Library Management & Book Tracking System

A web-based application for managing library operations across EduLib Schools Consortium.

Features

• Book Management: Add, edit, delete books with ISBN, title, author, genre, and quantity tracking.
• Student Management: Register students with personal and school information.
• Borrowing & Returning: Track book loans with automatic due dates and overdue detection.
• Reporting: Generate reports on most borrowed books, overdue items, and books per school.
• User Interface: Clean, Bootstrap-based web interface suitable for non-technical users.
• REST API (for testing): A lightweight JSON API is available under /api for books, students, borrowings and statistics.

Technology Stack

• Backend: Python Flask
• Database: SQLite (easily switchable to PostgreSQL)
• Frontend: HTML, CSS (Bootstrap), Jinja2 templates
• Forms: Flask-WTF
• Migrations: Flask-Migrate

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd library_management_system

2. Create virtual environment:

   python -m venv venv

3. Activate virtual environment:

   • Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
   • Linux/Mac: source venv/bin/activate

4. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

5. Initialize database (run migrations):

   set FLASK_APP=run.py; flask db init; flask db migrate -m "initial"; flask db upgrade

6. Run the application:

   python run.py

   Access the app at http://localhost:5000

REST API (Testing)

For development/testing there is a simple JSON API registered under the blueprint api and available at /api.

Important: The API was made public (no authentication) for testing purposes — do not leave it public in production.

Available endpoints (examples):

• Books

  • GET /api/books — list books (query params: available_only=true, genre=...)
  • GET /api/books/<id> — get book details
  • POST /api/books — create book (JSON body: isbn, title, author, quantity, optional genre)
  • PUT /api/books/<id> — update book
  • DELETE /api/books/<id> — delete book

• Students

  • GET /api/students — list students
  • GET /api/students/<id> — student details
  • POST /api/students — create student (email, full_name, class_name, school)
  • PUT /api/students/<id> — update
  • DELETE /api/students/<id> — delete

• Borrowings

  • GET /api/borrowings — list borrowings (query params: status, student_id, book_id)
  • POST /api/borrowings — create borrowing (student_id, book_id)
  • POST /api/borrowings/<id>/return — mark borrowing returned

• Statistics

  • GET /api/statistics — library stats (total books, copies, active borrowings, overdue, etc.)

Quick curl examples (PowerShell)

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:5000/api/books" -Method GET
$body = @{
  isbn = '978-0-123456-78-9'
  title = 'Test Book'
  author = 'Test Author'
  quantity = 5
} | ConvertTo-Json

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "http://localhost:5000/api/books" -Method POST -Body $body -ContentType 'application/json'

Using Postman or Thunder Client

• Postman: create requests to http://localhost:5000/api/... and inspect responses.
• Thunder Client (VS Code extension): test endpoints directly inside VS Code.

Usage

• Navigate to the home page and use the menu to manage books, students, borrowings, and view reports.
• Add books by providing ISBN, title, author, etc.
• Register students with their details.
• Borrow books by selecting student and available book.
• Return books from the borrowings list.
• View reports for insights into library usage.

Testing

Run unit tests:

python -m unittest tests/test_app.py

Admin Panel Testing

For testing the admin panel and protected features, use the default admin account below:

• Email: admin@edulib.com
• Password: admin123

Note: These credentials are for development and testing purposes only. Make sure to change or remove default credentials before deploying the system to production.

Notes & Cautions

• The API endpoints are currently public for testing. Before deploying to production, re-enable authentication on the API (restore @login_required / admin checks) and secure the app.
• The API blueprint is defined in app/api.py and registered in app/__init__.py.

SDLC Documentation (Waterfall Model)

1. Requirements Analysis

• Functional requirements: Book CRUD, Student CRUD, Borrowing/Returning, Reporting
• Non-functional: Easy UI, SQLite database, Python/Flask backend

2. System Design

• Database schema: Books, Students, Borrowings tables
• Architecture: Flask MVC with templates

3. Implementation

• Code structure: app/ with models.py, routes.py, forms.py, templates/ and api.py

4. Testing

• Unit tests for models and key functions
• Manual testing via web UI, admin panel, and API

5. Deployment

• Switch to PostgreSQL for production, secure API, and configure proper secret keys and deploy behind HTTPS

Future Enhancements

• Google Books API integration for auto-filling book details
• Email notifications for overdue books
• Barcode scanning for books