Databases index and organise references to journal articles, newspaper articles, chapters in books, conference papers and in some cases. Some databases also include the full text of the articles. Databases usually include many publications over many years and are often subject specific. Most academic literature is not freely available so libraries pay for access to journals via databases.
This is the most useful ways of finding articles when you do not know in which journals articles are published.
On the MUT library website is an alphabetical list of all databases .
For South African resources use the SABINET Online databases (choose from the list). The African Electronic Journals (SA ePublications) service is the most comprehensive, searchable collection of Full-text electronic south-and Southern African journals in the world.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic
• Emerald
Science Direct is a leading full-text scientific database offering journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 journals and almost 20,000 books.
Most publishers and suppliers do not allow free off campus access. You will need to authenticate yourself as a legitimate member of MUT. You need to login on Open Athens with your institutional credentials. Once you have authenticated yourself you will be presented with the list of those databases that allow off campus access.
What to do if a journal is not available at or via MUT?
You can use the Interlibrary Loan facility through your Subject Librarian of your faculty. You can send him / her email with all the details and the librarian will try and find a library within South Africa that can provide a copy of the article.
Library guide
The Mangosuthu University of Technology provides an Inter-Library Loan (ILL) service to registered Post graduate students and staff, in order to obtain material not owned by this Library. Library subscribers may also use the service at no cost per request.
Please check the Mangosuthu Library catalogue for an item before requesting an ILL. Journal articles may also be found in some of full text electronic journal databases subscribed to by the Library: see http://mut.ac.za/library/databases/
1. Requesting an Inter-Library loan in person
- Complete an Inter-Library Loan request card. Cards are available at the ILL desk or at the Issue Desk.
- Fill in the card in ink, using clear printing.
- Yellow cards are used for books and green cards for journals.
- If an item that should be in the MUT Library appears to be lost, please state this on the card.
- Although request cards are preferred, it is possible to submit a request by email to interlibraryloans@mut.ac.za
- If submitting a request by email, the borrower’s student/staff number must be included and the references clearly indicated in terms of title, author, year/ edition, ISBN and publisher.
Requests are sent off within 24 hours
A maximum of five requests per user per day will be processed.
• Items requested from Durban should arrive within a week.
• Items requested from other South African libraries will take 14 days or longer.
2. Collecting ILL items
Books and theses
These items are held and issued directly from the ILL desk.
Books are issued and returns accepted in the ILL Desk.
Borrowers are notified by email sent to their University address.
Journal articles
Journal articles are emailed to borrower’s University address
3. Renewing ILL books
Renewals must be requested before the due date that the book is due back. Only ILL staff, who are available Mondays to Thursday 08h00 – 16h00 and Fridays 08h00 – 13h00, can submit renewal requests on behalf of borrowers. The Lending library makes the final decision concerning the renewal of a book. Should they decline the renewal request, the borrower will be contacted?
The lending Library can recall the book at any time. This seldom happens, but it is advisable to prioritize all work involving material borrowed on ILL.
4. Fines
Overdue ILL books will cost R5.00 per day per book.
5. Lost items
Should a borrower not return a book after the due date has lapsed, or after having been notified that the book has been recalled, the book will be regarded as lost. The user will then be billed for the Lending Library’s cost of replacing the book.
In the event that the borrower presents the book after having been billed, any refunds will be administered at the discretion of the Lending Library and, as such, are not guaranteed.