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Overview

Shelf-School is an open-source library system for small schools. Its primary screen is a public circulation kiosk where a student selects their name, chooses checkout or return, and photographs one book at a time.

Students do not need passwords, accounts, or library cards. Staff use a single administrator session for cataloging, borrower management, reports, settings, and backups.

Core workflow​

Identify the borrowerSelect a username or name from the school list.
Identify the copyPhotograph its Shelf-School QR or ISBN barcode.
Confirm the loanReview the book, borrower, action, and due date.

Current capabilities​

  • Public self-service checkout and return.
  • Local QR and ISBN barcode decoding from photographs.
  • Free book metadata lookup through Open Library.
  • Separate records for titles, physical copies, borrowers, and loans.
  • Printable QR labels for every physical copy.
  • School branding and configurable loan duration.
  • Borrower and book CSV import.
  • Overdue reports, CSV export, and SQLite backup download.
  • Django administration for maintenance.
  • Pytest and Playwright browser coverage.

Important boundary​

A book must be cataloged before it can circulate. Photo identification finds a known physical copy; it never creates a loan for an unregistered book.

Shelf-School currently processes one photograph and one physical copy per transaction. Future multi-book recognition may propose several catalog matches, but every copy must still be reviewed and confirmed before a loan is recorded.