For libraries
One copy of OSLibrarian belongs to one library. A library lists each of its rooms: a story corner, a community room, study rooms. The install steps are in the repository's README.
What staff can do
| Task | How |
|---|---|
| Programs | Publish a one-off program with its date, time, room, who it's for, what kind it is, how to sign up and the price; mark one cancelled and it stays listed, marked, everywhere it went. |
| Series and story times | Publish a program that repeats: on chosen days of the week, every week or every other week, or on one weekday a month (the first Saturday, the last Friday). From the series' page, cancel one date or give it another time, with a reason shown to the public on that date, or put it back as usual. |
| Room requests | See requests waiting, approved, declined and cancelled. Approve, decline or cancel with a note the requester never sees. Approving one that would overlap an approved booking, a hold or a program in the same room is refused, and the page says what it clashes with. |
| Holds | Hold a room for cleaning, repairs or a staff meeting. A hold blocks requests like an approved booking. |
| The library | Name, opening hours, how to get a card, address, contact, room booking terms, whether room requests are open, and the accessibility details. |
| Rooms | Name, capacity, step-free access, access notes, whether it can be requested; retire a room instead of deleting it. |
| Sign-in | An emailed link, or a passkey added on the account page: a fingerprint, face or PIN on the person's own device. No passwords. |
Changes people can trust
A program's date, time, room, price or cancellation, a series' days or a single date of it, and the library's hours, address and accessibility details are things people plan around. Changing one after it is published asks staff for a reason, and the reason is published with the change, so a family that planned around the old time can see why it moved.
What people who ask for a room see
A form asking for the room, date, start and end time, what it's for, how many people and how to reach them. A group bigger than the room, a date in the past or a time the clocks skip is explained on the form. They get a reference, and the status page for it shows only the room, time and decision.
What it doesn't do yet
- Signing up for a program with limited places: a program says how to sign up, in words, and can link to a sign-up page.
- The catalog, holds on books and loans: those stay in the library's catalog system.
- Several branches in one install: each branch runs its own copy today.
- People who ask for a room get no email yet.
- The install steps haven't yet been rehearsed by someone new.
Try it
The Halcyon County Library demo resets every hour: ask for a study room, then choose Staff sign-in with any email address, approve it, and cancel a story time date with a reason.