Development of the Greenwell Matongo Community Library Management Information System (LMIS)

Abstract

An automated Library management information system is a library system that automates the manual library system to assist librarians in managing a library. Applying the prototype methodology, this project developed an automated management system for the Greenwell Matongo Community library in Namibia. In order to achieve the project aim, the developers applied the prototype methodology and conducted semi structured interviews gather user requirements from the project population. The population consisted of librarians, the library users and stakeholders. The developed system allows for add/update of library users and resources including books. The system also allows for users search for books and renews books online. They can recommend / suggest missing books by using the system suggestion tool. Librarians are able to view issued and returned book and also use the system to payments for late returned or lost books. Considering that more functionality could be added to the system, it is recommended future development of similar systems or a higher version should implement barcode scanning feature, provide for automatic notification through SMS or USSD technology.