Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

COTUL is an acronym for the Consortium of Tanzania University and Research Libraries. It is a strategic alliance among academic and research Libraries in Tanzania aimed at improving access to information resources in different disciplines.

The key role of  COTUL Comprises engaging her members in joint information provision activities particularly; Acquisition of electronic information sources, Research, Training, Consultancy and others deemed critical in the attainment  of academic excellence in learning, teaching and  research  to  the member  institutions as follows:

• To provide access to a high-quality and scholarly electronic resources to a large number of academic institutions including universities and colleges at substantially lower rates of subscription and at most favorable terms and conditions.
• To promote rapid and efficient access to scholarly content to the users and to create and promote use of ICT in teaching and learning to her members.
• To extend the benefit of Consortium to its associate members including private universities and colleges.
• To impart training to the users, librarians, research scholars and faculty members of the institutions in use of electronic resources with an aim to optimize their usage.
• To promote use of e-resources with gradual decrease in print subscription.
• To promote interaction and inter-library cooperation amongst the participating universities.
• To evaluate the usage of the subscribed resources and to identify new resources that are required to be subscribed under the programme.
• To bring qualitative change in teaching, learning and research with an aim to meet the ever growing challenges of globalization of higher education.
• To increase the research productivity of the institutions both in terms of quality and quantity of publications.

Major benefits of joining the Consortium are as follows:

• Reductions in costs through group purchasing (e.g., of electronic resources)
• Increasing the ability through collaboration to advocate for the value and needs of libraries
• Improving the capacity and expertise of the members by providing professional development programs for library staff
• Encouraging the sharing of resources among members (including content, technology, expertise, and funding)
• Creating opportunities for joint advocacy, marketing, and fundraising for libraries
• Undertaking special initiatives of importance to the members of the group, such as digitization, technology implementation, information sharing, or creation of a union catalog
• The Consortium acts as a single-window service for a large number of universities with their diverse research and academic interest.
• The Consortium, with its collective strength of participating institutions, attracts highly discounted rates of subscription with most favorable terms of agreement for a wider range of e-resources.
• The research productivity of beneficiary institutions is expected to improve with increased access to international databases and full-text resources.
• The Consortium is offered better terms of agreement for use, archival access and preservation of subscribed electronic resources, which would not have been possible for any single institutions.
• Since the subscribed resources is accessible online in electronic format, the beneficiary institutions have less pressure on space requirement for storing and managing print-based library resources. Moreover, all problems associated with print media such as their wear and tear, location, shelving, binding, organizing, etc. are not an issue for electronic resources.
• Invitation to attend the COTUL General Assembly, an annual learning and knowledge sharing event.
• Training, consultation, and participation in important library areas including e-resource negotiations and licensing, open access, copyright, and open source tools.
• Enhancement of professional knowledge and sharing best practices about emerging trends in information policy and technology

All university libraries, colleges and polytechnic libraries, research libraries and special libraries are eligible to apply to join the Consortium.

Interested institutions who are joining the consortium for the first time are advised  to submit their requests to the COTUL General Secretary

Interested institutions who are joining the consortium for the first time  will pay application fees once and as Partner members will be paying an annual Contribution and subscription fees to partake in the programs and services of COTUL.

We will contact your institution directly each year to outline its exact annual contribution as a member of the consortium.

All electronic resources that are being subscribed through the Consortium are made accessible from the publisher’s Website. The COTUL official website provide links to the subscribed e resources. The access to electronic resources is IP-enabled for the member institutions. As such a user does not require “Login ID and Password” to access resources available to your  institutions, instead, the resources are accessible to you anywhere on your Campus network. Also, Most institutions provide links to such resources through their library website.

Members with issues on e-resources subscription are advised  to submit their queries to the COTUL General Secretary.

For e-resources troubleshooting and registration on both INASP and EIFL resources contact Name: Mr. Cyril Patric
eMail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mobile Phone: +255715978462

Members with issues on e-resources subscription are advised  to submit their queries to the COTUL General Secretary

For e-resources troubleshooting and registration on both INASP and EIFL resources contact Mr. Name: Mr. Cyril Patric
eMail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mobile Phone: +255715978462

Partner members  are supposed to pay  annual e-resources subscription fee  before July each year.

Partner members  are supposed to pay  annual Contribution fees to s enable COTUL to meet daily official costs and enable member to partake in the programs and services of COTUL.

Consortium for Tanzania University and Research Libraries ( COTUL ) is currently hosted under the chairmanship of the University of Dar es Salaam Located within the University of Dar es Salaam - Library,
For general enquiries : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phones: + 255 22 24 10 24

Contact COTUL tresurer for issues related to payment through  Ms. Julitha E. Rukamata
eMail: 
Mobile Phone: 

For any inquiry which need immediate action please contact the COTUL General Secretary OR the COTUL Chairperson Executive Staff