A common problem for researchers and staff in research data management is to keep track of the large market of software for electronic laboratory notebooks (ELN) in order to select suitable tools or services. Several questions arise:

• Which ELN software is there that fits my purposes?
• How do I find all suitable ELNs for inorganic chemistry?
• Which ELN systems support standard XYZ and are open source?
• How do I find reliable information on different ELNs?
• How do I compare different ELNs?

In future, a web application will answer these questions. So far, ZB MED and the ULB Darmstadt have been driving the development. Among other things, the partners have developed a hierarchical catalogue of criteria and implemented it in a DSpace 7 repository whose entries contain a wealth of information on ELN software tools.

Where do we go from here?

We are currently looking for partners to form an editorial team to maintain the criteria catalogue and the help texts and, if necessary, to formulate technical change requests. In a first step, the project has already been presented to the life science and natural science NFDI consortia. The first interested parties have already been recruited.

Are you interested in participating?
Please contact
Birte Lindstädt, ZB MED (editorial office)
Gerald Jagusch, ULB Darmstadt (IT)

Learn more:
Background and goals
Demo version