Thousands of internationally recognized scientific articles are already within reach of the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) academic community. However, not everyone is fully aware of or takes full advantage of this valuable resource. With this in mind, the UGM Library and Archives organized an online workshop titled “Research Smarter with ACS Resources” on Wednesday (July 16).
Held in collaboration with iGroup, the workshop introduced lecturers, researchers, students, and educational staff to American Chemical Society (ACS) Publications, one of the world’s leading scientific databases that UGM has subscribed to for many years to support education, research, and scholarly publishing.
Head of the UGM Library and Archives, Arif Surachman, S.IP., MBA., emphasized that access to high-quality databases can only create meaningful impact when they are actively utilized by the academic community.
“UGM has subscribed to ACS Publications for many years as one of our internationally recognized scientific information resources. We encourage lecturers, researchers, and students—particularly those from the Faculties of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacy, and other related disciplines—to make the most of this database. The greater its utilization, the greater the opportunity to produce high-quality research and scholarly publications,” he said.
Although ACS Publications is widely associated with chemistry, its scope extends far beyond the discipline. The database offers scholarly resources in materials science, energy, environmental science, engineering, pharmacy, biology, medicine, nanotechnology, and many other multidisciplinary fields. As such, it serves as a valuable resource for researchers and students across a wide range of academic disciplines at UGM.
To showcase these opportunities, the UGM Library and Archives invited Mandy Sum, Market & Business Development Manager for ASEAN & Oceania at the American Chemical Society. During her presentation, Mandy introduced participants to ACS resources, covering literature search strategies, journal selection for publication, publication ethics, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in scholarly writing.
Mandy also shared that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the American Chemical Society, celebrating a century and a half of advancing chemistry and scientific publishing worldwide. Throughout its 150-year history, ACS has continued to develop high-quality scholarly resources that help researchers produce impactful research and expand the frontiers of scientific knowledge.
“For 150 years, ACS has remained committed to supporting the global scientific community through high-quality publications, research resources, and services that assist researchers at every stage of their research journey,” Mandy explained.
Through this workshop, the UGM Library and Archives aims to ensure that the university’s subscribed databases are not merely digital collections, but are fully utilized as trusted sources of scientific information to strengthen research quality, improve scholarly publications, and foster innovations that benefit society.
The workshop reflects the UGM Library and Archives’ ongoing commitment to enhancing information literacy and supporting the university’s research ecosystem. It also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4: Quality Education by strengthening the academic community’s capacity to access and utilize scientific information, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure by supporting knowledge-driven research and innovation, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals through collaboration between the UGM Library and Archives and the American Chemical Society in expanding access to global scientific resources.
Contributor: Wasilatul Baroroh