Stuffy Librarian was my final capstone project I completed for the Nashville Software School.
The application is meant to help the user log and keep track of their personal mixed-media items
such as books, movies, and music. The two cornerstones of Stuffy Librarian, which help set it apart from similar applications, are the “Lend” and “Sold” features. A user can keep track of the items that they have lent out to family and friends, as well as the items they’ve sold. These two features serve a similar purpose, of which is to help the user remember what happened to items that are not currently in their possession.
Please visit the Stuffy Librarian Github repository page for a full list of features and more details about the project/app. Click here to watch a working demo of Stuff Librarian!
The user could utilize the homepage to view their most recently added media items. They could also observe in chart-form how many of each media type they own, and how many of each media type they have lent out.
On the Media Library page, the user has a comprehensive view of their entire media library. The details that they could view for each item included the item title, media type, the condition it was in, and when the item was added. They also had quick options for each item to view all details for that item, edit the item, or delete it from their inventory.
When the user selects the “View Item Details” button for a specific item, they are brought to the item’s details page. Every piece of metadata is displayed on this page, for the user’s reference. Some of the information displayed will depend on the media type, but every item will have the following details: The media type, the condition it’s in (or was in when it was originally added), date added, date purchased (if applicable), if the item is marked as lent out or sold, and any additional notes about the item. From this page, the user can either click the back arrow in the top left to return to their Media Library page, or the person/pencil icon in the top right to edit this media item.
Updating the condition of an item or adding notes are just a few reasons a user may want to edit something in their inventory. They can get to the edit page by either clicking the edit button next to that item on the Media Library page, or by clicking the person/pencil icon in the top right corner on that item’s details page. Once all necessary changes have been made, the user clicks the “Submit” button, and is routed back to their Media Library.
When the user wants to add a new media item to their library, they click on the “Add New Media” sidebar link. They are then presented with all media type options. The user simply chooses which type best fits the item they are adding, and are then directed to the “Search for Media” page.
Using the search form field, the user enters in the title of their media item. During this process, the back-end of the software is querying the iTunes search API. Click here to learn more about this API and its capabilities!
If the title of the media item is found, the artwork for the item will be displayed. When the user locates the appropriate artwork for their item from the search results, they simply click the artwork, and the form fields on the right will automatically be filled out. If there were no search results, the user may still manually enter in the item’s details. The form details available to fill out depend on the item (I.E. if it’s a book, it will have an author field; if an album, artist/album title fields). However, there are a few boilerplate fields that apply to all items, such as the item’s condition, date it was purchased (if applicable), and any additional notes that the user would care to make.
Once the user clicks the “Create Item” button, they are automatically routed back to their Media Library page, and presented with a SUCCESS message stating that their item was successfully added to their inventory.
When the user clicks on the “Lent Media” sidebar drop-down, then the “View Lent Media” link, they are presented with all of the items they currently have lent out to family and friends. A few quick details about each item are listed, such as who the item was lent to, the condition it was in at the time of it being lent, and the date it was lent out. If the user would like to view more details, they can click the “View Details” button.
If the user clicked the “View Details” button on the View Lent Media page, they are routed to this view, and all details for that item are listed. Just as explained in the process for adding a new item, the details that are presented depend mostly on what the media type is. From this view, the user can click the back arrow at the top left to go back to the View Lent Media page. If the user has just received an item that they had lent out, they may click the “Return” icon at the top right, which will remove the item from their “Lent Media” list, and return it back to their inventory.
When the user wants to lend out a media item, they click on the “Lent Media” sidebar drop-down (if not already selected), then the “Lend Media” link. They then proceed to fill out the form, starting with selecting the item to be lent out, the lendee’s name, and the date it is/was being lent. The user may also make additional notes, such as comments about the item’s condition, when the lendee promised to give it back by, etc. Once the user clicks the “Lend Item” button, they are then presented with a SUCCESS message, and routed back to their “View Lent Media” page.
When the user clicks on the “Sold Media” sidebar drop-down, then the “View Sold Media” link, they are presented with all of the items they have sold. A few quick details about each item are listed, such as who the buyer was, the amount it was sold for (if applicable), and the sold date. If the user would like to view more details, they can click the “View Details” button.
If the user clicked the “View Details” button on the Sold Media page, they are routed to this view. They are then able to see all details for that item. Just as explained in Lent Item Details, the presented details for sold media depend mostly on what the media type is. From this page, the user can click the back arrow at the top left to go back to the View Sold Media page.
When the user wants to sell a media item, they click on the “Sold Media” sidebar drop-down (if not already selected), and select “Sell Media”. This process is very similar to the lending process. The user starts with selecting the item they have sold, who the buyer was, the dollar amount they received from the sale (if applicable), and the sell date. The user may also leave any additional comments, such as why they sold it. Once the user clicks the “Sell Item” button, they are then presented with a SUCCESS message, and routed back to their “View Sold Media” page.