Pakistan
Koha and Library Automation in Pakistan
Koha installed, migrated, hosted and supported online: from accession registers and Excel sheets to a catalogue your students search from their phones. Our head office is at Superior University, Lahore.
What we hear
The problems libraries here bring us
“We still issue books from a register, and finding out who has a book takes an hour.”
“Our catalogue is an Excel sheet on one computer, and students cannot search it.”
“We bought library software years ago, the company has gone, and our data is stuck in it.”
“We want to see it working on a real library before we commit to anything.”
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.
Urdu and English, side by side
Koha’s Urdu and Sindhi translations sit next to English for staff and patrons. Urdu titles are catalogued in Urdu script and found by searching in Urdu, and on Koha Cloud slips and spine labels print Nastaliq correctly.
Pakistan time, rupees and your calendar
Asia/Karachi for every branch, fines and fees in rupees, and your own holidays and weekly off days in the calendar, so due dates never fall on a closed day.
From registers and spreadsheets to a catalogue
We turn accession registers, Excel sheets and the data in old library software into proper MARC21 records with barcodes, check them with your staff, and only then switch over.
Across the country
Set up the way libraries in Pakistan work
| What | How we set it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Time zone | Asia/Karachi (UTC+5) | One zone for the whole country, with no clock change |
| Currency | Pakistani rupee (PKR) | Fines, membership fees and purchases in rupees |
| Languages | English, Urdu, Sindhi | Staff and patron screens, and Urdu records that search and print |
| Call numbers | Dewey (DDC) or Library of Congress | Spine labels and shelves stay the way your staff already work |
| Records | MARC21, with Z39.50 copy cataloguing | Download records for most books instead of typing them in |
| Where you start | Register, Excel, or old software | We bring in what you have; nothing is retyped twice |
| How we work | Online, in Pakistan working hours | Setup, training and support by video, from Karachi to Peshawar |
Schools, colleges, universities, public and special libraries. Online sessions are held in Pakistan working hours.
Head office
Online first, with a head office you can visit
Everything we do is delivered online, in Pakistan as in every other country. Our head office is at Superior University, Lahore, so a library in Pakistan that would like to meet face to face before deciding is welcome to visit by appointment.
- Installation, migration, training and support are all done online.
- A live demonstration on a working library, online or at the head office.
- Head office visits by appointment, at Superior University, Lahore.
Included
What we look after
Fully online
Installation, migration, training and support over the internet, wherever your library is.
Registers to catalogue
Accession registers and Excel sheets brought in, checked, and given barcodes.
Urdu and English
Urdu titles catalogued and searched in Urdu script, next to English.
Urdu that prints
Nastaliq on receipts, slips and spine labels on Koha Cloud.
Works on a phone
Students search the catalogue and see their loans from their phones.
Head office in Lahore
Prefer to meet before deciding? Visit us at Superior University by appointment.
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 work online?
Yes, that is how we work everywhere. Installation, data migration, hosting, staff training and support are all done over the internet, so it makes no difference where in Pakistan your library is.
Can we visit your office?
Yes. Our head office is at Superior University, Lahore, and libraries in Pakistan are welcome to visit by appointment for a live demonstration on a working library. The same demonstration is available online.
Our records are in a register. Can they go into Koha?
Yes. Records in Excel or in old library software are converted and imported. Records that exist only on paper have to be keyed in once: we give your staff a simple sheet to fill in, or quote for our team to do it, and for books with an ISBN we download full records over Z39.50 so most of them are not typed at all.
Does Koha work in Urdu?
Yes. Koha has an Urdu translation for staff and patron screens, Urdu titles are catalogued and searched in Urdu script, and on Koha Cloud slips, receipts and spine labels print Urdu Nastaliq correctly.
Is Koha suitable for a school or college library?
Yes. The same system runs small school libraries and large universities. A school uses circulation, the catalogue and the student-facing search; a university adds acquisitions, serials and several branches. You switch on what you need.
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 training included. Installation on your own server, data migration and support are quoted.
Related reading
Background reading
Koha for schools
What a school library actually needs from a library system.
Read the guideKoha data migration
Moving your records out of an old system or a spreadsheet.
Read the guideWhat a Koha installation costs
Self-hosted or hosted, and where the money really goes.
Read the guideOther regions
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.