>how about screenshots of the system? how would the system look like? should i put grids etc? pls help. TIA.

I suggest you take a look at the demo application, from Visual Extend. If you download this, I don't need to send screenshots. (You might also consider purchasing the Visual Extend framework, or some other framework; this will save you a lot of work.)

Anyway, let me explain briefly.

The following suggestions are generic, and NOT specifically for a library system. However, this generic design should work for almost any system, library or otherwise.

First, a single screen.

Each form has a grid. The grid is used only to select / search the correct record. It is recommended to add the possibility of doing a search on any column (incremental search). The user does not edit directly in the grid editing directly in the grid is possible, but tricky.)

Outside the grid, there are textboxes (or other controls) to do the actual editing.

Option 1: The grid is on the top half of a form, the editing controls are on the bottom half.

Option 2: If you have many fields, it is better to use a PageFrame. The grid is on one page, the editing controls are on one or more separate pages.

If you like these ideas, I will continue explaining the work with related tables (parent-child), in another message.

Greetings,

Hilmar.