The Evolution of an Electronic Lab Notebook Community

Abstract

Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) products are intended to replace physical lab notebooks in basic science and clinical research labs. As part of supporting rigor and reproducibility in biomedical research practices, our library supports ELN implementation at our institution. We investigated how ELNs are currently being implemented by analyzing backend ELN usage data, then used the results to reach out to super users. Based on their feedback, we created a shared electronic lab notebook with reusable components and sponsored a training event led by LabArchives product staff. This sequence of library outreach and programming activities has increased the library’s understanding of our ELN community and diversified our methods for advancing best practices in data management.