Computerized library system

INTRODUCTION
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
INTRODUCTION
In the last decade of the 20th century the number of people accessing the internet worldwide probably doubled every 10 months. By 2000 it had reached almost every country in the world. The internet is the biggest and most important computer network, in fact, by 2000 it had reached almost every country in the world. In 2002 it was used by an estimated 561 million people. Nowadays, using internet is one of the most efficient way of researching, not to mention the vast arrays of every imaginable things one wish to do with and through it. You do not need to turn pages to find what you are looking for. It is a very effective way to conserve time when you want to access minute to complex information at the comfort of your own home, whether that be about places, people or even the latest news around the world.

The most number of users of internet are students from grade school to collegiate level. Many students nowadays depends their home works on internet because everything is almost there. Whether it is about mathematics, history, science and even religion. But there is always some moment that internet is not available, like, for example, the internet connection in schools is unstable and you can’t browse pages conveniently, or the electricity is out and you can’t use any computer. One study even found reliable information on only 27 percent of sites used for research by middle and high school students. That means almost three out of four sites were unreliable. Even before the advent of computers and internet or the web, they already exist within our reach and has been with the civilization from time immemorial --the library. It has always been a place that can give you reliable and evidenced based facts where wide arrays of information can be accessed, that is, even the electricity is out or you do not have a stable connection.

Grolier Encyclopedia defines library as a room or building with a collection of books, and often computers, periodicals and audio and video material. Most libraries work the same way and have the same rules. Users are expected to be quiet and to take good care of the books, periodicals, and other materials. The most important part of any library –apart from the books and other resources themselves- is the librarian. The librarian is always there to help visitors find the books they need and to guide them through the library system and the catalog. The titles of all the books in a library are contained in a catalog. It used to be a system of cards arranged alphabetically in drawers, but many libraries now have computerized catalogs. School libraries and many public libraries use a system called the Sears List of Subject Headings. Large public libraries and most colleges use the Library of Congress subject headings. A standard list of categories enables all librarians to classify books in the same way. In the Philippines, students are still widely encouraged to make use of the available resources of the library by their teachers and professors by giving students research studies, reports and assignments that would necessitate them to worm their heads through the pages of the books and other research materials. Much as researches are encouraged, inevitably losses of borrowed materials are still prevalent. The school library at John J. Russell Memorial High School, a secondary school found in the locale of Sibul San Miguel, Bulacan is not exempted from this scenario. Its former name was Sibul Springs National High School. One of the major concerns of the school librarian is keeping the records of the borrowed books and recording the transactions done by the students. Hence, this prompts the conduct of the study of the researchers, to make a computerized library system, making things easier for the librarian. Utilization of a computerized library system is an advantage for the librarian as well as for the students. Library transaction will become faster compared to manual library system. The librarian may monitor the books easier. The librarian can readily identify which books are missing or are borrowed and what are those that are on the shelves. This proposed system is an offline access of library system. It doesn’t need to have an internet or web connection to run the program. It focuses on library transactions including borrowing and returning of books. The librarian doesn’t have to use card catalog, the librarian only needs to search the title, or author of the book listed in the system. This would innovate and speed up transactions as well improves management of the library house holding.