The University of Rochester has selected LabArchives as our institution-wide, electronic lab notebook solution. Researchers at URochester can access LabArchives free of charge to manage both research labs and laboratory courses. Our team at URochester Libraries’ can provide more information, help you get set-up in the platform, and troubleshoot any issues you encounter. We also facilitate regular training sessions for the platform provided directly from the experts at LabArchives.
New in Fall 2026 - PHI Data Guidance
LabArchives now allows adding sensitive and PHI data in the notebooks.
As of Fall 2026, the University of Rochester maintains a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with LabArchives, allowing the platform to support research involving Protected Health Information (PHI) when used in accordance with University policies, IRB requirements, and applicable regulatory standards.
Researchers remain responsible for ensuring appropriate access controls, data stewardship, and compliance with University policies, sponsor requirements, and applicable regulations.
Each LabArchives notebook allows 1 TB or 30,000 entries per notebook with individual files uploads up to 16 GB. There is no limit to the number of notebooks you may have. For uploading files that are larger than 16GB you can link the file from another storage location. Visit the Office of Research IT's Research Data Storage page to learn more about university approved data storage options. Contact University Libraries for additional support for sharing data.
2026 LabArchives trainings
Representatives from LabArchives visited the university on April 28 and 29, 2026 to offer a variety of public and private trainings. Visit this page to learn more about past offerings. If you would like a similar session for yourself or your lab at a future date, please fill out this form.
Below is a list of the sessions offered:
- Getting Started with LabArchives
- Responsible Data Stewardship: Conversation with ORISE
- LabArchives Biomedical Edition
- LabArchives Chemistry Edition
- LabArchives Session for the Center for Musculoskeletal Research
- Advanced Notebook Features
Notebooks and Scheduler for Physics, Optics, Astronomy, and more
Getting Started
- Sign-in to LabArchives at https://mynotebook.labarchives.com/login. Select the University of Rochester on the drop-down list and you will be directed to sign-in with your active directory credentials.
- Use the web interface. For mobile devices, use the LabArchives mobile app.
- Attend one of LabArchives regular introductory training sessions or browse through their extensive guides by topic. You can also watch video tutorials for various topics on the LabArchives Resources page.
- Reach out to University Libraries for any questions, support, or getting started with the platform.
LabArchives Features
- Electronic laboratory notebook (ELN)
- Searchable, timestamped research records
- Laboratory and team collaboration
- Protocol and SOP management
- Templates for research documentation
- File attachments and organization
- Inventory module to streamline organizing, tracking and ordering lab inventory
- Scheduler module to manage and schedule lab equipment and resources
- Ability to reference or link to externally stored research data
- Integration with other platforms such as REDCap, BioRender Graphing, GraphPad Prism, protocols.io and more
- Use LabArchives in your classes (with optional integration with Blackboard)
Best Practice: Use LabArchives as the central record of your research while linking to large datasets maintained in approved institutional storage.
Frequently Asked Questions - General
Am I required to use LabArchives?
No, LabArchives is opt-in.
What is the cost?
LabArchives is free to use for University of Rochester faculty, staff, and students.
When Should I Use LabArchives or Another Institutional Product?
Many research projects rely on multiple technologies throughout the research lifecycle. The following guide can help identify the appropriate institutional solution based on your research needs.
| If you need to... | Primary Purpose | Recommended Tool |
| Document experiments, observations, protocols, and laboratory activities | Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN) for active research documentation and management | LabArchives |
| Collect participant or study data | Secure electronic data capture (EDC) and research data management | REDCap |
| Manage the operational aspects of a clinical trial | Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) for study management, participant tracking, calendars, regulatory workflows, financial management, and reporting | OnCore CTMS / eReg |
| Store large active research datasets | Secure storage for active research data and large files | Research Storage |
| Perform high-performance computing or advanced analytics | High-performance computing (HPC), GPUs, and computational research | CIRC/ORIT |
| Publish manuscripts, datasets, or other scholarly outputs | Research publication, data sharing, and long-term preservation | University of Rochester Research Repository (URRR - Figshare) |
| Evaluate or select the appropriate research technology | Guidance on institutional research technology solutions | Research Technology Consultation with CIRC/ORIT |
For support with REDCap, other research storage, CIRC and high-performance computing, and general research technology planning and implementation, contact ORIT and CIRC.
For support with LabArchives, URRR, and general guidance on research documentation and reproducibility, contact University Libraries.
Are there LabArchives trainings?
Yes, URochester Libraries provide training for individuals, small groups, and labs. Additionally, LabArchives hosts multiple webinars a week.
Will you allow sensitive data, restricted data, confidential data, Personal Health Information (PHI), Identifiable health information (IHI), deidentified health information, or Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulated data in LabArchives?
As of Fall 2026, the University of Rochester maintains a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with LabArchives, allowing the platform to support research involving Protected Health Information (PHI) when used in accordance with University policies, IRB requirements, and applicable regulatory standards.
Researchers remain responsible for ensuring appropriate access controls, data stewardship, and compliance with University policies, sponsor requirements, and applicable regulations.
Is there a max amount of data that I can store?
Each LabArchives notebook allows 1 TB or 30,000 entries per notebook with individual files uploads up to 16 GB. There is no limit to the number of notebooks you may have. For uploading files that are larger than 16GB you can link the file from another storage location. Visit the Office of Research IT's Research Data Storage page to learn more about university approved data storage options. Contact University Libraries for additional support for sharing data.
Who can answer additional questions about data storage?
You can contact University Libraries for any questions about storing data within LabArchives. For further storage options, the Office of Research IT provides guidance about approved storage options at the university.
Who can access my notebook(s)?
Owners of lab notebooks have full administrative control, including what is shared, with whom, and what they are allowed to view and edit within your notebook. If you share your notebook outside of UR, it is your responsibility to ensure that the recipients follow the appropriate policies and have the appropriate data sharing agreement in place. Contact library staff for information on data sharing agreements.
How can I give collaborators access to my content?
You can give URochester and non-URochester people read-only or edit access to your notebook or parts of your notebook via their email address. When you add them, a link will be emailed to them. Here are detailed instructions for sharing your content.
Can I export information from my notebook?
Yes, you can export the entire notebook or any portion of a notebook as a PDF. You can also choose to create on offline notebook which creates a zip drive with HTML files for the notebook and a directory of attachments.
Can I share my notebooks publicly through Share URL or through DOI?
Yes, you can choose to share your data publicly. PIs are responsible for following any data use agreements or funder requirements when sharing publicly.
What happens to my notebook(s) when I graduate (student) or if I leave URochester (employee)?
Before your departure, we recommend reviewing ORPA’s guidelines on PIs leaving the organization. You can transfer ownership to another URochester researcher if they would like the notebook to continue being updated accessed. You can also export the notebook as a PDF.
I'm new to URochester and have used LabArchives at another institution. Can I transfer my data?
Yes, URochester allows data to be transferred as long as your previous institution allows this. Please contact the libraries for support.
Does LabArchives integrate with other platforms such as protocols.io?
Yes, LabArchives integrates with various platforms including but not limited to SnapGene, GraphPad Prism, Jupyter, and protocols.io.
Learn more about the LabArchives' external integrations and specifically more about the protocols.io integration.
Frequently Asked Questions - For Education
What is the difference between LabArchives for Education and LabArchives for Research?
They run off the same electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) platform, so they run the same. No matter which one you sign-in under, you will have access to all of your notebooks.
Should I grade directly in LabArchives or use the Blackboard integration?
You can learn more about the LabArchives Integration with Blackboard on URochester's University IT webpage. We also recommend you talk to URochester Libraries’ or LabArchives support to discuss which option is better for you. Additionally, LabArchives has several articles on using the Blackboard integration with LabArchives.
I do not have access to course manager / I do not have the ability to make assignments.
When you are logged in to LabArchives, click on your name and go to “User Properties.” Then you can choose to check “Instructor.”
Is an electronic laboratory notebook the same as a print notebook, but just online?
No, LabArchives allows everything to be kept in one place. You can have your procedures, safety guidelines, instructions, observations, documentation, analyses, conclusions, write-ups, quizzes, lecture videos, and all other course materials in LabArchives. It also has version control, a history of all changes, and easy copying and sharing.
(UPDATED FALL 2026) Is LabArchives useful for humanities and social science classes?
Any course where students document their work, collaborate, upload files, and get feedback from their instructor, could benefit from using LabArchives. This blog post discusses how LabArchives can be used in non-STEM courses.
In Fall of 2026, LabArchives launched a new feature to extract text from handwritten images. Learn more here and contact University Libraries for any additional questions.
What are the benefits of using LabArchives in my classes?
- Electronic submission of assignments with instantaneous feedback
- Easy to navigate folder and file structure - well-organized
- Students can have all of their observations, documentation, analyses, and conclusions in LabArchives.
- Version control and complete history of all changes
- Collaborative tool where multiple people can edit
- Notebooks can be archived once the class is complete.
- Integrates with popular tools - Blackboard, Box, Jupyter, Google, Microsoft, Word, Excel, RedCap, YouTube, SnapGene, and more.
- Electronic laboratory notebooks are becoming the standard in research labs and industry, so it is beneficial for students to become familiar with them early.
What challenges should I look out for when implementing?
- Setting up the notebook may be time-consuming. Once the notebook is setup, you can copy it and reuse it other semesters.
- Students will need some training in how to use LabArchives.
- Students will need to have access to laptops in the lab. You will need to ensure there is a safe spot for these laptops to be situated, or have a plan in place to ensure the technology is safe. You can read more about this in a Knowledgebase article.
