Smart Library Management System

Overview

The Smart Library Management System is a web application I'm developing to assist libraries manage their daily operations more efficiently. The concept started from noticing how frustrating it may be to visit a library only to discover that the book you need is already borrowed, with no convenient method to find out or reserve it ahead of time. This system will allow members to search for books and make reservations, while librarians handle loans, returns, and penalties using a simple web interface. The project will be constructed in phases during the semester, starting with the core foundation and gradually adding functionality until a fully functional system is delivered.

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Key Features

• User Authentication — Secure login and registration for Members and Librarians
• Book Catalogue — Search, browse, add, edit, and remove books
• Borrow & Return — Librarians can issue and process book loans
• Reservations — Members can reserve books that are currently borrowed
• Fine Calculation — Overdue fines are automatically calculated and displayed on screen
• Admin Summary — Simple dashboard showing total books, active loans, and members

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Language Choice and Key Design Decisions

The system is implemented in Java using Spring Boot for the backend. Java was chosen because it is the language I am most comfortable with and Spring Boot makes it straightforward to build REST APIs with built-in security and JPA support.

Key design decisions in the code:

• UserAccount is an abstract base class that both Member and Librarian extend, keeping authentication logic in one place
• Fine is composed within Loan because a fine cannot exist without the loan that generated it
• The DatabaseConnection Singleton ensures only one database connection exists at any time
• The BookBuilder provides a clean, validated way to construct Book objects with many optional fields

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Creational Pattern Rationales

Pattern	Class	Rationale
Simple Factory	UserFactory	Centralises user creation so all Member and Librarian objects are created in one place
Factory Method	NotificationCreator	Different notification types are created by specific subclasses without changing the base interface
Abstract Factory	AccountFactory	Ensures Member and Librarian accounts are always created with compatible welcome notifications
Builder	BookBuilder	Books have many optional fields; the Builder allows step-by-step construction with validation
Prototype	BookPrototypeCache	Common book templates can be cloned and customised instead of being configured from scratch each time
Singleton	DatabaseConnection	Only one database connection should exist throughout the application to prevent conflicts

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Project Structure

/src/main/java/domain               — Core class implementations
/src/main/java/creational_patterns  — All six creational design patterns
/src/test/java/tests                — Unit tests for all patterns

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Getting Started

1. Fork this repository
2. Clone your fork:

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/SmartLibraryManagementSystem.git

3. Open in IntelliJ IDEA and let Maven load dependencies
4. Run tests to confirm everything works:

mvn test

5. Start the application:

mvn spring-boot:run

6. Visit http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/index.html to explore the API

See CONTRIBUTING.md for full setup instructions.

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Features for Contribution

Feature	Description	Difficulty
Add unit tests for domain classes	Write JUnit tests for Book, Loan, Fine and Reservation domain classes	Easy
Export JaCoCo report	Commit the generated coverage report to the repo so it is visible without running the project	Easy
Add input validation	Add null checks and validation to the Reservation and Fine domain classes	Easy
Add more book endpoints	Add endpoints to search books by year published and title	Easy
Reservation API	Expose REST endpoints for the Reservation entity following the same pattern as BookController	Medium
Fine API	Expose REST endpoints for the Fine entity following the same pattern as BookController	Medium
Email notifications	Send due date reminders using Spring Mail	Hard
Database integration	Replace in-memory repositories with MySQL using Spring Data JPA	Hard

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Repository Layer

The system uses a repository pattern to abstract all data storage behind interfaces.

Why Generics

I used a generic Repository<T, ID> interface to avoid duplicating CRUD method signatures across every entity repository. Each entity-specific interface like BookRepository extends this base interface and adds domain-specific queries like findByAuthor() and findAvailable().

Why Factory Pattern over Dependency Injection

I chose the Factory Pattern over Dependency Injection because it is simpler to implement without a framework like Spring. The RepositoryFactory acts as a single place where the storage backend is decided. Switching from in-memory to a database in the future only requires changing the factory, nothing else in the codebase needs to change.

Storage Type	Implementation
MEMORY	InMemoryBookRepository, InMemoryMemberRepository etc.
DATABASE	DatabaseBookRepository (stub — future implementation)

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CI/CD Pipeline

This system uses GitHub Actions for continuous integration and deployment.

How to Run Tests Locally

1. Make sure Java 21 is installed
2. Clone the repository
3. Run mvn test in the root directory
4. Test results will appear in the console
5. JaCoCo coverage report will be generated at target/site/jacoco/index.html

How the CI/CD Pipeline Works

CI — Runs on every push and pull request:

• Sets up Java 21
• Caches Maven dependencies for faster runs
• Runs all 81 unit and integration tests
• Uploads test results and JaCoCo coverage report as artifacts
• Blocks pull request merges if any test fails

CD — Runs only when code is merged to main:

• Builds a release JAR using mvn package
• Uploads the JAR as a downloadable artifact in GitHub Actions

Branch Protection

The main branch is protected. See PROTECTION.md for more details.

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Service Layer and REST API

The system exposes a RESTful API built with Spring Boot covering three core entities.

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/books	Get all books
GET	/api/books/{id}	Get book by ID
POST	/api/books	Add a new book
PUT	/api/books/{id}	Update a book
DELETE	/api/books/{id}	Delete a book
GET	/api/books/available	Get available books
GET	/api/members	Get all members
GET	/api/members/{id}	Get member by ID
POST	/api/members	Register a new member
PUT	/api/members/{id}	Update a member
DELETE	/api/members/{id}	Delete a member
PUT	/api/members/{id}/suspend	Suspend a member
PUT	/api/members/{id}/activate	Activate a member
GET	/api/loans	Get all loans
POST	/api/loans	Issue a book loan
PUT	/api/loans/{id}/return	Process a book return
GET	/api/loans/overdue	Get overdue loans

API Documentation

The full API documentation is available via Swagger UI when the application is running at: http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/index.html

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Project Documentation

Document	Description
SPECIFICATION.md	Full system specification including domain, problem statement, scope, functional and non-functional requirements, and use cases
ARCHITECTURE.md	C4 architectural diagrams covering Context, Container, Component, and Deployment views
STAKEHOLDERS.md	Stakeholder analysis including roles, concerns, pain points, and success metrics
REQUIREMENTS.md	Full System Requirements Document with functional and non-functional requirements
USE-CASE-DIAGRAM.md	UML use case diagram with written explanation of actors and relationships
USE-CASE-SPECIFICATIONS.md	Detailed specifications for 8 critical use cases
TEST-CASES.md	Functional and non-functional test cases traceable to requirements
USER-STORIES.md	User stories derived from functional requirements and use cases
PRODUCT-BACKLOG.md	Prioritized product backlog using MoSCoW with effort estimates
SPRINT-PLAN.md	Sprint 1 plan including sprint goal, selected stories, and task breakdown
TEMPLATE-ANALYSIS.md	Comparison of GitHub project templates and justification for chosen template
KANBAN-EXPLANATION.md	Definition and explanation of the Kanban board, WIP limits, and Agile alignment
STATE-DIAGRAMS.md	State transition diagrams for 8 key system objects
ACTIVITY-DIAGRAMS.md	Activity diagrams for 8 key system workflows
DOMAIN-MODEL.md	Domain model describing key entities, attributes, methods, and business rules
CLASS-DIAGRAM.md	Full UML class diagram with relationships, multiplicity, and design decisions
CHANGELOG.md	Change log tracking all updates
REFLECTION.md	Latest assignment reflection

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Kanban Board Customisation

The project board uses the Automated Kanban template with two additional columns:

Column	Purpose
Testing	Features being validated against acceptance criteria
Blocked	Work that cannot proceed until a dependency is resolved

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Technology Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React.js
Backend	Java + Spring Boot
Database	MySQL
Auth	JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
Hosting	Railway.app

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Author

Student: Thato Anikie Mabilo Student number: 222148349 Lecturer: Dr. Boniface Kabaso Assignment 14: Smart Library Management System