Demonstrates effective occupancy management in academic libraries, highlighting practical implications for operational efficiency.
Purpose This study aims to present a low-cost and open-source real-time patron monitoring and display framework developed for a university library housing 189,565 volumes to improve occupancy monitoring, space management and operational efficiency. Design/methodology/approach The framework uses Python, HTML and CSS to automate the retrieval, processing and visualisation of occupancy data from an existing Library Management System (LMS). Patron occupancy details are extracted from LMS-generated webpages using XPath expressions and displayed through a dashboard updated at 5 s intervals. Findings The implemented dashboard provides near real-time visibility of library occupancy and total patron count. It reduces manual monitoring, improves operational awareness and enables effective occupancy management without requiring additional hardware or modi-fications to the existing LMS. Practical implications The proposed approach offers a scalable and economical framework that can be readily adopted by academic libraries seeking to implement smart library services using their existing infrastructure. Originality/value The study demonstrates the use of lightweight, open-source automation technologies for developing a cost-effective real-time patron monitoring solution integrated with existing LMS infrastructure.
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G.V. et al. (2026) studied this question.
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