Library overview & setup
The Library module turns EduPrime into a full MARC-21 catalogue with circulation, reservations, fines and a public OPAC. This page walks a librarian through first-time configuration so the desk can start issuing books the same day.
Open the module from the app drawer. The home screen gives you the catalogue, the circulation desk, member lists and the fines ledger in one place. Before issuing a single copy, complete the four setup steps below.
Catalogue structure
A title is the bibliographic record (one row per book, periodical or media work). Each title owns one or more copies (the physical items on the shelf), and every copy carries its own barcode and status. This title-and-copies split lets you stock five identical textbooks under a single catalogue entry while tracking each one individually.
- Titles – MARC-21 bibliographic records (author, ISBN, classification).
- Copies / holdings – the loanable items, each with a barcode, shelf location and condition.
- Collections – logical groupings such as Reference, Reserve, Fiction or Periodicals.
Members & borrower categories
Every student and staff member is automatically a potential borrower – the library reads the existing people records, so you do not re-enter names. What you do configure are the borrower categories that set loan limits.
| Category | Max items | Loan period | Renewals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior student | 2 | 7 days | 1 |
| Senior student | 4 | 14 days | 2 |
| Teaching staff | 10 | 30 days | 3 |
Fines policy
Configure the fines policy once and the system applies it automatically on every overdue return.
- Open Configuration → Fines policy.
- Set the daily rate per category (for example 5 per day for students).
- Set the grace period – days after the due date before a fine starts.
- Set a fine cap so charges never exceed the replacement value.
- Set the lost-item charge as the replacement cost plus a processing fee.