Library Management Database

[nephilim]

Due to a whole heap of budget cuts in our area, our Library has had to drastically reduce its outgoings, and one of the ways it wants to do that is by changing from the current library program (Micro Librarian) which is costing £550 a year to an Access Database which would cost us £0.

I am trying to set up a database that would work not for us, but for other schools also, which will be freely available for download when ALPHAs and BETAs are ready and when finished, but I was wondering what would actually be needed.

I know a Students Database, Staff Database and a Book Database would be needed, but what else? Also if anyone is good with access that would be fantastic if they could offer some help as I am trying to remember my Oracle Databasing days but failing!

Oh and it will be for Access 2003 as thats what we are running

[Ric_]

There are some open source solutions out there which it might be worth hunting down and trying out.

Some I found:
* Koha - Open Source ILS - Integrated Library System
* Welcome: Evergreen open source library system
* emilda.org | Open Source Library Management

There's no point re-inventing the wheel after all.

[elsiegee40]

Due to a whole heap of budget cuts in our area, our Library has had to drastically reduce its outgoings, and one of the ways it wants to do that is by changing from the current library program (Micro Librarian) which is costing £550 a year to an Access Database which would cost us £0.

I am trying to set up a database that would work not for us, but for other schools also, which will be freely available for download when ALPHAs and BETAs are ready and when finished, but I was wondering what would actually be needed.

I know a Students Database, Staff Database and a Book Database would be needed, but what else? Also if anyone is good with access that would be fantastic if they could offer some help as I am trying to remember my Oracle Databasing days but failing!

Oh and it will be for Access 2003 as thats what we are running

I inherited a very rough and ready access database from a predecessor. It's only for cataloging books and doesn't do the issue part. I'll happily email it to you as a starter if you PM your email address to me. It really needs some work doing to do it, but I haven't had time to sort it out and tend to manage it with ad-hoc sql queries as my sql ids good!

[nephilim]

I have taken yours Elsiegee and I am going to expand it. I will try to add in the following:

Add pupils
Pupil Loans
Overdue Books and Fee's. (This will be done with an SQL Query)

When its ready for an Alpha test, who would like to test run the system?

[elsiegee40]

I have taken yours Elsiegee and I am going to expand it. I will try to add in the following:

Add pupils
Pupil Loans
Overdue Books and Fee's. (This will be done with an SQL Query)

When its ready for an Alpha test, who would like to test run the system?

I'll give it a go! It'll be ages until I get the money for Junior Librarian!

[Sylv3r]

I guess we are lucky in this respect - we don't have a library!

[jcollings]

I guess we are lucky in this respect - we don't have a library!

Blimey that's terrible - how big are school are you?

[Sylv3r]

Blimey that's terrible - how big are school are you?

1400 students.

OfSTED felt it was a cause for concern when we were inspected recently, the students don't seem to miss the library.... well they certainly don't miss the librarian!

[john]

I guess we are lucky in this respect - we don't have a library!

Must admit I did know of a couple of schools down south that had got rid of librarys and must admit that the use of them in the schools ive worked at is so low if it was a teaching subject that wasn't core / a specialist room that got that little use it would have been dropped or re-allocated they are very much a dying thing now a days with everyone loving PCs. English departments can get the Fiction books and the reference stuff split between departments and then Google seems to cover the rest.

[elsiegee40]

My daughter says her Grammar school library is awful. A large number of rather dated books... both fiction and non-fiction. She says they rarely seem to get new stock in. as a result she never uses it.

In my small school, I have nearly 6000 books in the Library. As our age range is 3 months to 11 years, they cover a pretty large range! Everything from board books up. I have to admit that while most of the kids are pretty keen up to Year 5, in Year 6 they are reluctant borrowers. i think there are toomany other interests.

My daughter (15) loves reading, but uses the public library not the school one. My teenage son, reads but again never borrows from the school library.

[jcollings]

Must admit I did know of a couple of schools down south that had got rid of librarys and must admit that the use of them in the schools ive worked at is so low if it was a teaching subject that wasn't core / a specialist room that got that little use it would have been dropped or re-allocated they are very much a dying thing now a days with everyone loving PCs. English departments can get the Fiction books and the reference stuff split between departments and then Google seems to cover the rest.

I guess we're lucky then because our library is used all the time and we have a fantastic LRC manager. It's open from 8.15 in the morning to 6 in the evening and whenever I go in there are groups using it for ICT, homework, reading etc. Our students would certainly miss it if we were to shut it down.

I disagree that you can redistriubute it - our LRC manager runs many initiatives that English simply would not have time to do which really pull students in.

Having somewhere in school where students can hang out and be encouraged to read (something many boys particularly don't do) is an excellent facility and one we'd really struggle without.

[nephilim]

Right I have added the main parts in, its now a case of getting it all to link, Also trying to work out how to return books on the system. Lol

When its done it will be ready to go!

PM Me for email addresses to start sending it out too for Alpha testing and possible re-coding!

[elsiegee40]

I assume you've "lost" our school logo... you can lose that awful bright yellow front end too!

[p858snake]

Won't using a access database cause issue when multiple people access it at once...

[nephilim]

Ok, its ready for testing. I have changed the base program that elsiegee sent me. It is available for download and testing Here.

Feel free to tell me of any bugs or errors you spot as you come along them!

Regards

Carl