The library collection is categorized into the following:
General Collection
The general collection consists of information materials in various medical and health fields. Materials in this section can be borrowed for home reading and be returned after 3 weeks. Library materials can be located or be accessed through manual catalogue (information provided in a catalogue card) and Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) 3 (http://kohasvr.muhas.ac.tz/). A catalogue card is a brief description of an information item. The Library has already entered all bibliographic records into the library integrated management system, namely KOHA database. The Library catalogues are of two types, author catalogues and subject catalogues. The author catalogues (file) lists books, pamphlets and other documents alphabetically according to author’s surnames. In the case where the book has no personal authorship, the authorship will be attributed to title, society, body or institution.
Reference Collection
Reference collection is located on the first floor of the Library building. The collection provides textbooks with higher demands to support faculty staff and students. Given such a high demand from the majority of students, these books are for use within the library only.
The reference collection consists of dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks manual, atlases, directories, compendium, almanacs and bibliographies etc. These materials are for use within the library only and not for borrowing for home reading.
Special Reserve Collection
Special reserve section consists of books, which are on high demand. Books from this section are to be read in the special reserve room and are not to be taken outside the Library. Readers may borrow special reserve books for a maximum of 1 hour per one book. An additional 1 hour can be requested if there is no user waiting for the book. Failure to return a borrowed special reserve book after one hour will result to disciplinary actions.
The reference collection consists of dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks manual, atlases, directories, compendium, almanacs and bibliographies etc. These materials are for use within the library only and not for borrowing for home reading.
Special Reserve Collection
Special reserve section consists of books, which are on high demand. Books from this section are to be read in the special reserve room and are not to be taken outside the Library. Readers may borrow special reserve books for a maximum of 1 hour per one book. An additional 1 hour can be requested if there is no user waiting for the book. Failure to return a borrowed special reserve book after one hour will result to disciplinary actions.
Periodicals and Electronic Resources
Periodicals & Electronic Resources (PER) The section of Periodicals & Electronic Resources (PER) at MUHAS Library deals with subscriptions of journals and databases to support academic and research activities of MUHAS. The section subscribes to a number of periodicals/journals in various medical fields. These periodicals are available for reading in the library and they are not to be borrowed for home reading. Currently, the library subscribes to the following databases:
Periodicals & Electronic Resources (PER) The section of Periodicals & Electronic Resources (PER) at MUHAS Library deals with subscriptions of journals and databases to support academic and research activities of MUHAS. The section subscribes to a number of periodicals/journals in various medical fields. These periodicals are available for reading in the library and they are not to be borrowed for home reading. Currently, the library subscribes to the following databases:
a) The library has subscribed to about 34 online journals through the joint subscription under the Consortium of Tanzania University Libraries (COTUL).
b) The library has subscribed to Research for Life Programme, which provides free access to electronic journals in health, environment, social sciences and related fields to developing countries. The Research for Life Programme includes the following databases: Access to Research in Health Programme (HINARI), Access to Global Online 5 Research in Agriculture (AGORA), Online Access to Research on the Environment (OARE) and Access to Research for Development and Innovation (ARDI). i) HINARI provides access to 15,000 journals (in 30 different languages), up to 47,000 e-books, up to 100 other information resources; ii) AGORA provides access to 6,100 journals and up to 5,800 e-books; iii) OARE provides access to 5,710 peer reviewed journals and 1,119 online books and other information resources; and iv) ARDI provides access to around 20,000 journals, books, and reference works.
c) The library provides access to The Essential Electronic Agriculture Library (TEEAL), a searchable, offline, digital library which contains mainly agriculturally focused reference journals updated annually and delivered by the TEEAL Project Office at Cornell University’s Mann Library. TEEAL contains a full-text and searchable database of articles from more than 325 high-quality research journals in agriculture and the related sciences, including health and life sciences.
d) The section compiles a list of online databases that provide free access to journals, theses, dissertations and e-books and put it on the library website for awareness and increased readership to MUHAS community. The list of electronic resources is available through the library website address: http://library.muhas.ac.tz/
e) The library also subscribes to a number of local newspapers such as the Daily news, Mwananchi and Nipashe. Newspapers are placed at the Periodical Section in the library building.
f) Through the Current Awareness Services (CAS), the library provide online alerts of new journal titles and interesting scholarly information through the library website, blog and facebook page in order to keep users aware and up to date scholarship publications.
g) PER section works closely with the Department of Library ICT to pull out usage data and statistics from the subscribed online journal databases and e-resources such as TEEAL by conducting quarterly assessments of both print and e-resources to determine strength and weakness in the resource usage and provides reports for future implementation and adjustments.