Open science

Laboratory notebooks

The electronic laboratory notebook service is coordinated between the Open Science and Research Support Department of the Joint Documentation Service (SCD) and the Innovation and Partnerships Department (DIPa), with technical support from the Information Systems and Digital Technology Department (DSIN).

An electronic lab notebook?

The electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) is the digital counterpart of the paper laboratory notebook. Like the latter, it documents research activities and scientific work in detail on a daily basis. It guarantees the traceability and reproducibility of research while attesting to the quality and accuracy of the data. Where applicable, it can serve as proof of prior knowledge and ownership of the data.

It is particularly suited to structures where work is not very routine, such as research or R&D laboratories. The main benefits of CLEs are their ability to quickly retrieve the information and data they contain (search function), to share them more effectively, and to improve collaboration. Their structure allows for better data organization and more secure storage.

eLab FTW: the choice of the University of Montpellier

After a period of benchmarking and testing across several units, the University of Montpellier chose the eLabFTW solution for several reasons:

  1. Open science: open source software licensed under AGPLv3, hosted on GitHub, originally developed in French higher education and research institutions. It facilitates the production of FAIR data.
  2. Practicality: web application that works on all operating systems, offered as SaaS by Deltablot (the software developer). It is a versatile, easy-to-use software program that is quick to learn. There is a large community of users around eLabFTW. It is used in particular by the CEA, CNRS, INRIA, INRAE, and IRD.
  3. Legal compliance: compliant with standards for the admission of electronic evidence (Article 1366 of the Civil Code), the General Accessibility Improvement Framework (RGAA), andWCAG 2.0.
    It has eIDAS 2014 certified time stamping.
  4. Data security: fully encrypted data transfer (TLS 1.3). Rated A+ on HTTP Observatory. Certified "silver" by the Open Source Security Foundation. It is the first CNRS-certified application, particularly in terms of security criteria. Validated by the UM's RSSI and FSD. Data stored on a SecNumCloud 3.2 server .

Key features of eLab FTW

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How CLE helps with the production of FAIR data

The FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) describe how data should be organized to be more accessible, understandable, exchangeable, and reusable.

Findable

  • All CLE entries have a unique identifier.
  • Entries are described with extensive metadata (author(s), creation dates, tags, list of related files, etc.), which is itself linked to this identifier.
  • eLab FTW has powerful search options that allow you to quickly find data or metadata.

Accessible

  • The data may be shared in full with the simple authorization of their authors.
  • The solution is accessible online (depending on the system administration settings and defined rights).
  • Entries can be exported as PDF files for universal reading.

Interoperable

  • We encourage the submission of data in open formats or formats commonly used in the research communities from which they originate.
  • Experiments written in CLE are stored in JSON format (open format).
  • eLab FTW is a member of the ELN consortium, which works to promote the .eln standard for CLE notebook data.

Reusable

  • CLE enables the duplication of entries and the creation of reusable experience models.

Who is the electronic lab notebook intended for?

The CLE deployed at UM is intended for anyone conducting research in a unit hosted by the University of Montpellier, regardless of their status (researcher, engineer, technician, doctoral student, intern, etc.) or their supervisory authority.
Access to the service is free of charge, including for non-permanent staff.

How do I access the service?

If your unit is eligible for the service, the DU can submit a request by contacting the project team at: elabftw-assistance@umontpellier.fr. It is recommended that you organize a presentation seminar in your unit before the CLE opens.

Starting in September 2025, requests can also be made through the service center.

Who's coming with me?

The project team supports you at every stage of CLE deployment:

  • One-hour presentation seminar in the units
  • Training in the use of the tool (2 hours), in person or remotely
  • Training in the administration of the tool (45 min to 1 hour)
  • Specific sessions for doctoral students in the first semester
  • Supporting change and integrating CLE into laboratory life
  • Individual appointment upon request

Training and support at eLab FTW are open to all UM staff, even if they use an instance provided by another supervisory authority.

Does the lab notebook have legal value?

Yes. Like a paper notebook, an electronic notebook can serve as proof of authorship, originality, or prior existence in the event of a dispute related to intellectual property.

Traceability is ensured by the authentication (single or double) of contributors and the dating of modifications. It is possible to have your experiences time-stamped by Universign, guaranteeing their existence on a given date.

Am I required to use lab notebooks in my unit/team/research group?

No. UM does not require the use of electronic lab notebooks.

CLE teams are open to any research staff who request to join (with management approval).

The decision to require its use in a unit or team is up to each management team.

Nevertheless, the use of a laboratory notebook is strongly recommended as part of a quality assurance process. It is contractually mandatory for doctoral students.

Aren't electronic lab notebooks more suited to bench work?

Initially, yes. In the late 1990s, the first CLEs developed within the chemistry community, with a focus on research and development.

As a result, many of the features implemented in these tools were designed specifically for this discipline. Over time, the disciplinary fields covered by CLEs have expanded, either through the creation of numerous specific CLEs dedicated to particular areas (agronomy, pharmaceuticals/biomedical, geology, etc.) or through the development of generic CLEs designed to transcend disciplinary boundaries.

eLab FTW is a generic CLE widely used in disciplines that already used paper lab notebooks, such as physics, chemistry, and cellular and molecular biology, but also in disciplines where this tool is not central to the field, such as language sciences, psychology, philosophy/history of science, and geography.

I need to work outside the laboratory (teleworking/in the field). Can I use the electronic lab notebook?

Yes. As a web-based tool, CLE is accessible anywhere in France with an internet connection.
It also works on tablets and smartphones (pen input possible).

Please note: an internet connection is required to use this service.

Where is my data stored?

They are not stored on your device.
They are hosted on secure servers with redundancy, managed by 3DS Outscale, in the Paris region.

You can export your data at any time in .pdf, .csv, .zip, or .enl (computer format dedicated to CLE) formats. .zip and .enl files can be reloaded into eLabFTW as is, allowing you to transfer your experiments or resources from one instance to another without any problems if you wish.

I use large files. Can I upload them to the electronic lab notebook?

The CLE is not intended to store large volumes of raw data (proteomic or genomic data, CT scans, long or very high-definition videos).

If you are using large files, it is best to store them in a disciplinary data warehouse and import the link to the stored file into the CLE (a dedicated tab can be generated in the CLE entries). A link to a local storage server is also possible.

There is a limit of 100 MB per file, but it is possible to import multiple files in a single entry.

For more information

The open science webinar dedicated to CLEs

Best practices for setting up a CNRS electronic lab notebook

The elab FTW demo instance is accessible to everyone without a login.