PythonBeginner–Intermediate1–2 sessions

Library Book Manager

Students model a tiny school library using only Python lists and functions. It is an approachable way to connect code to a familiar school activity.

Starter code

Read it. Run it. Change it.

Save the code below as library_manager.py. The example is intentionally small enough for a student to explain line by line before adding new features.

library_manager.pyPython

books = ["The Jungle Book", "Wings of Fire", "The Blue Umbrella"]

def show_books():
    print("\nAvailable books:")
    for book in books:
        print("-", book)

while True:
    print("\n1. View books")
    print("2. Borrow a book")
    print("3. Return a book")
    print("4. Exit")

    choice = input("Choose an option: ")

    if choice == "1":
        show_books()
    elif choice == "2":
        title = input("Book title: ")
        if title in books:
            books.remove(title)
            print("You borrowed", title)
        else:
            print("That book is not available.")
    elif choice == "3":
        title = input("Book title to return: ")
        books.append(title)
        print("Returned", title)
    elif choice == "4":
        print("Goodbye!")
        break
    else:
        print("Please choose 1, 2, 3, or 4.")

How to run it on a laptop

1. Install Python 3 if it is not already available.
2. Open IDLE, Thonny, VS Code, or any simple text editor.
3. Copy the code into a new file named library_manager.py.
4. Run the file. No internet connection, database, or server is required.

Build it step by step

Store books

Start with a list representing the books currently available.

Build a menu

Let the user choose whether to view, borrow, return, or exit.

Change the list

Remove a borrowed book and add a returned book.

Repeat

Use a while loop so the program keeps running until the user exits.

Make it your own

Prevent the same returned book from being added twice.
Keep a second list of borrowed books.
Add a search option that checks whether a title is available.