All posts by michelle.underhill

Blog Reel, User Stories

Beyond Tunnels & Bigamy: The Scientific Contributions of the Infamous Harrison Dyar

If you have ever heard of entomologist Harrison Dyar, there’s a good chance that it was in relation to a series of tunnels that he dug beneath Washington, D.C. Or it may have been in relation to his bigamy. But if that’s all you know about Dyar, then you only know the tabloid tales. Harrison Dyar was Honorary Custodian of Lepidoptera at the United States National Museum for over 30 years. He studied sawflies, moths, butterflies and mosquitos and described hundreds of species and genera.

September 8, 2016byGrace Costantino

BHL News, Blog Reel

Update: Smorball and Beanstalk Access Restored

Access to BHL’s two online games, Smorball and Beanstalk, has now been restored. Thank you for your patience. Start playing today and improve access to BHL’s books and journals by helping to correct our OCR (optical character recognition).

June 2, 2016byGrace Costantino

Blog Reel, Featured Books

BHL at 10 Notable Books Collection

2016 marks the 10th anniversary of the Biodiversity Heritage Library. We kicked off our year-long celebrations with our #BHLat10 campaign in April, highlighting our history, growth, and milestones. As part of that campaign, we also highlighted the Top 10 Viewed and Top 10 Downloaded books in BHL. We’re continuing the celebrations with the launch of our BHL at 10 Notable Books Collection.

June 1, 2016byGrace Costantino

BHL News, Blog Reel

Inspiring Discovery at the 2016 BioBlitz and Biodiversity Festival in Washington, D.C.

BHL participated in BioBlitz 2016 in Washington, D.C. on 20-21 May. A BioBlitz focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. In this special edition of the BioBlitz, held in conjunction with the National Park Service’s centenary, the D.C. BioBlitz was accompanied by a two-day Biodiversity Festival on the National Mall at Constitution Gardens.

May 24, 2016byGrace Costantino

BHL News, Blog Reel

Wikipedia Edit-a-thon for New Zealand Species, 29 May 2016!

Help improve Wikipedia articles about New Zealand species! On Sunday, 29 May 2016, the Friends of Te Papa will be hosting a Wikipedia edit-a-thon focused on adding New Zealand plant and animal species to Wikipedia. The edit-a-thon will occur from 10:00-17:00 NZST at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, New Zealand. You can sign up here to attend in person.

May 23, 2016byGrace Costantino

Blog Reel, User Stories

Undergraduates and the BHL

“Is the bald eagle really bald?” This was the question that a recent history of science undergraduate class at Harvard University had to answer with the help of BHL. Specifically, students were required to locate Mark Catesby’s 1731 plate of the bald eagle in BHL and use the accompanying text to determine the accuracy of the bird’s moniker. Mary Sears, Head of Public Services at the Ernst Mayr Library of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, instructed the class on how to use BHL to satisfy the assignment.

May 12, 2016byGrace Costantino

BHL News, Blog Reel

BioBlitz 2016 in Washington, D.C.

BioBlitz 2016 is coming to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. May 20-21, and BHL is participating! According to the National Geographic website: “A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time.

May 11, 2016byGrace Costantino