School Library Management System: Every book. Always found.
Every copy catalogued with its accession number. Books issued and returned at the desk by barcode. What's due and what's late on one screen — and a student's late fine goes straight onto the fee account.
Wings of Fire issuedAarav Sharma · due 30 OctReturned 3 days late₹6 fine · on the fee account12 overdueOn the circulation desk
What is a school library management system?
Every book counted. Every loan tracked.
A school library management system is software that keeps the library's catalogue — every book and every physical copy, with its accession number — and runs the desk: issuing and returning books to students and staff, due dates, holds and late fines. Inkwelly also shows what's due and overdue every day and puts a student's late fine on their fee account.
Also called library management software for schools, school library software or a library ERP.
- Copies12 · ACC-004181 to 004192
- ShelfB-2 · Biography
- On loan10 · the last to Aarav, 10:05 am
- Hold queueKavya Nair · ready for pickup
- Aarav's copy dueFri, 30 Oct
- If late₹2 a day · Class 6–8 rule
What Inkwelly Library includes
- Book catalogue with ISBN, publisher, language, format, categories and authors
- Every copy tracked by accession number, barcode, shelf and condition
- Automatic accession numbers with your own prefix; up to 100 copies added at once
- Student and staff members with membership numbers
- Member rules: books allowed, loan period and fine per day, optionally by class level
- Circulation desk: issue, return and renew by membership number and barcode or accession number
- Late fines from days late, grace days and a cap; lost and damaged replacement charges
- Student fines added to the fee account; staff fines collected at the desk; waivers with a reason
- Hold queue with pickup deadlines
- Dashboard: due today and tomorrow, holds past pickup, popular books and top readers
- Reports: accession register, popular books, dead stock, stock valuation, lost and damaged, fine collection
- Class teachers see each child's library books on the student card in the Inkwelly app
Updated
Why schools move from library registers to library software
Registers. Slips. Guesswork. Or one desk.
On paper, every copy is a handwritten line and every overdue book is a page to flip. In Inkwelly the desk keeps the register for you.
How most school libraries run today
An accession register, an issue register and a stamp pad.
- Every new copy written into the accession register by hand
- Each loan entered in the issue register: date, name, class, book
- Overdue books found by flipping back through the pages
- Fines worked out on paper — and often never collected
- Nobody outside the library knows who has which book
With Inkwelly
Aarav SharmaWings of Fire · due 30 OctIssued
Ishaan RaoThe Jungle Book · 3 days late₹6 · fee account
Kavya NairWings of Fire · kept 48 hoursHold readyOne desk. Every copy, loan and fine in one place.
- Copies added with the next accession number — up to 100 at once
- Issue by membership number and the copy's barcode
- Due today, due tomorrow and the overdue list, ready every day
- Fines worked out at return; a student's goes on the fee account
- Class teachers see a child's books on the student card
Library book issue and return system with barcode
Scan. Issue. Done.
Type the membership number, scan the copy's barcode and issue. The due date comes from the member's rule. Returns work the same way — the days late and the fine are worked out on the spot.
Ishaan RaoMAIN-STU-00418- 1Membership number
- 2Scan the copy
- 3Issue — due date set
- 4Return — fine worked out
Sample library. The fine a day, grace days and the cap are yours to set, for each member rule.
Library dashboard: overdue books, due today and holds
What's due. What's late.
The dashboard shows what's due today and tomorrow, holds waiting past their pickup time and memberships about to run out. The overdue list sits one tab away on the desk.
Kavya Nair9 books
Arjun Mehta8 books
Saanvi Iyer7 books
Sample library. The dashboard refreshes by itself; the overdue list is on the circulation desk.
Book catalogue with accession numbers, holds and member rules
One title. Every copy.
Each book is entered once; every physical copy gets its own accession number, barcode, shelf and condition. Holds wait in a queue, and member rules decide who borrows how much, for how long.
Sample library. Copies go in one at a time or up to 100 together, each with the next accession number.
Class teachers see each child's library books in the app
The class teacher knows too.
A child's student card in the Inkwelly app shows the books they have, when each is due and how many days late — so the reminder comes from the classroom, not a register.
Sample school. Amounts stay in Student Fee — the teacher's card shows books and dates only.
The life of a library book, from accession to the next reader
One copy. Every step on record.
Copy ACC-004187 of Wings of Fire, from the day it arrived to the day it goes to the next reader.
- Mon, 1 JunACC-004187 · Shelf B-2
Added
Twelve copies of the new order went in together, each with the next accession number.
How it works — Added - Today, 10:05 amAarav Sharma · 6-B
Issued
Membership number, then the copy's barcode. The due date came from his member rule.
How it works — Issued - Today2 of 2 books
On his card
His class teacher sees it on his student card. He can borrow again when one comes back.
How it works — On his card - Today · Fri 16 Oct
- Fri, 30 OctDue 30 Oct
Due back
Back on time: no fine. Late: ₹2 a day, worked out at the desk.
How it works — Due back - Fri, 30 OctHold queue
Next reader
If someone's waiting, the copy is marked ready and kept for them for 48 hours.
How it works — Next reader
Library software made for Indian schools
Made for Indian schools. And their libraries.
The registers, rules and fee habits Indian school libraries already have — built in.
Fines in rupees, your rules
A rupee rate a day for each member rule, grace days and a cap — set once, worked out at every return.
Fines with the fees
A student's late fine lands on the fee account, so it's collected at the fee counter with everything else.
No books out, then the TC
Turn on library clearance and a transfer certificate waits until every book is back.
Your accession register
Your prefix and numbering carry on for every new copy, and the register is on screen whenever an inspection asks.
A whole carton at once
New NCERT sets or a donation box: add up to 100 copies of a title in one go, each numbered.
English and Hindi
Library screens in English and Hindi, and Hindi, English or any-language books on the same catalogue.
Library software for the librarian, class teachers, the principal and accounts
One library. Everyone in the loop.
Each person sees what their role allows — nothing more.
Librarian
Issues and returns by barcode, keeps the catalogue and holds, and sees what's due every day.
Class teacher
Sees which books a child has, when they're due and how late, on the student card in the app.
Principal
Opens the dashboard: loans, holds, fines, the most-read books and the busiest hours.
Accounts office
Collects a student's library fine with the fees. Waivers carry a reason and are logged.
Library connected to students, staff, fees and accounts
One library. Wired into the school.
Members are your own students and staff, a student's fine goes to the fee account, and the money shows up in the school's accounts.
Your library
Every copy, member and loan — linked to the student record and the fee account.
Students
Members are your students — and a TC can wait for their books.Staff
Teachers and staff borrow too, on their own rules.Academics
A member rule can be tied to a class level.Student Fee
A student's late fine goes onto the fee account.Money Book
Library fines collected show in the school's money statement.Roles
Who can issue, waive fines or change settings.School library features
Every feature, explained.
Each part of the Library has its own page, with screens and steps.
Book catalogue
Books, copies, accession numbers, categories and authors.Read moreIssue and return
The circulation desk: membership number, barcode, due date.Read moreHolds and reservations
A queue for each book, with pickup deadlines.Read moreLibrary fines
Late, lost and damaged — collected or waived with a reason.Read moreMembers and rules
Students and staff, with borrowing limits by rule.Read more
How to set up a school library in Inkwelly
Open the desk. In four steps.
Rules first, then books, then members. Catalogue the shelves as you go — the desk works from the first copy.
Create the library
Name, code and place. Set the fine a day, grace days, how long holds wait and how accession numbers look.
Office or librarianSet the rules
Member rules for each group — books allowed, loan period, fine a day — plus your categories and authors.
LibrarianAdd books and copies
Each title once, then its copies — one at a time or up to 100 together, each with the next accession number.
LibrarianEnrol members
Students and staff become members with a membership number and a rule. Then the desk is open.
Librarian
- ₹0
Setup and training
₹0 migration, ₹0 training, ₹0 setup.
- 90 days
Pilot
90-day paid pilot on your real data. If it isn't working at day 90, pro-rata refund and your data back in standard formats.
- India
Your data
Your data is stored in India, with daily database backups and role-based access on every screen.
School library software: questions schools ask.
A school library management system is software that keeps the library's catalogue — every book and every physical copy, with its accession number — and runs the desk: issuing and returning books to students and staff, due dates, holds and late fines. Inkwelly also shows what's due and overdue every day and puts a student's late fine on their fee account.
At the circulation desk: type the membership number to bring up the member, scan the copy's barcode or type its accession number, and tap Issue book. The due date comes from the member's rule — 14 days, for example — and can be changed for one loan.
Yes. Give each copy its own barcode, and a USB barcode scanner at the desk types it into the copy box like a keyboard. Without barcodes, type the accession number instead. Inkwelly reads the barcode labels you stick on; it doesn't print them.
Set a prefix, the next number and the number of digits once — ACC-004187, for example — and every new copy gets the next number. You can also type your own, so your old register's numbering carries on. Up to 100 copies of a title can be added at once.
Yes. Students and staff are both library members, each with a membership number and a member rule — so teachers can have more books, for longer.
You decide with member rules — for example, Class 1–5: one book for 7 days; Class 6–8: two books for 14 days. The desk won't issue past the limit, and the due date follows the rule.
When a book comes back late, Inkwelly counts the days past the due date (after any grace days you allow), multiplies by the member rule's fine per day and stops at the maximum you set. ₹2 a day for 3 days is ₹6.
Yes. A student's late fine is added to their fee account as “Library overdue fine – <book>”, so it's collected with the fees in Student Fee. Staff fines are recorded at the library — cash, online or cheque. Any fine can be waived with a reason.
Mark it lost or damaged on the loan. The replacement charge is the book's price times the multiplier you set — or an amount you type — plus any late fine, and the copy comes out of circulation.
Yes, at the desk. The librarian places a hold and it joins the book's queue in order. When a copy comes back it's marked ready and kept for that member for 48 hours, or the time you set. Holds not collected in time are expired in one click, and the next person moves up.
The circulation desk shows how many loans are overdue and lists them with their due dates, with Renew and Lost beside each. The dashboard shows what's due today and tomorrow, and class teachers see the days late on each child's student card.
Not yet. Today a child's books, due dates and days late show on the class teacher's student card in the Inkwelly app, and on the library's desk and dashboard — so the reminder comes from school.
It can. Turn on library clearance in the transfer settings and a TC waits until the child has returned every book. The office can still override it when it must.
Yes — a junior and a senior library, for example. Each has its own books, members, rules and settings, and you pick the library when you open the module.
An accession register, popular books, dead stock (books nobody has borrowed for months), circulation, member activity, lost and damaged books, fine collection and stock valuation — on screen, any day.
You decide in Roles. Viewing, the catalogue, the desk, members, fines, settings and the dashboard are separate permissions — so a library assistant can issue books without being able to waive fines.
Yes. The library screens work in English and Hindi, and books in Hindi, English or any other language go into the same catalogue.
On plans with Inkwelly AI, yes — it walks you through any library task, like adding books, issuing, holds or fines, with a button to the right page. It doesn't read library records yet.
The Library is in the Standard plan, from ₹99 per student per year (GST extra). Plans run ₹49–₹199 per student per year, with ₹0 migration, training and setup.
See your library in Inkwelly.
A free 30-minute demo on the real product. Ask anything — we'll show it live.