In November 2024, I embarked on a dream job as the Wikimedian-in-Residence at the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), aiming to enrich Wikimedia’s platforms with BHL’s incredible biodiversity collections. This crucial role was shaped by community-driven recommendations outlined along with the dedicated efforts of the BHL-Wiki Working Group, including key figures such as JJ Dearborn, Jake Orlowitz, Giovanna Fontenelle, and Siobhan Leachman, who continuously support the integration of BHL content with the Wikimedia ecosystem.

Since the release of our official Call for Support on 11 June 2025, the global response has been inspiring and heartwarming. We’re charting the course to a strong and sustainable future for the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Behind the scenes, many exciting conversations are underway, including offers of technical hosting, funding support, and staffing partnerships. As we transition from Smithsonian hosting, we’re seeking ambitious ideas for BHL’s future. 

In the past several weeks, we’ve seen a large, disruptive increase in traffic to the BHL main website. This blog post is meant to summarize the event, the effect on BHL and its servers, our response, and what we have planned should it happen again.

The problems experienced on BHL’s website are not related in any way to the transition away from the Smithsonian. We believe the timing of this activity and the resulting downtime to be purely coincidental.

Help us shape the future of the Biodiversity Heritage Library

The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is at a turning point. After nearly two decades of calling the Smithsonian Institution home, BHL must transition to a new hosting structure beginning in January 2026. Since receiving that news, we’ve been working steadily to secure a strong and sustainable future for BHL. In our last update, we shared the appointment of a Transition Director, the formation of a Transition Team, and a partnership with a fiscal sponsor.

Today, we release our official Call for Support. This is a pivotal moment in BHL’s journey, and we are counting on our community to help spread the word and contribute in whatever ways you can.

Leadership, Fiscal Sponsorship, and Hosting Opportunities

In April 2025, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) released a public statement announcing that the Smithsonian Institution, our administrative and technical host since 2006, will step back from this role as of January 1, 2026. That announcement marked the beginning of a new chapter for BHL: one filled with both challenges and possibilities.

Today, we’re pleased to share the first in a series of monthly blog posts that will provide open updates on the progress of our transition. We know uncertainty can be unsettling, and we want to assure our global users, partners, and supporters that the transition is well underway, and that we are actively building a stronger and more sustainable future for BHL.

From April 7–11, 2025, the global Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) community gathered at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin for the BHL Annual Meeting. Hosted at one of Europe’s premier natural history museums, this year’s event brought together BHL Members, Affiliates and stakeholders for a week of strategic planning and collaboration.

Navigating Transition Amidst Change

BHL Annual Meetings are usually a time for joyous reunions and celebration of shared successes. This year, however, the meeting was shadowed by the recent announcement that BHL must secure alternative funding and find a new institutional host. In the weeks leading up to the Annual Meeting, the original agenda pivoted swifty towards solution-building. While core elements like committee reports and the ever-popular #BHLDay remained, much of the program was reshaped to focus on navigating the transition.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. A global consortium of over 660 contributors, BHL has made more than 63 million pages of biodiversity knowledge freely accessible online. As a cornerstone of biodiversity data infrastructure, it contains the foundation of our understanding of the natural world.

For the past 20 years, the Smithsonian Institution – one of BHL’s 10 founding members – has played the vital role of hosting both the administrative and technical components of BHL. On January 1, 2026, the Smithsonian will no longer host the administrative functions of BHL. This change presents both a new challenge and a new opportunity.