Handlebar: a flexible, web-based inventory manager for handling barcoded samples

Abstract

Researchers are increasingly calling for more effective approaches to managing multi-institutional projects as the size and scope of such collaborative endeavors increases. It is therefore essential to build and use tools that help unite virtual communities of geographically dispersed research groups (1). The management of physical samples is an example of a common practice across laboratories, and the coordination of an effective barcoding approach can greatly improve the ease with which samples can be stored, referenced, manipulated, and redistributed (2,3). While a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is the preferred option for handling large quantities of sample data in a routine way (www.limsource.com) (4), the cost to maintain a commercial LIMS system can be prohibitive, and open-source solutions tailored for a particular type of work might not be available. Still, even the smallest projects can benefit from orderly handling of samples through barcoding. Here we present Handlebar, version 2.0, a freely available, web-based barcode handling system that makes it possible for a group of collaborators to work together to barcode their collective physical resources. We developed this system in response to the requirements of two large collaborative groups working in microbial metagenomics (www.genomics.ceh.ac.uk/mm) and fish ecotoxico-genomics (www. biosciences.bham.ac.uk/fishtoxicogenomics) to simplify and standardize the management of their physical samples. We started by convening a working group of collaborating members to examine current work practices across participating labs. Handlebar was designed to be compatible with any computer available to the user, deployed rapidly over multiple sites with no onsite support, and be user-friendly for students, postdoctoral research fellows, and principal investigators. A centrally managed, web-based solution with a simple focus on inventory logging met these requirements. When faced with the task of handling a large batch of samples, most researchers will choose to use spreadsheets, since they are familiar, easily edited, and readily shared. Handlebar builds upon the familiar spreadsheet environment by adding a central database to allocate identifiers (i.e., barcodes), standardizing the spreadsheet layout, providing usage notes, holding a definitive copy of each spreadsheet, validating incoming data, managing ownership, recording disposals, defining links between samples, logging activity, and providing rich searching and reporting (Figure 1). Users enter data into the system through their chosen spreadsheet software package and download Handlebar: a flexible, web-based inventory manager for handling barcoded samples