Help with the code in the boys dorm

[Trazen4]

I don't get how I'm supposed to interpret the "Books are the key" paper. Not asking for the code outright, just how to use the clues.

[gomez]

The books are just used to help you figure out which bed belonged to which lad. If you thought, as I did, that the paper with the cutouts would be used as an overlay on the books to reveal some clue, you would be mistaken. As I was. For hours.

[Trazen4]

So...where the heck do I get the numbers from then?

[gomez]

The paper is just an overlay for the locker's buttons in a 3x3 grid, so the first cutout in the upper left is 1.

full solution: So whatever pattern is in the upper left in the cutout sheet is the number 1 on the keypad. You figure out which lad has that pattern on his bed by looking at the book on or near the bed and comparing it to the library's checkout sheet. You press the keys on the locker in the order of the lads initials at the top of the cutout sheet