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EnglishWhat is the Analytical Sciences Digital Library (ASDL)?
Updated
ASDL (asdlib.org) is a peer-reviewed digital library of instructional resources for analytical chemistry, built from contributions by analytical sciences educators and researchers and supported by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Analytical Chemistry. It is aimed primarily at undergraduate analytical chemistry instructors who want ready-made teaching materials — courseware, labs, videos, datasets, and active-learning activities — rather than at students looking for a textbook or homework help.
What you'll find on the site
The library organizes its materials around a few broad categories:
| Category | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Courseware & learning modules | Structured teaching units you can drop into a course |
| E-books | Longer-form instructional texts |
| Labs & e-labware | Experiments, including remote labs and e-labware |
| Videos, images, datasets | Media and data for illustrating concepts or running exercises |
| Classroom activities | Materials plus instructor's manuals for student participation |
| Problem exchanges | Shared problem sets |
| At-home experiments | Hands-on experiments designed for off-campus use |
The site describes all of this as "peer-reviewed labware, courseware, videos, web resources, and active learning materials that complement your analytical chemistry courses."
Who it's for
The stated audience is the analytical science teaching community — instructors and researchers in undergraduate analytical chemistry. The site also emphasizes active learning: it promotes the use of active-learning methods and points to evidence on their effectiveness in undergraduate courses. If you teach analytical chemistry and want to refresh a course or add a lab, this is the intended use case. If you're a student searching for a specific topic explanation, the library is a source of course materials rather than a study guide.
Background and support
ASDL has been operating since 1998, with resources contributed over that period by educators and researchers in the field. It is sustained by ongoing support from the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry, which also gives it a community dimension — the site invites instructors to join, and points to the Division's Facebook group and membership for events, awards, and community news.
How to start using it
- Go to asdlib.org and browse the library by resource type (courseware, labs, e-books, videos, activities).
- Pick a category that matches what you're preparing — for example, a remote lab to supplement an existing lab session, or an instructor's manual for a classroom activity.
- Review the material and adapt it to your curriculum; the site frames the resources as additions to what you already use rather than replacements.
- If you want to contribute or stay connected, use the "Join Us" path and the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry links.
One practical note: the site presents itself as a community-contributed collection, so the range and depth of material vary by topic. Expect to browse a few categories before finding the best fit for a given course.