Refinar

Library management system
for a school or college library

A catalogue with accession numbers, issue and return at the counter, due dates, fines and reservations, with every student and teacher already a member. Start from a working school app and describe how your library lends.

Start your library app

What it starts from

This page starts the School starting point. It has no library on day one: what it brings is every member the library needs, already signed in with the right role. The catalogue, the loans and the fines are what the pre-filled request adds.

See the School starting point

Already in the starting point

  • Students with admission number, class and section, and their parents.
  • Teachers, and roles for admin, teacher and view-only office staff.
  • A parent login that shows each family only their own children.
  • Fee charges and payments with receipt numbers, where a library fine can go.
  • Class lists imported from Excel, and announcements.

What the first request asks Refinar to add

  • A catalogue: title, author, ISBN, publisher, subject and shelf.
  • Copies with accession numbers, each available, issued, lost or withdrawn.
  • Issue and return with due dates per member type, and a limit per student.
  • An overdue list, and a fine per day added to the student's fees.
  • Reservations for books that are out, and the parent view of what a child has borrowed.

What the library gets

A catalogue you can search

Every title with author, ISBN, subject and shelf, and each physical copy under its accession number, so you know which copy is where.

Issue and return in seconds

Find the student, type the accession number, done. The due date follows the member: shorter for students, longer for teachers.

No new member registration

Students and teachers are already in the school app with their class, so the librarian never types a member card again.

Overdue books and fines

One list of what is late and by whom, and fines that land on the student's fee account with the other dues.

Reservations

A student can reserve a book that is out. When it comes back, it is held for them instead of going back on the shelf.

Parents in the loop

Through the school's parent login, a family sees what their child has borrowed and what is overdue.

The tables behind it

Real Postgres tables you own. The solid ones come with the starting point; the dashed ones are what the pre-filled request adds.

students

In the starting point
  • id, name, admission_no
  • class_id → classes
  • status, joined_on
  • user_id → user

teachers · guardians

In the starting point
  • staff members who borrow
  • parents linked to their children

fee_charges

In the starting point
  • student_id → students
  • title, amount, due_date
  • amount_paid

A fine is a charge here, so it shows with the student's other dues.

books

Added by your first request
  • id
  • title, author, isbn
  • publisher, subject
  • shelf

book_copies

Added by your first request
  • id
  • book_id → books
  • accession_no
  • status: available | issued | lost | withdrawn

loans

Added by your first request
  • id
  • copy_id → book_copies
  • student_id or teacher_id
  • issued_on, due_on, returned_on
  • fine_charge_id → fee_charges

reservations

Added by your first request
  • book_id → books
  • student_id → students
  • reserved_at, held_until

How it works in 3 steps

  1. 01

    Start from this page

    Press Start your library app. The School starting point is picked and your lending rules are in the first request, ready to edit.

  2. 02

    Your app runs in about a minute

    Refinar creates the school app with sign-in and a real database, then adds the catalogue, loans and fines in a live preview.

  3. 03

    Import your books, then launch

    Bring the accession register in from Excel, ask for more in plain sentences, and press Go live. The code and the database are yours.

Who it suits

A school or college library, where every borrower is a student or a member of staff the school already knows. That is where starting from a school app saves work.

A public library with walk-in members, interlibrary loans and MARC records needs a dedicated library system. The school records add little there; describe your members in the request instead, or choose software built for public libraries.

Questions

What is a library management system?

Software that keeps a library's catalogue and its loans: which books it has, which copy is with whom, when it is due back, and what is overdue. Larger systems add acquisitions, journals and an online catalogue for the public.

Can it use barcodes or accession numbers?

Every copy gets an accession number, and a USB barcode scanner that types the number into the search box works at the counter. Printing barcode labels is a request you can add.

How are fines worked out?

By the rule in your request, such as 1 rupee per day after the due date, charged to the student's fee account when the book comes back. Change the rule in one sentence.

Can students search the catalogue themselves?

Ask for it: a search page for signed-in students showing which titles are on the shelf. It is not in the pre-filled request.

Building a library system as a college project?

See the library management system project page: features, an ER diagram and a viva checklist.

How much does it cost?

Building the app and changing it use credits from your Refinar plan, and hosting is part of going live. There is no fee per student or per book. The details are on the pricing page.

More starting points

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