Development of Automated Library System

Satanik Chakraborti
Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering
St. Thomas’ College of Engineering & Technology
Kolkata, India
Email id : [email protected]

Suchandra Chakraborty
Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering
St. Thomas’ College of Engineering & Technology
Khidderpore, Kolkata, India
Email id : [email protected]

Prodipta Chakraborty
Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering
St. Thomas’ College of Engineering & Technology
Khidderpore, Kolkata, India
Email id : [email protected]

1. Abstract
The Library is a fast-growing organism. The ancient
methods of maintaining it are no longer dynamic and
efficient. For expeditious retrieval and dissemination of 3. Introduction
information and better service for the clientele, the RFID is an abbreviation of Radio Frequency
application of modern techniques has become absolutely Identification that uses Radio waves for
indispensable. Radio frequency identification (RFID) communication and is rapidly gaining importance to
technology is an innovative automated library system for boost the existing systems. The current library
automatic identification and tracking of library material. systems are based on barcode technology but it's not
Currently, RFID applications range from book tracking the best option. The barcode system used in libraries
and stock management to theft detection and automatic is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. On the
book sorting. RFID technology is a dynamic link between
people, objects, and processes, and shortly, it plays a
opposite, the RFID system provides a solution to
prime role in data collection, identification as well as effectively collect, manage and distribute books[1].
analysis necessary for specific library operations. An In contrast to barcode technology, RFID systems do
automated library with the support of RFID technology not require line–of–sight access to the tag to retrieve.
would be a "self-service station" that demands the least The RFID is an automatic identification
intervention by the library personnel. Efforts are being technique[2] used for the fast transaction of books or
made to introduce self-service "check-in" and "check-out" journals using RFID tags and readers. The RFID
that avoid long delays in the delivery of library material technology helps in the fast issuing, returning, and
and also for achieving better efficiency in operations. In
reissuing of books. The technology helps indirect
this paper, an attempt has been made to describe different
components of the RFID system and how we implement
transaction of information from the tags to the
RFID tags that are embedded on books as well as user Personal computer of the librarian and in automatic
issue cards. These tags are scanned by the RFID readers updating of transactions in users account. The RFID
and the data is sent serially to the microcontroller that tags can be programmed with unique code. This
undergoes processing. This processed data is stored in a code gets read when passing through the RFID
personal computer that displays the whole information and reader. When a tag crosses the reader, the reader
can be retrieved later if necessary. It is found that this recognizes the unique code and updates the account
automation project will serve as a model for any library. of the user. Modern readers have the capability of
reading up to15 tags at a time[3]. Through this paper,
a sincere effort has been made to discuss different
2. Keywords components of an RFID system and its advantages
RFID, NodeMCU, HTML, and disadvantages in libraries along with some
Apache Server, XAMPP pictures to give an easy understanding of the
discussions carried out. In this project, the aim was a 13.56MHz RFID module that is based on the
mainly to develop the website section and integrate MFRC522[6] controller from NXP semiconductors.
the RFID cards with the website. This Hardware-
The module can support I2C, SPI, and UART and
Software Integration through RFID was the novelty
of this work which was shown in the project. It was normally is shipped with a n RFID card and key fob.
challenging and interesting too. It is commonly used in attendance systems and other
people/object identification applications. When a tag
passes through the field, the information stored on
I. Components Of RFID System the chip of the tag is interpreted by the reader and
sent to the server, which in turn, communicates with
RFID Tags - RFID tags are a type of tracking system
the integrated library system when the RFID system
that is electronically programmed with unique
information. is interfaced with it. RFID sensors (readers) are
• Readers - Sensors to query the tags installed at library exit gates. These sensors read the
• Antenna information on the tags and communicate that
• Server - on which the software that interfaces information to a server. The server, after checking
with the integrated library software is loaded . the database, turns on an alarm if the book is not
properly checked out. Here we can mainly
a. RFID tags
categorize the use of the reader as per its needs in the
RFID tags are a type of tracking system that library .
uses smart barcodes to identify items. RFID is
short for "radio frequency identification," and
as such, RFID tags utilize radio frequency
technology. This tag is equipped with a
programmable chip and an antenna. Each
paper-thin tag contains an engraved antenna
and a microchip. There are three types of tags:
"read-only", "WORM" and read/write". Tags
are "read-only" if the identification is encoded
at the time of manufacture and not
rewritable[4]. “WORM” (Write-Once Read-
Many) tags are programmed by the using Figure 2: RFID Reader
organization as per their requirements, but
without the ability to rewrite them later. There c. Server
are primarily three basic types- of RFID tags
that are familiar to most consumers who use the The software section mainly consists of a Localhost
technology: i) active, ii) passive, and iii) semi- website which is created based on HTML, PHP, CSS
passive. & JavaScript. This website helps to execute the
Hardware RFID process & smooth flow of library
management. This website has two sections namely-
Admin Portal & Student Portal for Library admin &
students respectively. Admin Portal contains several
web pages like- "Add Book", "Delete Book",
"Fines", "Student Information" etc. to manage the
library. On the other hand Student Portal contains
web pages like- "Issue Book", "Return Book",
"Books", "Issued Books", "Log In" etc. to issue and
return books and for other purposes. In the Backend,
the website is connected with a MySQL database to
store the information. The whole website is created
Figure 1: RFID Tags with the help of software named XAMPP. The
inbuilt Apache Server in the software has helped to
b. Readers host the website & the inbuilt database has helped to
Radio frequency identification readers are store the information. Basically, the website is a link
composed of a radio frequency module, a control between RFID and the database[5]. Each student and
unit, and an antenna to interrogate electronic tags via admin must have to create a profile in the respective
radio frequency (RF) communication. The RC522 is
portal to access it. The website is made for managing
the whole process easier.
ii. Library RFID

➢ In the Library RFID, we have used the

ESP8266 WiFi module and RC522 as
RFID Reader.
➢ As the Server, we are using Apache server
to connect the Localhost and
PHPMyAdmin as the Mysql database.
➢ Basically, we have used XAMPP[9]
software which has an inbuilt apache server
and database. For the Hardware Section,
we have used two ESP8266[10]; the first
one to identify the person and the other is
Figure 3: Apache Server for books.
➢ Each RFID card has a unique number
which we are using as the Library card
4. Process Flow number of students and books RFID tags
for books. We used RC522 as an RFID
i. Door-Side RFID reader.
➢ For the Hardware Section, we have used
• At first, when someone touches the RFID card two ESP8266; the first one to identify the
at the reader the RFID will sense the card. person and the other is for books.
• The unique no on the card will encode in binary ➢ Each RFID card has a unique number
and through the inbuilt antenna, it will send to which we are using as the Library card
the Arduino UNO. number of students and books RFID tags
• Then the Arduino[7] will match the number for books.
with its database. ➢ The data acquired by the RFID will store in
• If the number matched, Arduino, find that the the PHPMyAdmin localhost MySQL
user as an authorized user gives a green signal database section.
by the LED and the servo motor will rotate and ➢ Book RFID will store the book-related
the gate will open. information and Card RFID will store the
• Otherwise, it will give a signal by the RED person-related information.
LED that the user is unauthorized and the ➢ The tables are interconnected with each
servomotor[8] will not rotate and the gate will other through Foreign Keys.
remain closed. ➢ The whole database will be controlled by
the Apache server.

Figure 4: Flow Chart of Door-side RFID

Process
Figure 5: Flow Chart of Library RFID
Proces
5. Output

The whole process of managing the library through

RFID is described below-

➢ Students come towards the library door and

touch their RFID card(which will be their
library cards) at the door RFID.
➢ If he/she is an authorized user, a green LED
will blink& doors will open. Otherwise, Red
LED will blink and doors will remain
closed.
➢ Entering into the library he/she can search
book from the pc. If the book is available it
will show the Book name & ID, otherwise,
it will give a message that no book is found.
➢ To issue or return the book they have to log
in to their profile with their RFID card. If
he/she is a new user, he/she has to sign up
and register with their details. There is also
another option to change their password.
➢ Entering into their profile students can edit
their info, check their fines(if they have).
➢ To issue a book they have to collectthe book
from the shelf, open the issue window, touch
the book to the RFID. This will fetch the
book details and then they have to touch
their RFID card to the Card ID reader. After
clicking the ‘ISSUE’ button the book will be
issued in their name. An autogenerated
email will be sent to the user's email id
containing detailed information about the
issued book.
➢ One student can issue a maximum of 3
books against their names.
➢ If they need any book urgently and for more
than 15 days, they can make a request to the
admin. If the admin approves, the book will
be issued.
➢ The return process is the same as the issue
process.
➢ Besides this, there are other features
available on the website. Students can edit
their personal info, check the lists of books
available in the library, check their fines,
check the lists of issued books and their
return dates, etc.
➢ Students need to log out from their profile
after completion.

Figure 6: Flow Chart of the Process

6. Conclusion

There are few options available on our website for

security purposes. If any student forgets their
password they can update it. Besides this one student
can issue or return a book only through his/her
profile. We are also thinking about adding some
more features to make it more useful and efficient.
We are also thinking about making a mobile
application through which students can check
available books, library status, etc. from home.
RFID technology is not only emerging but also more
effective, convenient, and cost-efficient technology
in library security. This technology has slowly
begun to replace the traditional bar-code on library
items. If the price which is the only constraint is
reduced, the usage of RFID in various sections will
increase at a huge rate .

7. References
1. “RFID in Libraries: Automatic Identification and
Data Collection Technology for Library Documents”
By Timoshenko Igor, December 26th, 2018 (DOI:
10.5772/intechopen.82032)
2. “Development of an Open Source Automated
Library System with Book Recommendation System
for Small Libraries” by Kitti Puritat, Kannikar
,Intawong IEEE Paper(2020).

3. “The University Library Management System Based

on Radio Frequency Identification” by Jin Feng
Jhang Chang Ji WenIEEE Paper(2017).
4. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Vs Barcodes,
Electro-Com (Australia) Pty Ltd
5. SeemaVasistha"Roadmap for RFID Implementation
in Central Library"PECUniversity of Technology
6. RC522 RFID Reader-
http://wiki.sunfounder.cc/index.php?title=Mifare_R
C522_Module_RFID_Reader

7. Arduino Uno-Wikipedia-
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoUno

8. Servomotor-Wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servomotor

9. Xampp-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XAMPP

10. ESP8266 Wifi Module-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESP8266