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 via Bookitlab.

Prime time = 9AM- 5PM, Mon-Fri 
Users may schedule 1-3 hour blocks during prime time. Each user is limited to a total of 3 prime-time sign-ups at any given time and no more than 2 prime-time sign-ups per week. This means if you have signed up for two blocks of prime time for the current week (6 hours total), you can only sign up for one more 3-hour prime time block in the following week or weeks ahead.  Once you used one of your prime time sessions, you can then sign up for another.  Please contact the manager for special circumstances/experiments. There are no limits when signing up for evenings, holidays, and weekends. NOTE: You can continue to use the instrument beyond your 3-hour session if there is no other reservation on the schedule. 

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

Bookkeeping

Each instrument has a Bookitlab local application that users are required to log into at the beginning and end of their time on the instrument (NOTE: Except for the SEM, users must log in and out via Bookitlab website). 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.