Dear David, Thank you for your valuable guidance and for pointing me toward the 'get_valuebuilder' hook. I appreciate the clarification regarding the open-source nature of Koha. To answer your question, yes, Colon Classification is still widely used in India, particularly in academic and research libraries, given Dr. Ranganathan's significant contributions to our library science curriculum. I will certainly join the community chat as you suggested to discuss the development of the plugin. Thank you for your support and for the helpful pointers. Will all libraries use my free plugin but API charges? Best regards, Amit Suwal On Tue, Oct 6, 2026 at 6:58 AM David Cook <dcook@prosentient.com.au> wrote:
Hi Amit,
That sounds like an interesting development. While I learned about Dr S R Ranganathan and his faceted classification at library school, I haven’t encountered any applications of his work in the broader library world. Is it used in India?
The Koha Community is a loose structure of many different individuals and organisations, so I don’t think there’s the ability for there to be a partnership model per se, but yeah integrating through Koha Plugin or API would make sense. Note especially the “get_valuebuilder” hook that was added in Koha 26.05. I suspect that could be a perfect fit for what you’re trying to do.
Koha is free and open source and licensed accordingly. There are no commercial licenses or royalties. So I don’t think there’s much to talk about there.
If you hop onto https://chat.koha-community.org/ I suspect someone could help you develop the plugin, and then you could list it on https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Koha_plugins
David Cook
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*From:* Amit Suwal via Koha-devel <koha-devel@lists.koha-community.org> *Sent:* Monday, 5 October 2026 6:43 PM *To:* koha-devel@lists.koha-community.org *Subject:* [Koha-devel] Proposal for ColonOS Automated Colon Classification Integration and Licensing Partnership with Koha
Dear Koha Community Team,
Greetings.
My name is Amit Suwal, and I am the developer of ColonOS, an advanced Library Management and Automated Colon Classification platform based on the principles of Dr. S. R. Ranganathan.
ColonOS has been designed to automate complex classification workflows through:
1. Automated Colon Classification Number Generation
2. PMEST Analysis Engine
3. ACI & PCI Processing
4. Subject Analysis & Notation Building
5. SCNM Shelf Management
6. Library ERP Integration
I believe ColonOS can complement the Koha ecosystem by providing a specialized Colon Classification engine through plugin or API-based integration.
Proposed Collaboration
I would like to explore a partnership model under which:
1. A Koha-compatible ColonOS plugin can be developed.
2. Libraries using Koha can generate Colon Classification numbers automatically.
3. ColonOS APIs can be integrated into cataloguing workflows.
4. Joint technical development and evaluation can be undertaken.
Licensing & Revenue Model
Possible models may include:
1. API Licensing for institutions requiring automated Colon Classification.
2. Revenue-sharing / royalty-based agreements for enterprise deployments.
3. Commercial support and customization services for large institutions.
4. Joint development of advanced classification tools for the global library community.
Benefits for Koha Libraries :-
1. Reduced manual classification effort
2. Faster cataloguing workflows
3. Standardized Colon Classification practices
4. Improved shelf organization
5. Enhanced discoverability of library resources
I would be pleased to demonstrate ColonOS and discuss technical possibilities with the Koha community.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Kind regards,
1000018796.mp4
Amit Suwal
Developer – ColonOS
Gujarat, India
Email: amitsuwal50@gmail.com
Mobile: 9258144645 <(925)%20814-4645>