Run the library catalogue and circulation

The Library module covers the catalogue, electronic resources and day-to-day issuing and returns.

Catalogue

Books

Open Library → Catalogue → Books. A book record holds:

• Title, subtitle and authors (add author biographies inline where useful)
• ISBN, publisher and publication year
• Media type and library format
• Category (create categories inline)
• Cover image
• Copies — add a number of physical copies when creating the book

Each copy is a separate item with its own status, so two copies of the same title can be out to different readers. Keep the copies section current: a lost copy should be marked, not silently deleted.

eResources

Open Library → Catalogue → eResources for digital material. Each e-resource has a title, media type, format, category, authors and a view link. You control whether readers can view the resource, download it, or both, and whether bulk download is allowed.

Circulation

Issue a book

Open Library → Circulation → Issue Book. The page walks you through:

1. Select a book (search by title or ISBN).
2. Select a copy — only copies marked available can be issued.
3. Select a recipient — a student or a staff member.
4. Set the return date (defaults to 14 days).

Confirm, and the copy status changes to issued. The reader sees the loan in their portal.

Issues and returns

Open Library → Circulation → Issues to see every loan with its book, copy, recipient, issue date, due date and status. Use it to:

• find overdue loans — filter by due date
• return a copy when the book comes back (the copy becomes available again)
• check a reader's borrowing history

Scan the copy's barcode at the desk when issuing and returning — it is faster than searching and avoids issuing the wrong copy.

Knowledge

The Knowledge group stores your school's own reference material:

• Knowledge Assets — documents, policies, past papers and guides
• Galleries — image collections for events, campus and marketing

These are searchable by staff and can be shared with the school community depending on their settings.