Development of Geographical Based Library Information System(GeoLIS)

In Malaysia, the implementation of GIS in the LIS is in early stages and still no extensive studies are done in this field yet. The current problem of the UiTM Library System (OPAC) is to find the exact location of library materials particularly books. GIS is an application with the power of tools which enable a user to manipulate, store, analyze the data or information. The aim of this study was to design and develop the Geographic-Based Library Information System (GeoLIS) using GIS technology and other information system tools. The objectives of this study were, i) to carry out user requirements analysis for development of GeoLIS , ii) to design the GeoLIS, iii) to develop the GeoLIS and to test the performance of the GeoLIS. The methods used in this study were adapted from standard System Development Lifecycle (SDLC). Network Analyst in ArcGIS, Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, Map Object, and Microsoft Access were software used in developing the GeoLIS. The user requirements analysis was distributed to the selected users using interviews, observation and questionnaire. The result of user requirements showed that the current system used by UiTM (OPAC) had several limitations, particularly it could not facilitate the student to find exact location of the book and need to be improved. Therefore, the proposed system (GeoLIS) allowed the user to perform database query or book searching, provide user with map direction of the book and detail information about the book such as image, description and review. The GeoLIS could also be used by the PTAR´s organization and users as a searching reference for any future library management and development.