Scriptorium

Scriptorium is a Database Systems project dedicated to managing a library.

Just as ancient scriptoria preserved and organized knowledge, this information system archives, manages, and optimizes access to books and bibliographic data in a modern and efficient way.

Scriptorium is inspired by the ancient scriptoria where knowledge was meticulously preserved, catalogued, and made accessible.

Simone Remoli

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📚 Scriptorium was developed as an academic project for the Database Systems course at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata.

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📘 Project Overview

A library provides a book reservation service for its registered users.
This project aims to develop an Information Management System for such a library, which is characterized by:

• its address
• a telephone number
• the name of the manager
• and its weekly opening hours

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📚 Book Management

The system manages a collection of books, each of which may have multiple available copies.
Every copy is associated with a status that can either be:

• Available
• On loan

Books are physically organized by shelf and position, which the system provides to staff when a copy is available.

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👥 User Registration

Users can register by providing their personal details along with any number of contact methods
(e.g., phone, mobile, email). Each user must specify their preferred communication method
for being contacted by the library staff.

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📖 Book Loans

When issuing a loan, librarians can check the availability of book copies:

• If a copy is available, the system shows the shelf and position for retrieval.
• If no copies are available in the local library, the system allows librarians to search the availability in other libraries within the partnered network and request an interlibrary transfer.

Likewise, the library can receive transfer requests from other institutions in the network.
In such cases, the copy is marked as:

Loaned to another library

The system also stores information about the destination library.

📞 Interlibrary transfers are handled by direct phone communication between librarians.

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⏳ Loan Duration

Upon receiving a copy, users may choose to retain it for consultation for a period of:

• 1 month
• 2 months
• or 3 months

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📄 Reporting Tools

Librarians can generate reports to track:

• All books currently on loan
• The users who currently have those books
• The contact details for each user, which can be used to send return reminders

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❌ Book Deactivation

If a book has not been borrowed for the last 10 years, it is deactivated by the circuit administrators.
This means:

• The book can no longer be borrowed
• Its record remains in the system for historical purposes
• Any ongoing loans remain valid until the copy is returned

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Built With

The technologies listed below constitute the foundational stack employed in the design and implementation of this system:

        

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Logical Schema

This section illustrates the logical schema of the system by presenting representative subsets of the database tables used in its implementation.

Title	ISBN	Category Code	Available
Enciclopedia Universale	978-0000000001	000	Yes
Dizionario della Lingua Italiana	978-0000000002	000	Yes
Atlante del Mondo	978-0000000003	000	Yes
Manuale di Biblioteconomia	978-0000000004	010	Yes
Guida ai Libri Rari	978-0000000005	020	Yes
Storia della Scrittura	978-0000000006	030	Yes
Grandi Enciclopedie	978-0000000007	030	Yes
Introduzione alla Bibliografia	978-0000000008	010	Yes
Catalogazione e Archiviazione	978-0000000009	020	Yes
Giornalismo e Media	978-0000000010	050	Yes
Enciclopedia della Conoscenza	978-0000000011	000	Yes
Dizionario Enciclopedico	978-0000000012	000	Yes
Guida ai Testi Antichi	978-0000000013	000	Yes
Manuale di Ricerca Bibliografica	978-0000000014	010	Yes
Enciclopedia Storica	978-0000000015	030	Yes
Enciclopedia del Sapere	978-0000000101	000	Yes
Manuale di Archivistica	978-0000000102	000	Yes
La Biblioteca del Mondo	978-0000000103	000	Yes
Bibliografia Universale	978-0000000104	010	Yes
Dizionario Filosofico	978-0000000105	030	Yes

Copy Number	Status	ISBN
1	Disponibile	978-0000000001
1	Disponibile	978-0000000002
1	In prestito altra biblioteca	978-0000000003
1	Disponibile	978-0000000004
1	Disponibile	978-0000000005
1	Disponibile	978-0000000006
1	Disponibile	978-0000000007
1	In prestito altra biblioteca	978-0000000008
1	Disponibile	978-0000000009
1	Disponibile	978-0000000010
1	Disponibile	978-0000000011
1	Disponibile	978-0000000012
1	Disponibile	978-0000000013
1	In prestito altra biblioteca	978-0000000014
1	Disponibile	978-0000000015
1	Disponibile	978-0000000101
1	In prestito altra biblioteca	978-0000000102
1	Disponibile	978-0000000103
1	Disponibile	978-0000000104
1	Disponibile	978-0000000105

Category Code	Name
000	Opere generali
010	Bibliografia
020	Scienze dell’informazione e biblioteconomia
030	Enciclopedie e libri di riferimento
050	Periodici e giornalismo
060	Organizzazioni e museologia
070	Giornalismo, editoria e media
080	Citazioni e antologie
090	Manoscritti e libri rari
100	Filosofia
110	Metafisica
120	Epistemologia, causalità e cambiamento
130	Parapsicologia e occultismo
140	Scuole filosofiche specifiche
150	Psicologia
160	Logica
170	Etica
180	Filosofia antica, medievale e orientale
190	Filosofia moderna e occidentale
200	Religione

Shelf Code	Shelf Name	Category Code
1	Scaffale Generale 1	000
2	Scaffale Bibliografie	010
3	Scaffale Biblioteconomia	020
4	Scaffale Enciclopedie	030
5	Scaffale Giornalismo	050
6	Scaffale Organizzazioni	060
7	Scaffale Media e Editoria	070
8	Scaffale Citazioni	080
9	Scaffale Manoscritti	090
10	Scaffale Filosofia 1	100
11	Scaffale Metafisica	110
12	Scaffale Epistemologia	120
13	Scaffale Parapsicologia	130
14	Scaffale Filosofie Specifiche	140
15	Scaffale Psicologia	150
16	Scaffale Logica	160
17	Scaffale Etica	170
18	Scaffale Filosofia Antica	180
19	Scaffale Filosofia Moderna	190
20	Scaffale Religione	200

Shelf Number	Shelf Code	ISBN
1	1	978-0000000001
2	1	978-0000000002
3	1	978-0000000003
4	1	978-0000000011
5	1	978-0000000012
6	1	978-0000000013
7	1	978-0000000101
8	1	978-0000000102
9	1	978-0000000103
10	1	978-0000000107
11	1	978-0000000108
12	1	978-0000000201
13	1	978-0000000202
14	1	978-0000000203
15	1	978-0000000205
1	2	978-0000000004
2	2	978-0000000008
3	2	978-0000000014
4	2	978-0000000104
5	2	978-0000000110

ISBN	Library	City	Copies
978-0000000002	Biblioteca Storica	Venezia	5
978-0000000008	Biblioteca Storica	Venezia	3
978-0000000011	Biblioteca Accademica	Pisa	9
978-0000000012	Biblioteca Popolare	Palermo	1
978-0000000102	Biblioteca Comunale	Firenze	1
978-0000000108	Biblioteca Centrale	Roma	2
978-0000000109	Biblioteca Civica	Torino	2
978-0000000201	Biblioteca Civica	Torino	2
978-1000000002	Biblioteca Centrale	Roma	4
978-1000000005	Biblioteca Universitaria	Bologna	4
978-1000000009	Biblioteca Nazionale	Milano	5
978-1000000015	Biblioteca Accademica	Pisa	4
978-1000000104	Biblioteca Comunale	Firenze	4
978-1000000106	Biblioteca Popolare	Palermo	2
978-1000000204	Biblioteca Centrale	Roma	4
978-1000000206	Biblioteca Comunale	Firenze	2
978-1000000208	Biblioteca Civica	Torino	1
978-2000000008	Biblioteca Civica	Torino	1
978-2000000011	Biblioteca Popolare	Palermo	5
978-2000000013	Biblioteca Comunale	Firenze	1

Let us now assume a scenario in which a user requests to borrow a book that is available in the library. A loan is initiated for a copy of the book titled "Manuale di Biblioteconomia".

The user, Simone Remoli, specifies his mobile number (+39 3881211212) as his preferred contact method (note: this is not the author's actual phone number).

Consequently, the selected copy is registered in the system with the status "On loan to user", which is duly reflected in the database records.

Furthermore, the user's name is recorded in the loan tracking table, establishing a link between the borrowed copy and the requesting individual.

Copy Number	Status	ISBN
1	Disponibile	978-0000000001
1	Disponibile	978-0000000002
1	In prestito altra biblioteca	978-0000000003
1	In prestito utente	978-0000000004
1	Disponibile	978-0000000005
1	Disponibile	978-0000000006
1	Disponibile	978-0000000007
1	In prestito altra biblioteca	978-0000000008
1	Disponibile	978-0000000009
1	Disponibile	978-0000000010

First Name	Last Name	Date of Birth
Simone	Remoli	2000-10-02

First Name	Last Name	Date of Birth	Phone
Simone	Remoli	2000-10-02	3881211212

This table indicates that the user Simone Remoli has requested a copy of the book identified by ISBN 978-0000000004, initiating a loan on March 22, 2025, with a scheduled return date of June 22, 2025.

ISBN	Copy Number	First Name	Last Name	Date of Birth	Loan Start Date	Loan End Date
978-0000000004	1	Simone	Remoli	2000-10-02	2025-03-22	2025-06-22

Scriptorium is designed to simulate the reception of external events through a scheduled database trigger.

This mechanism selects a random ISBN from the pool of available copies and issues a request on behalf of a randomly chosen library.

Since the system also includes external libraries that may request books held internally, this simulation reproduces the interlibrary loan process triggered by such external institutions.

Let us now assume that the Municipal Library of Florence requests a copy of the book entitled "La Biblioteca del Mondo", identified by ISBN 978-0000000103.

As a result, the corresponding record in the Copy table must be updated. The change in the copy's status is duly reflected in the system's database.

Copy Number	Status	ISBN
1	Disponibile	978-0000000001
1	Disponibile	978-0000000002
1	Disponibile	978-0000000003
1	In prestito utente	978-0000000004
1	Disponibile	978-0000000005
1	Disponibile	978-0000000006
1	Disponibile	978-0000000007
1	Disponibile	978-0000000008
1	Disponibile	978-0000000009
1	Disponibile	978-0000000010
1	In prestito utente	978-0000000011
1	Disponibile	978-0000000012
1	Disponibile	978-0000000013
1	Disponibile	978-0000000014
1	Disponibile	978-0000000015
1	Disponibile	978-0000000101
1	Disponibile	978-0000000102
1	In prestito altra biblioteca	978-0000000103
1	Disponibile	978-0000000104
1	Disponibile	978-0000000105

It is now possible to clearly observe the external loan that has been recorded.

ISBN	Copy Number	Library Name	City
978-0000000103	1	Biblioteca Comunale	Firenze

If a user requests a copy of a book that is not available within the local library, the system allows a request to be issued to an external library that holds a copy of the desired book.

Let us assume that the user Emilio intends to request a loan of the book titled "Enciclopedia della Conoscenza".

However, the book is currently unavailable within the library, as all copies have been exhausted.

Consequently, the system must identify external libraries where the book is available for loan.

The book requested by Emilio, identified by ISBN 978-0000000011, is currently available at the Academic Library of Pisa, which holds a total of 9 copies.

After the book has been explicitly requested, the corresponding table is updated: the number of available copies is reduced from 9 to 8, and the loan transaction is duly recorded in the system.

The table below records an interlibrary loan successfully initiated by the user Emilio Rossi. The book, identified by ISBN 978-0000000011, was borrowed from the Academic Library of Pisa.

The transaction includes the user's full identification details and the scheduled loan period, which spans from March 22, 2025 to May 22, 2025.

This operation exemplifies the system's ability to process and document external loan requests across library institutions.

ISBN	First Name	Last Name	Date of Birth	Library Name	City	Loan Start Date	Loan End Date
978-0000000011	Emilio	Rossi	2004-05-06	Biblioteca Accademica	Pisa	2025-03-22	2025-05-22

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