Beyond exchange file formats, there are initiatives that work on the specification of scientific data. Scimesh 9 defines the representation of scientific results in the form of a knowledge graph including physical specimens to facilitate the exchange of information on particular samples from one ELN to another one. Also Bioschemas offer standardised descriptions that can be used to map the content of ELNs to common schemas and ontologies. Being developed for improving the findability of life science records in the web, the types and properties defined by BioSchemas can serve as reference to describe ELN content in a suitable way.