Design Library Management System
What is a Library Management System?
A Library Management System is software used to manage the operations of a library, such as tracking books, managing inventory, handling book checkouts and returns, maintaining user records, and enforcing due dates and fines.
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It helps librarians and users efficiently organize and access library resources.
In this chapter, we will explore the low-level design of a library management system in detail.
Lets start by clarifying the requirements:
1. Clarifying Requirements
Before starting the design, it's important to ask thoughtful questions to uncover hidden assumptions and better define the scope of the system.
Here is an example of how a conversation between the candidate and the interviewer might unfold:
Candidate: Can a book have multiple copies, and should each copy be tracked individually?
Interviewer: Yes, a book can have multiple copies, and each copy should be treated as a separate entity
Candidate: Should we support different user roles, such as librarian and members, with different permissions?
Interviewer: Yes. Librarians can manage the book inventory, issue/return books, and handle user accounts. Members can search for books, borrow them, and view their own history.
Candidate: Do we need to enforce borrowing limits, such as maximum books per user or due dates for returns?
Interviewer: Yes, each member should be allowed to borrow up to a fixed number of books (say 5), and each book should have a due date, after which fines can be applied.
Candidate: Should the system support searching and filtering books by title, author, genre, etc.?
Interviewer: Yes, the system should allow users to search and filter books using various criteria such as title, author, genre, or ISBN.
Candidate: Should we maintain a borrowing history for each member?
Interviewer: Yes, the system should maintain borrowing and return history for every member for tracking purpose.
After gathering the details, we can summarize the key system requirements.
1.1 Functional Requirements
- Support user registration with different roles (librarian, member)
- Allow librarians to add, update, and remove books from the catalog.
- Track multiple physical copies of the same book as separate entities.
- Librarians can manage the book catalog and issue/return books
- Members can borrow and return books
- Enable members to search for books by title, author, and ISBN.
- Limit maximum active borrowed books per user and due dates.
- Fines should be calculated for overdue returns.
- Maintain a transaction log for all borrow and return activities
1.2 Non-Functional Requirements
- Modularity: The system should follow object-oriented principles with clear separation between modules like user management and catalog management
- Extensibility: The design should be easy to extend to support future features
- Maintainability: The system should be easy to test, debug, and enhance over time
After the requirements are clear, lets identify the core entities/objects we will have in our system.