Koha Implementation

Koha is the library management system most Kenyan librarians and tenders specify by name — and rightly so: it is mature, open source, and used by libraries of every type worldwide. This page sets out what a Koha implementation with Digi Records Consulting actually covers, from where most libraries start through to configuration, training and ongoing support. For how Koha fits alongside repositories, archives and records management, see our Library Automation & Information Services page.

How a Koha implementation runs

What Koha Covers — and the Licensing Position

Koha handles acquisitions, cataloguing, circulation, patron management, serials and reporting, with a public-facing OPAC for patrons to search the collection. It is released under the GNU General Public Licence: nobody owns it as proprietary software, and no vendor — including us — holds any official, certified or exclusive status in relation to it. What we charge for is the service: implementation, migration, configuration, training and ongoing support, not a software licence. Your catalogue and patron data are yours. You can export them and move to a different provider at any time; nothing about working with us locks you into staying.

Where Libraries Start

Most libraries we work with are not starting from a clean slate. Some are running entirely from card catalogues, with no digital record of the collection at all. Others have years of records in a spreadsheet that was never meant to hold a whole collection, built up by whoever was asked to "just get it into a computer" at the time. A number are on CDS/ISIS or WINISIS, installed years ago and now without a clear export path, or on an ageing system nearing end of life with no realistic upgrade route and no vendor left to call. Whatever the starting point, the first step is the same: establish exactly what exists, in what state, and what can be extracted automatically versus what has to be catalogued from scratch.

Cataloguing: Retrospective and Original

Where bibliographic records already exist elsewhere, we catalogue by copy cataloguing over Z39.50 — pulling a matching MARC21 record rather than re-keying it. Where no record exists — local publications, institutional reports, grey literature specific to the institution — we catalogue originally, to MARC21, using AACR2 or RDA and the classification scheme (Dewey or Library of Congress) the institution already works to or wants to adopt.

Migration: What the Work Actually Involves

A migration is scoped on a sample export before we commit to a timeline, because the real work is in the state of the existing data, not the size of the collection. It covers extraction from the source system, cleaning and deduplication, authority control on headings, and mapping of item and holdings records and patron data into Koha's structure.

Configuration

Once data is in, we configure Koha around how the institution actually runs: branches, patron categories, loan rules and fines, notice templates, reservations, and SMS or email alerts where the institution wants them. This is where a generic installation becomes a system a specific library can actually run day to day.

OPAC, Barcoding and Patron Cards

The OPAC is configured and branded to the institution so patrons searching the catalogue see something that looks like it belongs to their library, not a default install. Physical work — barcoding the collection, spine labelling, and producing patron cards — is delivered on-site alongside the cataloguing and stock-taking work.

Reporting and Statutory Returns

Koha's SQL reporting module is configured to produce the statistical returns institutions are required to file — circulation statistics, collection size, and the other figures a parent body or funder asks for — so producing them is a scheduled report, not an annual manual count.

Training by Role

Training is delivered by role rather than as one generic session: cataloguers on descriptive cataloguing and authority work, circulation staff on issue, return and patron management, and administrators on configuration, reporting and user management. Each group leaves with a manual for their own role.

Hosting, Backups and Support

Koha is hosted on Kenyan infrastructure, with nightly backups and offsite copies, and we manage version upgrades so the institution is not running an outdated, unsupported release. Support is business-hours, with a documented escalation path — we do not promise round-the-clock cover, and we would rather set that expectation correctly than overpromise. Hosting locally also matters for a reason beyond convenience: patron borrowing history is personal data under the Data Protection Act 2019, and keeping it on Kenyan infrastructure is part of taking that obligation seriously, not an afterthought.

Quality Approach

Cataloguing quality is checked on a sample basis against the source records, migration is verified by reconciling record counts at each stage, and each phase of the engagement — migration, configuration, training — is signed off before we move to the next, so the institution has a clear record of what was delivered and accepted.

Integration

Where an institution needs it, Koha can integrate with a student information system, LDAP for single sign-on, or a linking arrangement to digital collections in DSpace or AtoM. RFID and self-service kiosks are available only in partnership with a specialist RFID provider — we do not deliver RFID in-house, and we say so upfront rather than implying otherwise.

Every Koha engagement is scoped per engagement, with a written proposal within 48 hours. For the wider picture — how Koha fits alongside repository and archival systems, and standalone services like retrospective conversion and stock-taking — see our Library Automation & Information Services page.