A Library Circulation System for City and Special Libraries

Abstract

Purpose - The aim of this research is to model and implement a software system for library circulation, so that all requirements of city and special libraries for electronic business with the library users can be fulfilled. Design/methodology/approach - Object-oriented methodology is used for modelling of information systems. Modelling is carried out in the CASE tool that supports the Unified Modelling Language (UML 2.0). The software architecture of the system is based on the software components and web services. Findings - The result is a software system for library circulation. The application of the system supports the work with the local database (intranet), as well as with the remote database (internet). Also the application supports the work with different library formats (UNIMARC, MARC21 et al.). Research limitations/implications - The system is integrated into the BISIS system so that communication with the system for cataloguing is carried out via the text server of the BISIS system. For this reason integration into the other library software systems requires an additional programming. This limitation can be solved through implementation of the software package for communication with the system for cataloguing. In this case, the integration into another library system should require only the implementation of the method of the corresponding interface for work with bibliographic records. Originality/value - The contribution of the paper is in the system architecture that can be configured for work in the local intranet, as well as on the internet, and that is independent of the library record format. Also, the architecture enables integration of the application in different library systems. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.