Library Management System

Flask web application for library operations — book catalog, member management, loans, role-based access, admin dashboards, backups, and reporting — backed by Microsoft SQL Server.

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Table of Contents

• System Design
• Features
• Technology Stack
• Getting Started
• Configuration
• Deployment
• Project Structure
• License

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System Design

A server-rendered Flask monolith with blueprint-based auth and raw SQL via pyodbc. Role decorators gate access to Admin, Staff, Member, and Guest dashboards. Database bootstrap runs on startup to seed default roles and an admin account.

flowchart TB
  Browser[Browser]
  Flask[Flask App]
  Auth[auth.py Blueprint]
  SQL[(SQL Server)]
  Templates[Jinja2 Templates]

  Browser --> Flask
  Flask --> Auth
  Flask --> Templates
  Flask --> SQL

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Layer	Role
app.py	Core routes, CRUD, reports, backup/restore
auth.py	Login, register, role decorators
models.py	Data classes (no ORM)
database/	Setup scripts, sample data, triggers/procedures

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Features

• Role-based dashboards: Admin, Staff, Member, Guest
• Book catalog CRUD, issue/return workflows
• Member management and loan history API
• User/role admin: add, edit, reset password, toggle status
• Activity logs, statistics, and report generation
• Database backup, restore, and download (admin)
• Auto-creates default roles, admin user, and categories on startup

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Technology Stack

Component	Technology
Backend	Python 3, Flask 2.2
Database	Microsoft SQL Server via pyodbc
Auth driver	ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server
Templates	Jinja2
Data access	Raw SQL (no ORM)

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Microsoft SQL Server
• ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server
• pyodbc (pip install pyodbc — not listed in requirements.txt)

Setup

pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install pyodbc

# 1. Create database — run in SQL Server:
#    database/setup_database.sql

# 2. Optional bootstrap:
python init_db.py

# 3. Start server:
python app.py
# → http://localhost:5000 (debug mode)

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Configuration

Variable	Default	Purpose
SECRET_KEY	mysecretlibrarysystem	Flask session secret
DB_DRIVER	ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server	ODBC driver name

Connection uses Windows Trusted Connection (Trusted_Connection=yes). Update config.py with your SQL Server host and database name for your environment.

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Deployment

Designed for on-premises Windows + SQL Server:

1. Install SQL Server and ODBC Driver 17
2. Run database/setup_database.sql
3. Configure config.py for your server
4. Run behind IIS or a WSGI server for production

No Docker configuration included.

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Project Structure

Library-Management-System/
├── app.py
├── auth.py
├── config.py
├── models.py
├── init_db.py
├── database/
│   ├── setup_database.sql
│   ├── sample_data.sql
│   └── triggers_functions_procedures.sql
├── templates/
└── static/css|js/

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License

See repository for license terms.