What is a serial?
A serial is generally taken to mean something that is published serially, at predictable intervals. The terms "periodical" and "serial" are often used interchangeably. Serials can be both print and electronic.
Examples of serials include:
- Newspapers
- Academic journals
- Magazines
African Serials @ IUB
IUB Libraries subscribe to more than 20,000 journal titles in print format, electronic format, and both print and electronic formats depending on the individual title. More than 700 journals are specifically related to African Studies.
Please see the links to multi-subject and specialized databases below for electronically accessible African serials.
Subscriptions are held for serials of research value for all disciplines for which materials are collected in-depth, including publications from Africa and those issued by scholarly organizations and trade publishers outside Africa. Because of Serials Department policies regarding irregularly and infrequently published serials, the Librarian for African Studies also must acquire serials from vendors and on exchange which are not on subscription in the Serials Department (e.g., African telephone books). The African Studies curriculum, research interests of faculty, collection responsibilities for CAMP (Cooperative Africana Microform Project), and cooperative programs for the Africana Librarians Council, ARL, and BTAA will be taken into consideration in placing other subscriptions.
Databases
- Academic Search (EBSCO)
Provides full-text coverage of magazine, newspaper, and scholarly journal articles for most academic disciplines.
- JSTOR
Provides searchable full-text of historical runs of important scholarly journals in the humanities, arts, sciences, ecology, and business.
- Scopus
Citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books and conference proceedings.
- Africa-Wide Information
Multidisciplinary index to research and publications by Africans and about Africa.
- Rand Daily Mail, 1902-1985
Newspaper published daily in Johannesburg, renowned today for being the first newspaper to openly oppose apartheid and contribute to its downfall.
- African Newspapers: The British Library Collection
Digital access to 64 newspapers from throughout Africa, all published before 1901.
- African History and Culture, 1540-1921: Imprints from the Library Company of Philadelphia
This collection includes more than 1,300 fully cataloged and searchable books, pamphlets, almanacs, broadsides and ephemera covering the history, peoples, and social and economic development of the African continent from the 16th century to the early 20th century. All areas of Africa and important adjacent regions are covered.
- Apartheid South Africa 1948-1994
Apartheid South Africa makes available British government files from the Foreign, Colonial, Dominion and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices spanning the period 1948 to 1980. Includes access to sections I through IV.
- Confidential Print: Africa, 1834-1966
Official British government correspondence concerning Africa from the Foreign Office and the Colonial Office.
- International African Bibliography Online
The International African Bibliography Online (IABO) is a specialist bibliography of African Studies and contains 140,000 entries of the International African Bibliography published in the years 1971 to 2015 and about 4,000 new publications will be added per year.