Special libraries
Library Software for Law, Corporate, Research and Government Libraries
Koha for special libraries: a law firm’s library, a company knowledge centre, a research institute, a ministry or an NGO resource centre. Usually one or two people serving a whole organisation, so it is hosted, simple to run, and shows what the library is worth.
What we hear
The problems special libraries bring us
“Our library is one librarian serving the whole organisation, with no IT help at all.”
“Journals and law reports circulate round the office and never come back to the shelf.”
“Part of our collection is confidential and must never appear in a public catalogue.”
“Management asks what the library is worth, and we have no usage numbers to show.”
How we set it up
Set up for how a special library works
Whether we install a new Koha, migrate you onto one, host it, or support the Koha you already run.
Built for a small team
Koha Cloud is hosted, upgraded and backed up by us, so there is nothing for the librarian to install or maintain. Staff are imported from an HR spreadsheet with their department, and items can be lent to a person or to a department.
Journals and restricted material
Journal and law-report subscriptions are checked in issue by issue, and a routing list sends each issue from desk to desk and back to the shelf. Restricted items are visible to staff only, and the whole catalogue can be shown only to people who have signed in.
Numbers that show the library’s value
Usage by department, the most-used titles, what each budget has spent and which subscriptions nobody reads come out as reports, ready for the next budget meeting.
What you get
Everything a special library needs
| What | How it works | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Users | Staff imported from an HR list, with their department | Joiners and leavers kept up to date without retyping |
| Journals and law reports | Checked in issue by issue, with claims | Missing issues chased before anyone asks |
| Routing | Each issue passed from desk to desk on a list | It reaches everyone and comes back to the shelf |
| Restricted material | Visible to staff only, or to named groups | Confidential items never appear in public |
| Catalogue access | Open, or only to signed-in staff | Your choice, per collection |
| Budgets | A fund per department or project | Spend you can account for |
| E-resources | Links to databases and subscriptions in the record | One search across print and online |
| Reports | Usage by department, top titles, spend, unused subscriptions | The library’s value in numbers |
Law firms and bar libraries, corporate knowledge centres, research institutes, government departments, NGOs and embassies.
Included
What we look after
Nothing to maintain
Hosted and upgraded by us, for a library run by one or two people.
Journals routed
Issues passed desk to desk and back to the shelf.
Restricted material
Confidential items for staff only, or the whole catalogue behind sign-in.
Budgets per department
Orders and invoices against each department’s fund.
Value in numbers
Usage by department and the subscriptions nobody reads.
From any desk
Staff search the catalogue from their own computer or phone.
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, 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 special libraries ask us
Can part of our collection be hidden from the public?
Yes. Restricted items are visible only to staff, and if you prefer, the whole catalogue can be shown only to people who have signed in.
Can journals be routed around the office?
Yes. Each journal or law report can have a routing list, so an issue that arrives is passed from one reader to the next and the list shows where it should go after each person.
We are a one-person library. Is Koha too much?
No. You use the parts you need, Koha Cloud is hosted and upgraded by us, and we train you in a few short online sessions. There is no server for you to look after.
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 vs other library systems
An honest comparison with commercial systems.
Read the guideKoha data migration
Moving from your current system without surprises.
Read the guideKoha hosting cost
What hosting really costs, self-managed or managed.
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.