BHL Transition Update #7: The New Chapter Begins

On 1 January 2026, the Biodiversity Heritage Library officially entered a new chapter.

Since its founding in 2006, BHL has been hosted by the Smithsonian Institution. We are profoundly grateful for the administrative, staffing, and operational support provided for nearly two decades. However, in April 2025, BHL announced that the Smithsonian would no longer host BHL beyond the end of 2025. That announcement marked the beginning of a carefully planned transition that would help define a new independent future for BHL.

Navigating the Transition

While the need to transition brought real challenges, it also created an important opportunity. It forced BHL to take a hard look at how it was structured, governed, and funded, and to confront constraints that had naturally emerged from long-term reliance on a single administrative host.

Led by the Guiding Principles for the Transition (shared with the BHL community in August), the transition focused first and foremost on:

• stabilizing BHL’s operations and infrastructure;
• strengthening financial sustainability and administrative autonomy;
• securing and retaining the staff expertise that underpins BHL’s services; and
• positioning BHL for long-term growth and global impact.

To become independent, BHL needed to identify new administrative arrangements, refine organizational and governance models, and actively broaden and diversify its funding sources. In doing so, it unlocked greater agility and shared ownership across the consortium. As a result, the transition has accelerated BHL’s evolution into a truly global, distributed consortium, with a renewed focus on sustainability, resilience, and long-term impact.

We are excited to share where BHL is now, what has already been accomplished, and what lies ahead. BHL is stable, fully operational, and in the final stages of its transition.

A Transition in Stages

BHL’s transition is being implemented in carefully planned stages, designed to maintain continuity while laying the foundations for a more sustainable, globally distributed future. Some of these stages are now complete; others are actively underway.

Completed stages include:

• Establishing the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) as BHL’s fiscal sponsor
• Transferring BHL’s financial administration to CLIR
• Confirming governance, oversight, and operational continuity across the consortium

Stages currently underway or upcoming include:

• Completing the transition of existing BHL staff to CLIR
• Planning the move of BHL’s technical infrastructure to a new host institution
• Continuing to strengthen long-term funding, partnerships, and infrastructure resilience

Together, these stages reflect a deliberate shift toward greater administrative autonomy, operational agility, resilience, and shared responsibility across the consortium.

Institutional Confidence and Partnership Commitments

One of the most encouraging outcomes of the transition has been the response from BHL’s institutional partners and allies around the world.

Through the Call for Support, launched in June 2025, BHL received a strong and constructive response from organizations that recognize the value of BHL as shared global infrastructure. Several long-standing partners stepped forward in particularly meaningful ways, providing critical support at a pivotal moment in the transition.

Notably, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library has made significant contributions of both funding and staff time, reinforcing its long-standing commitment to BHL. In addition, the Smithsonian Institution has made formal commitments to support a smooth transition, contributing to stability and operational continuity as BHL moves into its next phase.

We extend our sincere thanks to these institutions, and to all organizations that have stepped forward during this period, for their confidence, leadership and generosity. Their support is playing a critical role in helping to stabilize BHL and in shaping a strong, resilient future for the BHL Consortium.

We will share further details of these contributions and commitments as soon as formal arrangements are finalized.

New Members Joining BHL

Transition is not only about continuity; it is also about growth. As highlighted in a recent transition update, the University of South Florida Libraries is the first of several new Members joining the BHL Consortium. These new memberships are a direct outcome of the Call for Support and represent strategic partnerships and confidence in BHL’s future direction.

Stay tuned as we announce our additional new BHL Members in the coming weeks.

Staffing Continuity and Operational Stability

Ensuring staffing continuity has been a central priority throughout BHL’s transition. We are thrilled to announce that all existing BHL staff positions have been secured, preserving the expertise, institutional knowledge, and operational capacity that underpin BHL’s services. This continuity has been enabled through new administrative arrangements and reflects careful planning to ensure stability during the transition period.

For now, the key message is clear: BHL has retained its people, its expertise, and its ability to operate effectively, even as administrative and governance structures evolve. We will share more updates as new roles and arrangements are finalized.

Donations: The Wind Beneath Our Wings

The loss of long-standing Smithsonian support means that BHL now relies more heavily on additional sources of funding to sustain its work. From now on, public fundraising will be essential to ensuring BHL’s long-term sustainability.

In November, we launched our #GiveBHLWings campaign, a focused effort to support BHL’s transition by 1 January 2026. The response was overwhelming. By the time the campaign formally closed on 4 January 2026, it had raised USD 53,286.33 from 534 donations across 39 countries.

Many donors chose to include personal messages of appreciation for BHL, and a significant number of gifts were made in honour of others, including several tributes recognizing BHL staff – a powerful recognition of the community behind the infrastructure.

Importantly, the campaign also generated ongoing, recurring support, helping to strengthen BHL’s longer-term financial resilience. When combined with online donations received before and after our #GiveBHLWings campaign, BHL’s new public fundraising efforts have resulted in over USD 60,000, from more than 600 donors across 41 countries, alongside a growing base of monthly recurring contributions.

In addition to these online campaign donations, BHL has received substantial individual contributions through other giving channels, including gifts made via our Ways to Give page. We have also received commitments to future giving from individuals, including bequests, reflecting a deep level of trust in BHL’s long-term mission and impact.

We are immensely thankful to everyone who contributed, whether through a one-time donation, a recurring gift, or by helping to share BHL’s story. Your generosity and trust are directly supporting the stability, continuity, and future growth of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Ready for the Future

The Bommi Fish or Mudskipper, a species adapted to life in the transition zone between land and water. Illustration by M. A. Koekkoek. From Marvels of the universe: a popular work on the marvels of the heavens, the earth, plant life, animal life, the mighty deep, by Harry Johnston, c. 1913-1927. Contributed in BHL from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives.

Transitions of this scale are complex, but the progress to date reflects the depth of BHL’s partnerships, the strength of its governance, and the extraordinary commitment of its global community.

Importantly, this transition has not only stabilized BHL; it has positioned BHL to operate with greater agility, independence, and shared ownership than ever before. By moving beyond reliance on a single administrative host, BHL is now better equipped to respond to change, pursue new opportunities, and evolve in step with the needs of the global biodiversity community it serves.

BHL is not winding down. It is moving forward as a more distributed, resilient, and community-supported consortium, with the flexibility to grow, adapt, and innovate.

We want to acknowledge the many individuals and organizations who have contributed time, expertise, resources, and encouragement during this period. Your support has not only helped BHL through this change; it is helping to shape a stronger, more sustainable future.

Throughout this period, uninterrupted access to BHL’s collections and services has remained a core priority, and that continuity has been maintained.

Stay tuned for more updates as we work through the final stages of the transition.

Be Part of BHL’s Future

As BHL moves into this next phase, there are many ways to stay connected and support BHL’s work going forward, whether by sharing BHL with your networks, encouraging institutional participation, exploring partnership opportunities, or contributing through public giving when you are able.

🌿 Support BHL: make a donation or explore other ways to give

💚 Share the love: use #ILoveBHL on social media

💡 Share your ideas: respond to our Call for Support

📚 Stay up to date: follow #BHLTransition news on the BHL Blog