Walk into most school or community libraries in Nepal and you’ll find the same things: a thick accession register, a loan book with columns of dates and signatures, and one person who knows where everything is. That works, until the register fills up, the librarian changes, or the committee asks how many books were borrowed last year.
Library automation replaces that paper with software. This guide explains where automation stands in Nepal today, what it involves, and how a small library can start without a server, a budget or an IT department.
Where library automation in Nepal stands
Nepal has a long library tradition. The country marks National Library Day on Bhadra 15 each year, the day in 1869 BS when the law establishing libraries received the royal seal. But most libraries still run on paper.
- A Ministry of Education survey from 2078/79 counted 928 community and public libraries in Nepal, and found that only 227 were functioning properly.
- School libraries have grown fast, largely with help from organisations such as Room to Read, which reports 4,959 school libraries across 31 districts since 2000. Very few of them use software.
- Automation has mostly reached university, college and special libraries. Koha has been used in Nepal since 2008, when the SAMV library became the first to circulate books with it.
So there’s a gap: thousands of small libraries with real collections and real borrowers, and almost none of them with a catalogue they can search.
Why small libraries haven’t automated
It isn’t for lack of interest. The barriers are practical.
- Server-based software needs a server. Koha, the best-known open-source system, runs on a Linux server with a web server and a database. A 2025 study of Nepali librarians found most were satisfied with Koha’s features, but “only few of librarians are technically efficient for the installation and customization of software”.
- The internet and power come and go. A system that has to reach a server stops the desk when the connection drops.
- Paid software costs money every year, which a school or a community library committee rarely has.
- Nepali text. Records typed in older fonts such as Preeti can’t be searched or sorted properly. Software has to handle Nepali Unicode. See our guide to cataloguing Nepali books in Unicode.
What an automated library actually does
Automation isn’t one big switch. It’s a handful of jobs that move from paper to software.
| Job | On paper | With software |
|---|---|---|
| Catalogue | Accession register, card catalogue | One record per title, one per copy, searchable |
| Lending | Loan book, signatures, date stamps | Scan the member, scan the book, due date set |
| Returns and fines | Count the days, work out the fine | Scan the book; the fine is calculated |
| Members | A member list in a register | A member register with categories and renewals |
| Reports | Count by hand at year end | Circulation and collection reports, exported |
You don’t have to do it all on day one. Most libraries start with the catalogue and lending, and add the rest once staff are comfortable.
How a small library in Nepal can start
1. Choose software your library can actually run
Ask who will look after it. If there’s no IT staff, pick software that installs like an ordinary app on the library’s computer and works offline. If you need a public online catalogue, or several branches sharing records, you need a server-based system like Koha and someone to run it. Our comparison of open-source library software sets out who each one suits, and our guide to the best free library software in Nepal covers the options used here, school software modules included.
Khulla was built for the first case. It is open source, runs on Windows, Linux and Android, works with no internet, has a full Nepali interface, and shows fines in Nepalese rupees with lakh grouping (Rs 1,23,456).
2. Get the basic equipment
- A computer. An ordinary Windows or Linux PC is enough; an Android tablet works too.
- A barcode scanner (optional but worth it). A basic USB scanner types into the software like a keyboard.
- Label sheets and a printer to print barcode labels for each book.
3. Set your rules
Before entering a single book, write down your loan rules: how many books students, teachers and public members may borrow, for how many days, and what an overdue day costs, if anything. In Khulla these become member categories and a fine rate.
4. Enter the collection, a shelf at a time
Don’t try to catalogue everything in a week. Start with the books that circulate most, add each title once, then a copy for each physical book. Our step-by-step guide to cataloguing books in a small library covers this in detail.
5. Switch lending over
Once the most-borrowed books are in, start lending through the software. Keep the old register for books not yet entered, and add each one as it comes back across the desk.
6. Back up
Local software means the data is yours, and so is the backup. Export a backup regularly, and keep a copy off the computer: a pen drive, or another machine.
Where to find help in Nepal
- The Nepal Library Association organises National Library Day programmes and brings librarians together.
- The Special Library Association Nepal runs library management training.
- OLE Nepal’s E-Pustakalaya is a free digital library of Nepali books, audio and video that schools can install on a local server for offline use. It complements a lending catalogue rather than replacing it.
Library automation doesn’t have to start with a server room. For most libraries in Nepal, it starts with one computer, an open-source app and a shelf of books entered carefully.
Questions
What is library automation?
Library automation means using software for the everyday work of a library: the catalogue, lending and returns, members, fines and reports. Instead of a handwritten accession register and loan book, each book has a record and a barcode, and a loan is one scan.
Which library software is used in Nepal?
Koha is the most widely used system in Nepal's academic and special libraries, and some libraries have used SOUL, LIBSYS and older tools such as CDS/ISIS. Most school and community libraries still use paper registers or spreadsheets.
Can a library in Nepal automate without internet or a server?
Yes. A desktop library app such as Khulla keeps the catalogue on the library's own computer, so it needs no internet and no server. That suits schools and community libraries with unreliable connections.
How much does library automation cost in Nepal?
The software can cost nothing: Koha and Khulla are both open source. The real costs are a computer, a barcode scanner and label sheets if you want them, and the staff time to enter the collection. A server-based system also needs hosting or someone to maintain the server.
Try Khulla in two minutes
Open the demo in a browser: nothing to install, no account to create. When it fits, download Khulla for Windows, Linux or Android.
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