Medical & nursing libraries
Library Software for Medical and Nursing Colleges
Koha for medical, nursing, dental, pharmacy and allied-health colleges and hospital libraries: catalogued with MeSH, journals checked in and chased, textbooks on short loan, anatomy models lent like books, and the reports an inspection asks for.
What we hear
The problems medical and nursing libraries bring us
“Students on clinical rotation are at the hospital all day and never reach the library.”
“Journal issues arrive late or not at all, and nobody notices until the inspection.”
“The core textbooks are always out, and the same three students keep them for weeks.”
“The inspection team asks for usage figures and the accession register, and we count by hand.”
How we set it up
Set up for how a health-sciences library works
Whether we install a new Koha, migrate you onto one, host it, or support the Koha you already run.
Catalogued the medical way
Subjects in MeSH, the vocabulary medical libraries use, next to any other you keep. Call numbers in NLM classification or Dewey, kept exactly as written, and records for most textbooks downloaded over Z39.50 instead of typed. Links to e-journals and databases sit in the record.
Journals, short loans and models
Journal subscriptions predict the next issue and flag the ones that do not arrive. Core textbooks go on short loan by the hour or overnight, atlases and reference works stay in the library, and anatomy models, skeletons and equipment are lent with their own rules.
Reachable from the ward
Students on rotation search the catalogue, see their loans and renew from a phone. Accession, circulation, daily-use and journal reports download in minutes for an accreditation or inspection file.
What you get
Everything a health-sciences library needs
| What | How it works | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | MeSH headings in the record | Searched the way clinicians and students think |
| Call numbers | NLM classification or Dewey, kept as written | Shelves stay the way your staff arranged them |
| Journals | Subscriptions, predicted issues, claims | Missing issues chased before the inspection |
| Short loans | By the hour or overnight | Core textbooks reach every student, not three |
| Reference | Atlases and reference works marked not for loan | They stay where students can use them |
| Beyond books | Anatomy models, skeletons and equipment with their own rules | Lent, tracked and returned like books |
| E-resources | Links to e-journals and databases in the record | One search for print and online |
| On rotation | Search, loans and renewals from a phone | Students at the hospital still use the library |
| Reports | Accessions, circulation, daily use, journals | Ready for an accreditation or inspection visit |
Medical, nursing, dental, pharmacy, physiotherapy and allied-health colleges, teaching hospitals and hospital libraries.
Included
What we look after
MeSH and NLM
Medical subject headings and call numbers, kept as your staff use them.
Short loans by the hour
Core textbooks shared fairly across a whole class.
Journals chased
Predicted issues and claims, so gaps show up early.
Models and equipment
Anatomy models and kits lent with their own loan rules.
From the ward
Students on rotation search and renew from a phone.
Reports for inspection
Accession and usage figures in minutes, not a day of counting.
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 English, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, French or Spanish, 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 medical and nursing libraries ask us
Can we catalogue with MeSH and NLM classification?
Yes. MeSH headings are recorded in the subject fields with their source, next to any other vocabulary you use, and NLM classification numbers are kept exactly as written on the spine.
Can core textbooks be lent for a few hours only?
Yes. A textbook can be on short loan by the hour or overnight, with its own fine for a late return, while the other copies of the same book are lent normally.
Can we lend anatomy models and equipment?
Yes. Anatomy models, skeletons, kits and equipment each get their own item type with their own loan period and limits, and are issued and returned with a barcode like a book.
Can it give us reports for an inspection?
Yes. The accession register, circulation, daily use and journal check-in reports download in minutes for an accreditation or inspection file.
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, frameworks and subject vocabularies explained.
Read the guideKoha data migration
Moving your records out of an old system or a spreadsheet.
Read the guideKoha backup and restore
A backup that actually restores, and how to prove yours does.
Read the guideKoha in your region
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.