CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A library can be defined as a room or building where books are kept and referenced. It is an area of multifarious activity on book management. A library as a repository of knowledge, houses collections of books, both reference and general, technical reports, periodicals, journals, conference proceedings and the likes. Consequently, truth and knowledge can be found and acquired from the library through the aforementioned sources. The information contents of any of the collections can be recorded on microfilms, audiotapes, microchips and other materials traditionally kept in the library, which is charged with the responsibility of acquiring, organizing, maintaining, and judicial circulation of the books and other library materials through the various sections of the library, for efficient use of the library by the users.

The acquisition, cataloguing, bindery and circulation sections of the library undertake the acquiring, organizing, maintaining and circulation of the books/library materials respectively. When the library through the acquisition section of the library acquires a book, its record is taken and accession number is given to the book after which the book will be sent to cataloguing section of the library. Under this section, the book will be carefully studied and given catalogue number before it will be sent to circulation section of the library as the case may be. The circulation section is responsible for circulation or distribution of books.

This section also arranges the consulted books in the shelves. There are other sections like reference section, which provides reference questions and bibliographic service, and serial section where periodical, journals and related materials are kept. The library also houses special collections and also operates circulationcontrol in which books are lent to users. In fact it is indeed a place of multifarious activities on book management.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

In human endeavors, there are a lot of developments, researches, and discoveries, which result in multifarious production of publications and library materials. These have brought increase in complexity of library management system and its operations.

Based on these, a number of problems are facing the library management systems, which include:

(i) Unnecessary delay in library processes.

(ii) High cost of staff recruitment and maintenance.