The Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) continues its mandate to support provincial legislatures in strengthening parliamentary research and information services. In this context, PIPS conducted a three-day technical training and system migration for the Balochistan Assembly Library consequent upon the decisions taken under the 18th Speaker’s Conference held in Islamabad.
Held from 9–11 December 2025, the activity focused on upgrading the Assembly’s existing Koha 2.2 library system to the modern Koha 25.05 platform. The migration was jointly carried out by the PIPS IT Wing and the library staff of the Research Wing under the supervision of DG (Research). Three member PIPS faculty team comprising Mr Muhammad Nazir Khan DG IT, Muhammad Qaiser Iqbal Director Library and Mr Fayaz Gul Asstt Librarian conducted onjob sessions for officers and staff of Library and IT teams of Provincial Assembly of Balochistan.
During the sessions, participants received structured, hands-on training across key modules of Koha 25.05, including cataloging, acquisitions, circulation, patron management, OPAC settings, authority control, and report generation. Practical exercises on MARC field mapping, data cleanup, and system administration were also conducted to build the operational capacity of Balochistan Assembly staff.
Secretary Balochistan Assembly, Mr. Tahir Shah Kakar, appreciated the cooperation extended by the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services PIPS and acknowledged the professionalism displayed by both teams throughout the exercise. He conveyed special thanks to Executive Director PIPS, Mr. Asim Khan Goraya, for facilitating this productive engagement and supporting the development of parliamentary information services.
Following the successful migration, the Balochistan Assembly Library has been integrated into the PIPS central server and is now part of the PIPS Union Catalog, enabling improved access to parliamentary resources and enhanced inter-institutional collaboration. Further work on circulation workflows and patron management is underway to ensure smooth operations under the upgraded system. This initiative reflects PIPS’ firm commitment to strengthening parliamentary libraries and supporting provincial assemblies in adopting modern information management tools.