# Book catalogue, issue and return, and late fines

> Add books and copies, issue and take back books with a barcode gun or phone camera, and set due dates and late fines your way.

Source: https://pathshala.mjxtechnologies.com/docs/library/book-lending/

MJX Library keeps every book you own and every copy of it, lends copies to members (and, in a school, to students and staff), works out the due date and any late fine from your own rules, and takes books back with one scan.

## How the catalogue works

> [!PATH] Apps › MJX Library › Books & lending

![Books page with the Books & lending sidebar row (1) and the + Add a book button (2) marked](media/library/book-lending-1.jpg "Apps › MJX Library › Books & lending › + Add a book")

The **Books** page shows **Your library** — how many **Books**, **Copies** and **Shelves** you have — then a search box ("Title, author, ISBN…") with [[Find]], one chip per shelf, and the filters **Lost or damaged**, **No copies** and **Include retired**.

A **book** is a title (one entry for *Wings of Fire*). A **copy** is one physical book with its own **accession number** — the number written inside the cover.

### Steps to add a book
1. Press **+ Add a book**.
2. Press [[Scan the barcode]] and hold the back cover to the camera — or just point a barcode gun at it. The ISBN fills in. If the library already has that book, you are offered **Open it to add copies** instead.
3. Type **Name of the book** (the only box you must fill). **Author** and **Shelf** are optional.
4. Open **More details** for Publisher, ISBN, Edition, Language, Year published, **Where it is kept** (like Rack 3), Notes and **Retired**.
5. Type **How many copies?** and press [[Save]].

If a book with a similar name exists, you see a warning, never a refusal — a library can hold two editions.

### Steps to number copies and add more
1. Open the book. **The copies** lists each copy with its accession number and condition.
2. Type each copy's number, or scan its label: a scanned label goes on the first copy without a number, or adds a new copy with that number.
3. Change a copy's condition to **In the library**, **Lost**, **Damaged** or **Withdrawn**.
4. Type a number and press **+ Add more copies** for more.

[[Remove this book from the catalogue]] removes the book and every copy. If you still own the copies, tick **Retired** instead: they stay on the register but are no longer lent.

## How to set your lending rules

> [!PATH] Apps › MJX Library › Setup › Lending rules

![Library Setup page scrolled to the Lending rules section, marked](media/library/book-lending-2.jpg "Apps › MJX Library › Setup › Lending rules")

(Also on the lending desk under **Your lending rules**.) Leave a box empty and that part does not happen.

| Setting | What it does | Empty means |
|---|---|---|
| A loan is (days) | Fills the due date by itself | You type a due date on every loan |
| For staff (days) | A different loan length for staff (schools) | Same as above |
| Books per person | Most books one person may hold | No limit |
| A late day costs (₹) | The fine per late day | No fine at all |
| Free days first | Late days before any fine starts | 0 |
| Most one book can cost (₹) | A cap on one book's fine | No limit |
| Staff can lend | Counter staff may lend and take back | Only owner and admins lend |

Press [[Save rules]] (on the lending desk, [[Save these rules]]).

> [!EXAMPLE]
> A loan is 14 days, a late day costs ₹2, free days first is 3, most one book can cost ₹50. A book 10 days late is charged (10 − 3) × ₹2 = ₹14. A book 40 days late is charged ₹50.

**Staff can lend** appears only in a library that is its own business. In a school, staff are teachers and do not get the desk.

## How to give a book out

> [!PATH] Apps › MJX Library › Books & lending › Lending

![Lending desk with the Give out button under Scan a book marked](media/library/book-lending-3.jpg "Apps › MJX Library › Books & lending › Lending › Give out")

1. Under **Scan a book**, choose **Give out**.
2. Scan the copy's label (gun or the camera button), or type the number and press [[Find]]. You can also search the title under **Give a book out** and pick the copy.
3. Scan the member's card (anything carrying their member number, like M-0012), or type in **Who is taking it** — "Name, member code, phone or admission no." In a school, pick Member, Student or Staff to narrow it.
4. Check **Going out on** and **Due back**. Due back fills itself from your loan days; if you have none, type it.
5. Press [[Give it out]].

## How to take a book back

1. Under **Scan a book**, choose **Take back** — "every book you scan comes straight back in."
2. Scan each copy. Or find the loan in the list and press [[Take it back]].
3. If it is late and you charge fines, the fine is worked out and shown on the loan.

Scanning a member's card in Take back mode lists the books they hold — scan each one to take it back.

## The loans list

Tabs: **Out now**, **Late**, **Back** and **Everything**, with a search box ("Who has it…"). **Right now** shows how many books are **Out**, **Late**, **Back** and the fines **Owed** on books already returned.

- [[Change the date]] — move a due date (owner and admin).
- [[Waive the fine]] — forgive all or part of a fine once the book is back (owner and admin).

> [!NOTE]
> MJX Library records the fine on the loan and shows what is owed. It does not make a receipt for a fine; collect it at the counter.

## Scanning: gun or camera

- **Barcode gun** (USB or Bluetooth) — it types the code fast and presses Enter. MJX Library catches it wherever your cursor is and takes the typing back out of any box it landed in.
- **Camera** — press the camera button. If the browser cannot open the camera, type the number in **Or type the number** and press [[Use]].
- What a scan finds, in order: a **copy's number**, then an **ISBN** (10 or 13 digits, with or without hyphens), then a **member's number**.

Print the labels to scan from [Labels and printing](library/labels-and-printing).

## Who can use it?

| Task | Owner / Admin | Staff |
|---|---|---|
| Search the catalogue | Yes | Yes (in a school, teachers too) |
| Add or change books and copies | Yes | No |
| Lend and take back | Yes | Only with **Staff can lend** on |
| Rules, waive a fine, change a due date | Yes | No |

Book lending is on every plan. Forever Free and Basic may limit how many copies you keep; see [plans](library/plans).

## Questions people ask

### Can I use a barcode gun?

Yes. A USB or Bluetooth barcode gun works anywhere on the Books and Lending pages, without clicking a box first. The phone or laptop camera works too.

### What can I scan?

A copy's own label (its accession number), the ISBN barcode on the back cover, or a member's number such as M-0012. The library checks them in that order.

### Does MJX Library charge a late fine by default?

No. Pathshala fills in no figure of its own. Leave A late day costs empty and there is no fine at all.

### Does it make up accession numbers?

Never by itself. You type or scan them, or you number all unnumbered copies in one go from Labels, choosing how the numbers start.

### Can counter staff lend books?

Only when the owner ticks Staff can lend in the lending rules. Waiving a fine, changing a due date and the rules stay with the owner and admins.

### A book went missing. Should I delete it?

No. Mark the copy Lost. A loss the register cannot show is a loss nobody finds at the stock check. Remove a copy only when it was typed by mistake.