ACS on Campus is an outreach program dedicated to helping students, post-docs and faculty advance their careers by bringing together leaders in chemistry, publishing, research and science communications. The recent ACS on Campus events held in Brazil in May 2015 marked the first execution of a separate track dedicated to engaging and better understanding the […]
ACS on Campus is an outreach program dedicated to helping students, post-docs and faculty advance their careers by bringing together leaders in chemistry, publishing, research and science communications.
The recent ACS on Campus events held in Brazil in May 2015 marked the first execution of a separate track dedicated to engaging and better understanding the professional landscape in which librarians work. The 2 hour session included an overview of Open Access from the perspective of ACS Publications and the realities of running a modern academic library. Approximately 8–15 librarians attended each session, of which participants came from both chemistry departments and general sciences. In all cases, the sessions generated lively discussions around open access, faculty engagement and data management. Ultimately, these sessions provided librarians the opportunity to share their main concerns and challenges with running an academic library with their colleagues and ACS Publications staff.
The week kicked off with UFRGS (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul) in Porto Alegre, where colleagues from physics and biology joined librarians from the chemistry department. Discussion centered on maximizing the interaction between the library, faculty and students, and a desire to support users and researchers with article writing. The second meeting at UFSC (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina) had a slightly larger audience, with a mix from all sciences. The group was interested to learn more about open access and how it can support publication plans within the institution. The group also discussed the future of libraries in Brazil and the librarian’s evolving role within them.
At the last meeting in the series at UNICAMP (Universidade de Campinas), ACS Publications staff welcomed over 15 librarians from different areas of the university. In this mixed group, there was much discussion around how libraries can support faculty with the publications process, from writing and submitting articles to improving the number of academic articles accepted for publication. The attendees rounded out the session by discussing the evolving role of libraries in academic institutions, generating ideas for ways to further support faculty and students.
In addition to the librarian breakout sessions, the agendas included breakout sessions for faculty as well as revamped presentations for the main section of events. Attendees learned techniques for communicating their research effectively, the intricacies of the peer review process, the ins and outs of metrics (both author and article level), the story and structure of SciFinder, and the tricky world of copyright and ethics.
Overall, the ACS on Campus events were very well received, with attendees expressing positive feedback on the sessions and topics presented. If you are interesting in attending an ACS on Campus event, or have suggestions for future meetings, please visit acsoncampus.acs.org.