of raw instrument data (the entire file directory for the experiment, including the FID and associated files), with processed spectra optionally included. MassBank is a specific repository for small molecule and metabolomics mass spectral data. Use open file formats. Where possible, do not provide data in proprietary formats. Become familiar with the data formats and standards in your area of research, IUPAC provide information about many standard formats. Open formats in NMR, mass spectrometry, UV/Vis-, IR, and Raman spectroscopy have been recently reviewed. Often a very simple first step is to export coordinate spectroscopic data to CSV, and there are numerous online tools for conversion of proprietary to open file formats -for example Open Babel, which provides tools for interconversion >100 file formats common in the chemical sciences.