Bangladesh
Koha Support and Library Automation in Bangladesh
Koha installed, migrated, hosted and looked after online for universities, colleges, madrasas and schools across Bangladesh: Bangla that searches and prints correctly, records typed in Bijoy brought into Unicode, and a catalogue that stays up through load-shedding.
What we hear
The problems libraries here bring us
“Our Bangla titles were typed in Bijoy years ago, and in any new system they show as gibberish.”
“Load-shedding takes our library server down, and the catalogue goes with it.”
“Bangla shows on screen, but slips and spine labels print it as empty boxes.”
“Koha was installed as a one-time project, and nobody has upgraded it since.”
How we set it up
Configured for where your library is
Whether we install a new Koha, migrate you onto one, host it, or support the Koha you already run.
Bangla, in Unicode
Koha’s Bengali translation sits next to English for staff and readers. Text typed with Bijoy in SutonnyMJ and similar fonts is stored as Latin letters that only look like Bangla in that one font; during migration we convert it to Unicode, so titles and authors display, sort and search correctly, and we list any record we could not convert.
Bangla that prints
On Koha Cloud, receipts, hold slips and spine labels print Bengali script correctly, conjuncts included, and Arabic for a madrasa collection prints right to left. On a Koha you run yourself, we install the fonts your printers need and test every slip.
Looked after, not installed and left
With Koha Cloud the server is ours, so load-shedding on campus does not take the catalogue down, and students use it on mobile data. Upgrades, patches and tested backups are ours. If you keep your own Koha, we support it, upgrade it and train the staff who run it.
Across the country
Set up the way libraries in Bangladesh work
| What | How we set it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Time zone | Asia/Dhaka (UTC+6) | One zone for the whole country, with no clock change |
| Currency | Bangladeshi taka (BDT) | Fines, fees and purchases in taka |
| Languages | English and Bangla screens; Arabic records for madrasa collections | Readers search in the language the book is in |
| Old Bangla fonts | Bijoy and SutonnyMJ text converted to Unicode | Records typed years ago become searchable text |
| Printing on Koha Cloud | Bengali, Arabic and Latin scripts | Slips and spine labels print the script, not empty boxes |
| Call numbers | Dewey (DDC) or Library of Congress | Spine labels and shelves stay the way your staff work |
| Where you start | A register, Excel, CDS/ISIS, WinISIS or an older Koha | Brought in and checked against your accession register |
| Reports | Circulation, daily use, accessions and new arrivals | Evidence for an accreditation visit, downloaded in minutes |
| Power and internet | Hosted, light pages, works on mobile data | The catalogue stays up through load-shedding |
| How we work | Online, in Bangladeshi working hours | Setup, training and support by video, from Dhaka to Rajshahi |
Public and private universities, colleges, madrasas, schools and special libraries. Everything is delivered online.
Included
What we look after
Bangla in Unicode
Bijoy-era records converted, and Bangla searched as readers type it.
Bangla that prints
Bengali script on slips and spine labels on Koha Cloud, conjuncts included.
Up through load-shedding
Hosted Koha means no library server to lose power.
Out of old systems
Registers, Excel, CDS/ISIS or an old Koha, brought in and checked.
Reports for accreditation
Circulation, use and accession reports, ready for the visit.
Upgrades done for you
Patches, upgrades and tested backups on Koha Cloud.
More in Koha Cloud, not in standard Koha
Tamper-evident records
Every book’s movements and every fine, payment and waiver in an append-only history. Any change is detected and flagged.
Audit-ready recordsGate register and footfall
Members and walk-ins check in and out; time spent, peak hours and daily trends are reported.
Visitor managementMembership plans
As many paid plans as you sell, with freezes, grace days, study-only passes and renewals.
Membership plansPartner-library loans
Lend to and borrow collections from libraries outside the system, with agreements, deposits and due dates tracked.
How partner loans are trackedAI built into Koha Cloud
Advanced library automation, with an AI assistant for your staff and readers
Koha Cloud is more than hosting. On any plan, your library can add an AI assistant inside the librarian panel that catalogues, audits and reports alongside your staff. Write to it in Bangla or English, and it answers in the same language. It proposes; a librarian approves every change.
Copy cataloguing from every source
Give it an ISBN or a title. It searches your own Z39.50 and SRU servers in the order you rank them, then Google Books and Open Library, and brings back the 10 best matches, each labelled with its source. You pick one; the record is drafted for you to confirm.
DDC numbers and author marks
Suggests a Dewey number and a Cutter-style author mark worked out from cataloguing rules and your library’s own convention, for one book or every record missing one. A librarian approves each change.
Catalogue health score
40 checks rolled into one score out of 100: missing marks, invalid ISBNs, likely duplicates, records with no copies. It ranks the worst problems first, tracks the score over time, and fixes them in reviewed batches.
Stock audits and registers
Accession register, stocktake summary, missing items, item history, holdings as of any date and reconciliation, asked for in a sentence instead of built as a report.
Reports on request
Most-borrowed titles, dormant stock, overdues, fines, branch comparisons: 28 ready reports, asked as a question and saved for next time.
Patrons search in plain words
On your public catalogue a reader can type “books on climate change in Urdu published after 2015” or “Agatha Christie novels on the shelf right now”, and the AI turns it into a catalogue search with the right filters.
The same assistant also runs the circulation desk, acquisitions, patron registration, labels and your library's public website by chat, within each staff member's own permissions.
Koha Cloud pricing
Hosted Koha from $30 a month
Or $300 a year, saving $60. Up to 5,000 titles and 10,000 copies, 5 staff and 1,000 patrons, with hosting, a subdomain, data migration, the public catalog, cataloguing, circulation, acquisitions, administration and training. The same price in every country; larger libraries get a tailored quote.
Not ready to change your library system? Put just your catalogue online from $10 a month, from your spreadsheet, SLiMS export or register.
Already running Koha?
We support and fix the Koha you have, on your own server, and train your team in live sessions.
Koha supportMoving to Koha?
From another library system or a spreadsheet, validated and reconciled before go-live.
Koha data migrationYour team needs training?
Private live sessions for your staff on your own Koha, in your working hours.
Koha staff trainingFAQ
What libraries in the country ask us
Do you provide Koha support in Bangladesh?
Yes. Installation, migration, hosting, upgrades, staff training and support are all done online in Bangladeshi working hours, wherever in the country your library is.
Our Bangla records were typed in Bijoy. Can they be fixed?
Yes. Text typed with Bijoy in SutonnyMJ and similar fonts is stored as Latin letters that only look like Bangla in that font, which is why it shows as gibberish anywhere else. During migration we convert it to Unicode, so titles and authors display, sort and search correctly, and we list any record we could not convert for your staff to check.
Will Bangla print correctly on slips and labels?
On Koha Cloud, yes: receipts, hold slips and spine labels print Bengali script with its conjuncts, and Arabic prints right to left. On a Koha you run yourself, we install the fonts your printers and PDF output need and test each slip.
Can Koha give us reports for an accreditation visit?
Yes. Circulation, daily use, accession and new-arrival reports download in minutes, and your online catalogue link shows the library is automated and in use.
How is it priced?
Koha Cloud's Basic plan has a published price in US dollars, the same in every country, with the first three months free and staff training included. Installation on your own server, data migration and support are quoted.
Related reading
Background reading
Koha and MARC21
Fields and frameworks, including vernacular script.
Read the guideKoha data migration
Moving your records out of an old system or a spreadsheet.
Read the guideKoha for universities
Does Koha scale to an academic library with several branches?
Read the guideOther regions
By type of library
Our services
Get a quote
Talk to us about your library
Tell us where you are and what you run today. We reply in your working hours.