LIMSzine
The following column is a round-up of various books about LIMS. For more
details on these books as well as many others, check the Library
pages.
Just over a year ago, this column provided an overview of LIMS information
resources which was well received. While most of that information is still
applicable, there have been several new books published that provide assistance,
suggestions and insight into implementing and managing your LIMS. Here's
an update.
The following books are highlighted below:
Automation in the Laboratory
Validation of Computerized Analytical Systems
LabTutor: A Friendly Guide to Computer Interfacing
and LabVIEW Programming
Laboratory Information Management Systems, Development
and Implementation for a Quality Assurance Laboratory
The Use of Computers for Laboratory Automation
Successful Management of the Analytical Laboratory
Automation
in the Laboratory
Edited by W. Jeffrey Hurst, page proofs of Automation in the Laboratory
were being sold as advance copies at the 210th ACS trade show in Chicago,
IL last August. It was subsequently published in September. While not dedicated
to LIMS, the book does include a 20-page chapter by Robert McDowall which
provides LIMS information as it relates to automation in the lab. For more
information, contact VCH Publishers, Inc. (Deerfield Beach, FL). Telephone:
(305) 428-5566 or (800) 367-8249. Facsimile: (305)428-8201.
Validation of
Computerized Analytical Systems
Ludwig Huber's book, Validation of Computerized Analytical Systems, highlights
the validation of computer-controlled analytical systems. It includes information
on what to validate, when to validate, and how to validate all aspects of
computers for laboratory equipment, from programmable HPLC equipment to
chromatographic data handling to standalone computers to software, including
LIMS. The text provides the rationale, logic and methodology to perform
the validation in an acceptable manner to the regulatory agencies and accreditation
bodies (FDA GCP/GLP/GMP, ISO Guide 25, ISO 9001/EN 45001, and NAMAS). Published
in 1995, the book comprises 275 pages and costs $178.50. For more information,
contact Interpharm Press, Inc. (Buffalo Grove, IL). Telephone: (708) 459-8480.
Facsimile: (708) 459-6644.
LabTutor: A
Friendly Guide to Computer Interfacing and LabVIEW Programming
Authors John and Laura Eaton combined their printed book with a hypertext
software version to provide an introduction to the principles and practice
of laboratory data acquisition, experimental control, and data processing
using any hardware/software system. LabTutor includes specific instruction
and examples on how to use LabVIEW, a graphical programming language from
National Instruments (Austin, TX) for developing automated instrumentation
systems. The software supplements the 168-page book by including sound and
animation to clarify certain concepts and offers the advantage of rapid
searching, making it useful as an on-line manual. Published in 1995, the
book's price varies depending upon the text/software choice from $29.95
to $59.95. For more information, contact Oxford University Press (Cary,
NC). Telephone: (212) 726-6207 or (800) 451-7556. Facsimile: (212) 726-6449.
Laboratory Information
Management Systems, Development and Implementation for a Quality Assurance
Laboratory
Author Mary Hinton's Laboratory Information Management Systems, Development
and Implementation for a Quality Assurance Laboratory discusses the fundamentals
of LIMS and the steps required for development and installation. The bulk
of the book focuses on LIMS development issues with an emphasis on Quality
Assurance. A guest chapter was contributed by Dr. Sandy Weinberg of Weinberg,
Spelton & Sax Inc. (Boothwyn, PA) which highlights LIMS validation issues
that operate in conjunction with the quality assurance practices that Hinton
provides in great detail. Several appendices include listings of LIMS articles
and books, as well as a comparison of 16 LIMS vendors and their products.
Stu Miller recently gave the book a favorable review in the on-line LIMS
Mailing List. Published in October 1994, the 360-page book costs $69.75
and can be ordered by calling publisher Marcel Dekker, Inc. (New York, NY)
at (212) 696-9000.
The Use of Computers
for Laboratory Automation
Danish author S.P. Maj wrote The Use of Computers for Laboratory Automation
not to transform the reader into a software or computer engineer, but to
help scientists understand computers and use them more effectively. The
introductory chapter covers how computer communications are performed, while
subsequent chapters lead the reader through the intricacies of microprocessors,
memory devices, operating systems, interfaces, networking, data processing
and software engineering. It then relates how all these elements affect
and impact the LIMS, through discussions of GLP, GMP, and the laboratory
system development life cycle. Published in 1993, the 358-page book costs
$59.95 and is available from CRC Press (Boca Raton, FL). Telephone: (800)
272-7737. Facsimile: (800) 374-3401.
Successful Management
of the Analytical Laboratory
Oscar Milner reviews the operation of the analytical laboratory from the
standpoint of the manager's responsibilities and offers suggestions to improve
the level of the laboratory's performance and cost-effectiveness in Successful
Management of the Analytical Laboratory. The opening chapters deal with
laboratory functions and organization, while succeeding chapters cover management
issues. A final chapter discusses LIMS in detail, including justification,
cost and planning criteria. Published in 1991, the 162-page book costs $56.95
and is available from CRC Press (Boca Raton, FL). Telephone: (800) 272-7737.
Facsimile: (800) 374-3401.
Other books previously mentioned in this column include Allen Nakagawa's
LIMS: Implementation and Management, published in 1994; Gary Johnson's LabVIEW
Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control,
published in 1994; R.R. Mahaffey's LIMS: Applied Information Technology
for the Laboratory, published in 1990; and Robert McDowall's pioneering
effort Laboratory Information Management Systems, Concepts, Integration,
Implementation, published in 1987.