School Library Management API

A RESTful API for managing a School Library System built with Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB. This API handles Authors, Books, Students, Library Attendants, and Book Borrowing & Returns.

Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js
• Framework: Express.js
• Database: MongoDB (Mongoose ODM)
• Dev Tools: Nodemon, dotenv

Setup & Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js installed
• MongoDB installed and running locally

Steps

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/Kabazbay/libsystem.git
   cd libsystem

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Create a .env file in the root directory

   mongoDB=mongodb://localhost:27017/libraryDB
   

4. Start MongoDB (if not already running)

   mongod

5. Start the server

   npm run dev

6. The API will be running at http://localhost:3000

Project Structure

/School Library Management API
  /models
    author.js
    book.js
    student.js
    attendant.js
  /controllers
    authorController.js
    bookController.js
    studentController.js
    attendantController.js
  /routes
    authorRoutes.js
    bookRoutes.js
    studentRoutes.js
    attendantRoutes.js
  /config
    database.js
  server.js

---

API Documentation

Base URL: http://localhost:3000

---

1. Author Endpoints

Create Author

• POST /authors
• Body:

  {
    "name": "Chinua Achebe",
    "bio": "Nigerian novelist and poet"
  }

• Response: 200 — Created author object

Get All Authors

• GET /authors
• Response: 200 — Array of all authors

Get Single Author

• GET /authors/:id
• Response: 200 — Single author object

Update Author

• PUT /authors/:id
• Body:

  {
    "name": "Updated Name",
    "bio": "Updated bio"
  }

• Response: 200 — Updated author object

Delete Author

• DELETE /authors/:id
• Response: 200 — Deleted author object

---

2. Book Endpoints

Create Book

• POST /books
• Body:

  {
    "title": "Things Fall Apart",
    "isbn": "978-0-385-47454-2",
    "authors": ["<author_id>"]
  }

• Response: 200 — Created book object
• Error: 400 — If ISBN already exists

Get All Books

• GET /books
• Response: 200 — Array of all books (authors populated)

Get Single Book

• GET /books/:id
• Response: 200 — Single book object with populated authors, borrowedBy, and issuedBy

Update Book

• PUT /books/:id
• Body:

  {
    "title": "Updated Title"
  }

• Response: 200 — Updated book object

Delete Book

• DELETE /books/:id
• Response: 200 — Deleted book object

---

3. Student Endpoints

Create Student

• POST /students
• Body:

  {
    "name": "John Doe",
    "email": "john@school.com",
    "studentID": "STU001"
  }

• Response: 200 — Created student object

Get All Students

• GET /students
• Response: 200 — Array of all students

Get Single Student

• GET /students/:id
• Response: 200 — Single student object

---

4. Library Attendant Endpoints

Create Attendant

• POST /attendants
• Body:

  {
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "staffID": "STAFF001"
  }

• Response: 200 — Created attendant object

Get All Attendants

• GET /attendants
• Response: 200 — Array of all attendants

---

5. Borrowing & Returning

Borrow a Book

• POST /books/:id/borrow
• Body:

  {
    "studentId": "<student_id>",
    "attendantId": "<attendant_id>",
    "returnDate": "2026-04-01"
  }

• Rules:
  • Book must have status "IN"
  • Student and Attendant must exist
• Response: 200 — { "message": "Book borrowed successfully" }
• Error: 400 — If book is already borrowed
• Error: 404 — If student, attendant, or book not found

Return a Book

• POST /books/:id/return
• Rules:
  • Book must have status "OUT"
  • After return: status → "IN", clears borrowedBy, issuedBy, returnDate
• Response: 200 — Updated book object
• Error: 404 — If book not found

---

Data Models

Author

Field	Type	Required
name	String	Yes
bio	String	No
createdAt	Date	Auto

Book

Field	Type	Required	Notes
title	String	Yes
isbn	String	Yes	Unique
authors	[ObjectId]	Yes	References Author
status	String	No	"IN" or "OUT", default: "IN"
borrowedBy	ObjectId	No	References Student
issuedBy	ObjectId	No	References Attendant
returnDate	Date	No
createdAt	Date	Auto

Student

Field	Type	Required	Notes
name	String	Yes
email	String	Yes	Unique
studentID	String	Yes	Unique
createdAt	Date	Auto

Library Attendant

Field	Type	Required	Notes
name	String	Yes
staffID	String	Yes	Unique
createdAt	Date	Auto