Kickstarting Use of Electronic Lab Notebooks at an Academic Medical School

Background: As part of Indiana University School of Medicine’s effort to strengthen the research data management practices of its researchers, an electronic lab notebook (ELN) was licensed to improve the organization, security, and share-ability of data/information generated by the institution’s research labs and groups. The initial pilot of the ELN (i.e., LabArchives) at Indiana University School of Medicine involved 15 research labs and the medical library led implementation efforts on behalf of the School’s Office of Research Affairs. Beginning in April 2019, access to LabArchives was expanded beyond the pilot labs and made available to all faculty, students, and staff at IUSM as well as other IU campuses.

Description: Beyond the pilot phase, the medical library supports researchers using the electronic lab notebook by 1) delivering trainings that cover strategies for adopting an ELN and a hands-on demo of LabArchives, 2) scheduling one-on-one consults that mirror the structure of the training sessions, and 3) developing best practice guidance to assist in adoption of the ELN. The medical library communicates availability of LabArchives to faculty, students, and staff through presentations delivered at department meetings and write-ups in the institution's newsletter. The Data Services Librarian is the primary contact for this service; however, to make the service more sustainable, three other librarians are trained to deliver the training sessions and conduct individual consults. To assess the use of LabArchives and improve support moving forward, user surveys are distributed twice a year.

Conclusion: As of April 2020, there are 560 users of LabArchives at Indiana University. Ongoing challenges include: determining additional support beyond the existing trainings, defining “successful” adoption at the institution level, and further expanding this service in light of current events. By leading the development of this service, the library is more strongly integrated and visible in the research activities of IUSM, particularly as related to information and data management. Additional areas for research policy development were identified as a result of this work, especially related to data/information retention timelines and exit processes for research labs that depart Indiana University School of Medicine.