CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The MSU-IIT Integrated Developmental School is still using the manual borrowing

management system in its school library and laboratories. This manual management system still

exists in many school libraries and laboratories but there are still number of disadvantages that

are wrought from the utilization of this manual system. One of the major disadvantages of using

the manual borrowing system is that it is highly vulnerable to human error that decreases the

efficiency of the school’s learning equipment like projectors, books and other valuable school

properties in a short period of time. The utilization of this method is also quite inconvenient for

the librarians and lab technician because it does not have an efficient and reliable notification

system. The poor notification system that the existing manual management system possesses is

usually the reason why most of the borrowed items are misplaced or not returned. Moreover,

there are also some apparent issues with the reliability of the manual management system's data

storage capacity. A system’s data storage capacity is the most critical problematic aspect in

utilizing the manual borrowing system for it practically holds whole the system together. The

manual management system uses the traditional method of generating and storing records by

printing or writing these data in paper is which is both labour-intensive and time-consuming.
 These are just some of the complications that make the manual borrowing management

system inconvenient for both the students and the staffs that are using and maintaining these

school properties which are practically used every day for their respective purposes in the

academe. This concern influenced the researchers to conduct a study that aims to not only lessen

and resolve various problems that the current manual borrowing management system has, but

also to improve the current system and the scope of its services.

The study will conduct a series of methods in developing an application that will be

applied in the MSU-IIT Integrated Developmental School campus. The study is basically

automating the school's existing manual borrowing management system by redeveloping it as an

application with a new SMS-notification system installed. The proposed system is an application

that allows the staff who is in charge to monitor the inventory how much and what items are

available, lab and library booking, number of equipment borrowed/returned (who & when),

generate reports, quickly access important information and send SMS-notifications to the

borrower/s.

There are also past studies and products that could be related to this study. One of these is

the School Management System of the company “Briks”. Their school ERP is a web based

School Management System that enables school to use and cooperate many of integrated

interrelated modules and manage the administration of school efficiently. The ERP simplifies

and automates schools administration process including the library and laboratory management.

The School Management System is accurate and reliable and can be conveniently accessed from

school intranet as well as from the public internet. It is fully browser-based school management

system which also includes virtual campus which can be linked with school portal and contains

powerful online access to bring parents, teachers and students on a common interactive platform.
Yet another advantage of the ERP system is that it runs on minimal hardware and easily fits in

the budget of schools. In ERP users have role based access rights which tightly models existing

schools hierarchy. The School ERP is also totally customizable according to the needs of school.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

MSU-IIT IDS is one of the schools that are still using manual borrowing and notification

system which is highly vulnerable to human error that could usually cause a series of more errors

that may slow down or decrease the productivity of the laboratory and library’s services.

Furthermore, in this study, these are the existing problems the researchers would like to

address:

1. Poor and inaccurate manual penalty notification.

2. Damage and loss of both library and laboratory equipment.

3. Unstable and inefficient data storage.

4. Unorganized and manual inventory system

5. Inefficiency of physical library cards.

1.3 Objectives of the Study:

The objectives of the study are to include the following:

a. To determine and state the problems related in the existing manual borrowing

management;
 b. To design and develop an application that can help save time for both students

and school personnel in borrowing school properties and equipment;

c. To develop a system that will keep borrowed school properties and materials

records in paper less;

d. To develop a system that allows the school personnel to generate the equipment

inventory easily;

e. To test the performance of the system in the IDS campus.

1.5 Scope and Limitations

This study covers the development of an application that automates the existing manual

borrowing system within the MSU-IIT IDS library and laboratories only. This study will help the

library and laboratories achieve more systematic borrowing system. The proposed system can

monitor records of borrowed equipment in laboratories as well as the borrowed books in the

library. It can generate summary results and reports about the borrowed school properties.

The system will also include sending notification via SMS to students regarding their

remaining time before it exceeds the time limit to lessen the possibility of paying a fine. In

addition, this study includes managing the penalization of students who fail to return the book in

the allotted time limit. This includes the database of the students’ info: ID number and contact

number. For the library, only fiction and circulation books are allowed to be borrowed therefore

these are just the books that will be included in the inventory of books within the database of the

Java application. The study would also exclude the inventory and monitoring of the reference

books in the library because The "Room-Use-Only" rule of the reference collection is strictly
implemented by the Library's staff and respectfully followed by the IDS students. Moreover,

statistics of library users, number of all books in the library, and etc. are no longer part of the

study.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study will develop an application which facilitates a fast, accessible and user-

friendly that caters a systematic process in borrowing school properties and equipment. It will

help both students and school personnel of MSU-IIT IDS school library and laboratories to ease

the problems and inconveniences wrought by the current manual system through this application.

Moreover, the notification system via SMS will help prevent the possibility of keeping the

borrowed book and equipment for a long period that may lead in paying fine.

The school personnel or the operator would be able to keep in track with the number of

books and equipment in the laboratory and library’s inventory and their availability. This

software is also responsible for monitoring the penalties from using the book beyond its allotted

time limit.

Lastly, this study will promote a more systematic process of borrowing books in the

library and laboratory saving time and energy during the process.
1.6 Conceptual Framework

Figure 1.1 Conceptual Framework. Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual framework which

represents the relationship of the gathered information, concepts and theories.

These organized data will help guide the researchers on their next steps and procedures

on the said study. As presented on the illustration, conflicts in the existing manual borrowing

system are evident and this has led to many inconveniences for both the staff and the student.

Because of the poor notification system of the MSU-IIT IDS, one of the conflicts encountered by

the student incudes the penalties for their overdue books and laboratory tools and equipment.

Along with these ideas and concepts, the researchers have come up with the idea to conduct a
development on the current borrowing system that will help reduce human effort and give

convenience to the students as well as the school staffs.

The Automated Borrowing Management Library and Laboratory with Notification

System via SMS is a vb.net application that will manage all the lending procedures in the MSU-

IIT IDS library and laboratories. The system also includes a notification system via SMS that

will be implemented to minimize the overdue penalty. A more systemized and convenient

lending management system will be implemented as soon as the development of the application

is completed.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Below are some terms and their definition in helping the readers understand this study in

better way.

Inventory. A complete list of items such as goods, books, or property.

Laboratory. A facility equipped for scientific experiments, research, activities and

manufacture of drugs and chemicals

Laboratory Tools. Tools that are used by the laboratory users for experiment and research in a

laboratory

Library. A building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films

and recorded music for people to read, borrow, or refer to.

Notification System. A combination of software and hardware that provides a means of

delivering a message to a set of recipients. 

Program. An organized list of instructions that, when executed, causes the computer to behave a

predetermined manner, without programs, computers are useless.

Prototype. A first, typical or preliminary model of something, especially a machine, from which

other forms are developed or copied. (Google)

SMS. Stands for Short Message Service and is also commonly referred to as a "text message".

System. It is a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting

network.

Track. This is to locate or find something/someone from its location.