Middle East & North Africa

Koha for Libraries in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Across MENA

Koha in Arabic and English, right to left, on your working week and your time zone — installed, supported and taught to your team.

Request a quote Countries we serve

A right-to-left library catalog beside a local clock and a right-to-left direction marker

What goes wrong

Koha works in Arabic. Out of the box, it is not set up for it.

Every one of these comes from a default that assumes an English-language library with a Saturday–Sunday weekend.

“Our Koha shows Arabic titles, but searching for them finds nothing.”

“Due dates fall on our weekend because the calendar assumes Saturday and Sunday.”

“The OPAC is in English only, and most of our readers search in Arabic.”

“Slips and spine labels print Arabic as empty boxes.”

How we set it up

Three things every library in the region needs

Whether we install a new Koha, migrate you onto one, or fix the Koha you already run.

Arabic and English, right to left

The Arabic translation of the staff interface and the OPAC is installed and enabled next to English, so each reader chooses. Pages switch to right-to-left, and we check your own logos, banners and styling in the mirrored layout.

A library catalog shown in a right-to-left layout, with the menu on the right and results aligned right

Your working week, holidays and time zone

Weekly closing days are set per branch, whether your week ends on Friday and Saturday or on Saturday and Sunday. Public holidays that follow the lunar calendar are added each year, and the server works in your local time zone, so due dates and fines are right.

A library calendar with two weekly closing days marked and a clock showing the local time zone

Arabic that prints and searches correctly

Receipts, hold slips and spine labels print Arabic in a proper Naskh typeface, right to left. Search is configured and tested with your own records so that the forms readers type, with or without the definite article and short vowels, find the book.

A library receipt printed with right-aligned Arabic lines, next to two verified checkmarks

Across the region

Configured for your country, not just your language

Time zones and working weeks differ across the region and change over time. Each library is set to its own, and your institution's own week always wins over the national one.

Country	Time zone set in Koha	Typical working week
United Arab Emirates	`Asia/Dubai (UTC+4)`	Saturday–Sunday weekend
Saudi Arabia	`Asia/Riyadh (UTC+3)`	Friday–Saturday weekend
Qatar	`Asia/Qatar (UTC+3)`	Friday–Saturday weekend
Kuwait	`Asia/Kuwait (UTC+3)`	Friday–Saturday weekend
Bahrain	`Asia/Bahrain (UTC+3)`	Friday–Saturday weekend
Oman	`Asia/Muscat (UTC+4)`	Friday–Saturday weekend
Jordan	`Asia/Amman (UTC+3)`	Friday–Saturday weekend
Egypt	`Africa/Cairo (UTC+2, summer time)`	Friday–Saturday weekend
Morocco	`Africa/Casablanca (changes for Ramadan)`	Saturday–Sunday weekend

Also the wider region — Lebanon, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and beyond. A named time zone, not a fixed offset, is what keeps due dates right when clocks change.

Included

What we look after

Arabic and English interfaces

Both enabled for staff and the OPAC, updated after every Koha upgrade so new screens do not appear in English.

Arabic search tested

Checked with your own titles, typed the way readers type them, before go-live.

Calendar and holidays

Weekly closing days per branch and the year’s holidays, so loans and fines skip days you are closed.

Local time zone

Checkout times, hourly loans and notices in your own time, not the server’s.

Your currency

Fines and acquisitions in your local currency, with vendors who invoice in another one converted.

Arabic printing

Slips, labels and receipts that print Arabic correctly, right to left.

Already running Koha?

We support and fix the Koha you have, on your own server, and train your team in live sessions.

Koha support

Moving to Koha?

From another library system or a spreadsheet, validated and reconciled before go-live.

Koha data migration

No server to run?

Koha Cloud: we host it, back it up and upgrade it, with Arabic printing and search built in.

Managed Koha hosting

FAQ

What libraries in the region ask us

Can staff and patrons use Koha in Arabic?

Yes. Koha has a community Arabic translation of the staff interface and the OPAC, and the page switches to right-to-left when Arabic is chosen. Most libraries in the region offer Arabic and English side by side so each reader picks their own. We install the translation, enable both languages and check the screens your staff use most.

Will searching in Arabic find what readers type?

It can, but it depends on configuration. Arabic letters have several forms, short vowels may or may not be written, and the definite article is attached to the word. We configure and test search with your own records so that the forms readers actually type find the books. On Koha Cloud this normalisation is built in.

Does Koha show Hijri dates?

Koha calculates and displays dates in the Gregorian calendar. Publication dates in Hijri years can be catalogued in the MARC record exactly as they appear on the item, and many libraries record both. Holidays set by the lunar calendar are added to the library calendar each year so due dates and fines skip them.

Our working week is not Monday to Friday. Does that matter?

It matters for due dates and fines, and Koha handles it through the library calendar: weekly closing days are set per branch, whether that is Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday. We set it up, add your public holidays, and book support and training sessions in your working days and time zone.

Where would our data be hosted?

If you run Koha on your own server, it stays wherever that server is, and we support it there. If you choose hosting with us, we tell you exactly where the server and the backups are before you sign, so your institution can check that against its own policy. You can take a full copy of your data at any time.

Our services

Koha InstallationSet up properly, first time Data MigrationMove from your old system without losing anything Support & MaintenanceSomeone to call, before it breaks Staff TrainingLive sessions for your team, on the Koha you already run Version UpgradesGet back onto a supported release, safely RFID IntegrationMake your RFID hardware work with Koha IntegrationsConnect Koha to what your institution already runs CustomizationYour branding, your workflows OPAC ThemesA catalog that looks like your institution Multilingual CatalogsCatalog and search in any language or script AI Cataloging AssistantDraft records, audit catalog health, ask for a report in plain English

Get a quote

Talk to us about your library

Tell us where you are, what you run today, and which languages your readers use. We reply in your working hours.