the following objectives:
i.
To design a system that will lessen the time and effort of
the student in their transaction
ii. To quickly search for books needed
by the student
iii. To quickly reserve books
iv. To keep track of student reading
culture i.e. what they are reading, what they have read and so on.
v. To design a system that will enable
student read resource, books, articles available in the library at their
comfort with their smart phone, anytime anywhere.
vi. Provide a printing service where
student can upload document for printing remotely
vii. To provide rich educational articles
and journals for the students consumptions.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE
OF STUDY
In
this study, an automated library (e-library) is developed for the School of
Information and Communications Technology library of Federal University of
Technology Minna (SICT FUT Minna) to aid efficient delivery of library
services.
Without this system, the library
will not be referenced as an advanced library, especially for the fact that it
is situated in a university of technology. Also, it enables users use the
library services from their smart phones. It provides a platform for students
to train themselves before e-examination, reduce the rapid wear and tear of
library resource, and provide a means of reading books online. Finally, it
makes employees to be disciplined and in keeping track of payments and salary
disseminated by the school to the library workers.
1.5
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope
of this study includes the following:-
§ Searching and retrieval of library
resource materials
§ Attractive output and
input by providing a public interface for users.
§ Book reservation and borrowing
§ Remote document printing service
§ Online book reading and downloading
§ Article viewing and commenting
§ Design and implementation of a
hybrid mobile application
1.6
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
The proposed system has the following limitations:
§ Client
interface is just in English i.e. no other dialect alternative is accessible.
§ No
guest is allowed without being
registered in the system
§ The
working scheme is deployed locally on a machine in the Library premises
§ The
entire system is limited to just the School of Information and Communication
Technology.
1.7
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
§ Hybrid
Mobile Application: is one that is
composed with the same innovation utilized for sites and portable web executions,
and that is facilitated or runs inside a local compartment on a cell phone. It
is the marriage of web innovation and local execution.
§ E-examination:
it is the use of computers to perform
examination in place of the paper based examination.
§ Library: a library is a composed gathering of sources of data
and comparative assets, made available to a characterized group for reference
or obtaining/borrowing.
§ Automation:
the procedure, method, or system of operating or directing a process by highly
automatic means, as by electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a
minimum.
§ Information:
it is a collection of facts or processed data that is useful