General Policy

Bookitlab Core Facility Management Software

All facility users must register in Bookitlab including those who submit service requests for imaging by staff (assisted usage) or work independently on the instruments (unassisted usage). Please contact tagided@umbc.edu to get started.

New User Training

Users who want to work independently on the instruments must submit a training request form in Bookitlab to request training and facility access. A training session will consist of approximately one hour of assisted usage time on the instrument, followed by semi-independent practice where the user will be expected to show they can use the instrument without assistance.

Scheduling

Users must create a reservation for an imaging session via Bookitlab.

Prime time:  9AM- 5PM, Monday through Friday.

Session length: Users may schedule 1-3 hour sessions during prime time. But you can continue to use the instrument if there are no other reservation on the schedule after your time. There are no limits when signing up for evenings, UMBC holidays, and weekends.  

Session number:  Each user is limited to 2 prime-time reservations per week and a total of 3 pending prime-time reservations at any given time. Once you have used a session, you are allowed to sign up for another within the same week or subsequent weeks.  Please contact the manager for experiments that require more than the regular allotted time. 

Cancellation: If for any reason you cannot use your session, it is your responsibility to delete the entry as early as possible.

Bookkeeping

Users will either log their time on the Bookitlab local app or webpage, depending on the instrument. Users are required to report equipment errors or issues during your session to the director via email. 

Data Management

Effective October 1, 2021, long-term data storage will no longer be available at the KPIF. Instrument users will be required to immediately upload to a Box or Google drive. As a courtesy, data will be stored for 24 hours on the instrument hard drives and one week in the shared folders on Dr. deCarvalho’s Google Drive.

Acknowledgments

You are required to acknowledge the Keith Porter Imaging Facility in all publications and other forms of media. Include NSF MRI award information for the Leica SP5 (DBI-0722569) and FEI Nova NanoSEM 450 (DMR-1337727). Please consider authorship if the director or staff has contributed significantly to the development of your experimental design or publication.