Library Management System

A Frappe-based Library Management System for managing library articles, members, memberships, and issue/return transactions.

Overview

The Library Management System is a custom Frappe application designed to provide the core functionality required to manage a library.

The system allows library staff to:

• Manage library articles and their availability
• Register and manage library members
• Create and manage library memberships
• Configure loan periods and borrowing limits
• Issue and return articles
• Track article availability
• Validate active memberships before issuing articles
• Enforce the maximum number of articles a member can have issued
• Publish selected articles on the website

The application also includes a public-facing article catalogue where published articles can be viewed.

Features

Article Management

Articles contain information such as:

• Article name
• Author
• ISBN
• Publisher
• Description
• Image
• Publication status
• Availability status

Articles have two separate states:

• Published — controls whether the article is visible on the website
• Available / Issued — tracks whether the article is currently available for borrowing

Library Members

The system maintains library member records containing:

• First name
• Last name
• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Linked Frappe user account

Each library member can be associated with a Frappe user, allowing the system to connect website activity with a specific member.

Library Memberships

Memberships define the period during which a member is allowed to borrow articles.

The system:

• Validates active memberships
• Prevents overlapping active memberships
• Automatically calculates the membership end date
• Uses the configured loan period from Library Settings

Library Transactions

Library Transactions record article issue and return activities.

Supported transaction types:

• Issue
• Return

When an issue transaction is submitted:

Article → Issued

When a return transaction is submitted:

Article → Available

The system also handles transaction cancellation by reversing the corresponding article status.

Borrowing Limits

The system supports a configurable maximum number of articles that a member can have issued at one time.

The limit is configured through Library Settings.

For example:

Maximum Number of Issued Articles: 10

Before an article is issued, the system checks the member's current number of outstanding issues.

Membership Validation

Before an article can be issued, the system verifies that the member has a valid submitted membership covering the transaction date.

If no valid membership exists, the transaction is rejected.

Website

Published articles are available through the public website.

Example:

/articles

Each published article can have its own detail page containing information about the article.

Website visibility is controlled independently from article availability.

For example:

Published	Status	Website
Yes	Available	Visible and available
Yes	Issued	Visible but unavailable
No	Available	Not publicly listed
No	Issued	Not publicly listed

Technology Stack

• Frappe Framework
• Python
• MariaDB
• Redis
• JavaScript
• HTML/CSS
• Jinja Templates

Project Structure

library_management/
├── library_management/
│   ├── library_management/
│   │   ├── doctype/
│   │   │   ├── article/
│   │   │   ├── library_member/
│   │   │   ├── library_membership/
│   │   │   ├── library_settings/
│   │   │   └── library_transaction/
│   │   └── ...
│   └── ...
├── hooks.py
├── modules.txt
├── patches.txt
└── pyproject.toml

Core DocTypes

DocType	Purpose
Article	Stores library article information and availability
Library Member	Stores member information and linked user accounts
Library Membership	Manages member borrowing eligibility
Library Settings	Stores configurable library settings
Library Transaction	Records article issue and return transactions

Installation

This application is intended to run inside a Frappe Bench environment.

1. Get the application

From your Frappe Bench:

cd ~/frappe-bench/apps
git clone git@github.com:muthomijnewton/Library-Management.git library_management

2. Install the application

From the bench directory:

cd ~/frappe-bench
bench --site library.localhost install-app library_management

3. Migrate the site

bench --site library.localhost migrate

4. Start the development server

bench start

The application can then be accessed through the configured Frappe site.

For a local development setup using the Frappe development server:

http://library.localhost:8000

Configuration

Library-wide settings are managed through the Library Settings DocType.

Current configurable settings include:

Loan Period

Defines the number of days for which a membership remains active.

Maximum Number of Issued Articles

Defines the maximum number of articles a member can have issued simultaneously.

Transaction Workflow

Issue

Member
   ↓
Valid Membership?
   ↓
Within Borrowing Limit?
   ↓
Article Available?
   ↓
Create Issue Transaction
   ↓
Submit Transaction
   ↓
Article → Issued

Return

Issued Article
   ↓
Create Return Transaction
   ↓
Submit Transaction
   ↓
Article → Available

Cancellation

Cancelling an Issue transaction restores the article to:

Available

Cancelling a Return transaction restores the article to:

Issued

Development

The application is developed using the Frappe Framework and follows the standard Frappe application structure.

Run migrations after DocType or schema changes:

bench --site library.localhost migrate

Start the development environment with:

bench start

Testing

Frappe tests can be executed using:

bench --site library.localhost run-tests --app library_management

Specific DocType tests can also be run as needed during development.

Future Improvements

Potential future improvements include:

• Website-based article issuing
• Member self-service pages
• Article search and filtering
• Borrowing history
• Due-date tracking
• Overdue notifications
• Email notifications
• Library reports and dashboards
• Improved website interface
• Role-based member portal
• Automated tests for additional business scenarios

Project Status

The project currently includes the core library management functionality:

• Article management
• Library member management
• Membership management
• Library settings
• Issue and return transactions
• Transaction cancellation handling
• Membership validation
• Borrowing-limit validation
• Public article catalogue

Further development will extend the website functionality and member self-service capabilities.

Author

Newton Muthomi

GitHub: @muthomijnewton

License

This project is developed for educational and portfolio purposes.