BI-ANNUAL NEWSLETTER | May 2022
Biodiversity Heritage Library logo
The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) improves research methodology by collaboratively making biodiversity literature openly available to the world as part of a global biodiversity community.
The Vast Library of Life: 15 Years of the BHL Portal
On May 9, BHL celebrated 15 years since the launch of the BHL portal. Though the BHL consortium was officially formed in 2006, the BHL website launched the following year with just over 300 titles in the collection. Today, BHL hosts over 176,000 titles, more than 280,000 volumes, and 60+ million pages of biodiversity literature. BHL Program Director Martin Kalfatovic looks back on the momentous launch event with an anniversary blog post.
A woman with glasses and brown hair stands in front of green foliage
Welcome to JJ Dearborn,
BHL Data Manager
In January, BHL welcomed JJ Dearborn to the newly created position of BHL Data Manager. The position is part of the BHL Secretariat, hosted by the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. As Data Manager, Ms. Dearborn will be developing and implementing a comprehensive view of how BHL collections can be optimized to support the interoperability of BHL data in the larger biodiversity community.
10 Years of BHL Growth and Transformation
While Program Director
In April, Martin Kalfatovic celebrated 10 years in his role as BHL Program Director. Early on, Mr. Kalfatovic led BHL through a time of transition, assuming the role after the retirement of BHL's first Program Director, Tom Garnett. During his time as Director, BHL has grown significantly, both as a consortium (adding 20 new partners) and as a collection (adding more than 21 million pages of content).
Front cover of 'Catalogue of all Specimens on Natural History collected by Mr Blandowski's Party during an Expedition to the Lower Murray in 1857' by Gerard Krefft
Blandowski's Infamous Catalogue Now Available Online
Blandowski’s Catalogue is one of the most precious items held by the Museums Victoria Archives. It documents natural history specimens collected by William Blandowski and Gerard Krefft for the National Museum of Victoria (predecessor of Museums Victoria) during an expedition along the Lower Murray and Darling River in 1857. Blandowski’s Catalogue has recently been digitised by BHL Australia and is now available to view online.
Image of trees behind text announcing new article PDFs
New Article PDF Content Available
BHL added a new, more efficient article download option in early 2022. The new article PDFs are available for immediate download from both the article landing page and while viewing an article within a book. The new format also includes embedded, searchable text. The new format brings articles within BHL more in line with modern publishing standards and improves their discoverability outside of BHL.
Map showing places of publication
Color coded co-occurrence network map of subjects in a data set
Analyzing BHL Metadata
BHL's collection and its corresponding metadata offer a wealth of opportunity for data mining and analysis. Lidia Ponce de la Vega, a pre-doctoral candidate in Hispanic Studies at McGill University, focused her 2021 internship on a broad collections analysis to trace intersections of cataloging, publishing, language, and content. In a two-part blog series, Ms. Ponce de la Vega explores patterns in metadata that can inform decolonial policies and takes a deeper look at the unequal relationship between the Global South and North using publications on Panama as a test case.
Biodiversity Heritage Library logo
Inspiring Discovery through Free Access to Biodiversity Knowledge.
BHL makes it easier than ever for you to access the information you need to study and explore life on Earth…for free, anytime, anywhere.
Blue silhouette of a book
60+ Million Pages of Biodiversity Literature Online. EXPLORE >>
Blue silhouette of a computer with gears on the screen.
Tools and Services to Transform Research. EXPLORE >>
Blue silhouette of a page with a flower cutout.
300,000+ Illustrations on Flickr.
Blue silhouette of hands raised.
Many Opportunities to Get Involved
with BHL.
Stay Connected with BHL
176,000+ Titles | 282,000+ Volumes | 60+ Million Pages