The Internet Archive, a non-profit institution based in San Francisco and long-time BHL partner in digitization efforts, and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, one of the world’s premier natural history museums, based in Leiden, The Netherlands, have joined the Biodiversity Heritage Library as Affiliates. These new partnerships will allow BHL to expand the breadth and depth of its online collection and strengthen the consortium’s technical expertise. The BHL consortium now consists of ten Affiliates and fifteen Members.

The Internet Archive

The Internet Archive (IA) was founded in 1996 with the mission to provide “Universal access to all Knowledge.” The organization seeks to preserve our shared cultural heritage and to provide open access to our cultural artifacts in the digital era, supporting the work of historians, scholars, journalists, students, the blind and reading disabled, as well as the general public. The Internet Archive’s digital collections include more than 460 billion Web captures, moving images (2.2 M videos and films), audio (2.5 M recordings, 140k concerts), texts (8M texts and digital books), software (100,000 items) and television (3M hours). It has created new models for digital conservation by forging alliances with more than 400 libraries, universities and national archives around the world. IA employs approximately 150 staff worldwide, including those scanning books in 30 centers in 4 continents, with expertise in a wide variety of areas including digitization, technical development, large scale storage, web archiving, collection management, fundraising, and public outreach, particularly in the policy realm.

The Internet Archive has been partnering with BHL on digitization and technical activities for over a decade. IA’s scanning technology was the basis for BHL scanning starting in 2006. IA also built and manages the underlying technical infrastructure that delivers and stores the BHL content. BHL was also the proud recipient of the Internet Archive’s Internet Heroes award in 2015.

Brewster Kahle at the Internet Archive headquarters in San Francisco, CA.

“This move to Affiliate status formalizes a relationship that stretches back over ten years,” emphasized Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive Founder and Digital Librarian. “The Internet Archive was built through the collaboration of people and institutions from all around the world. One of the earliest library consortia to partner with IA was the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Through its collaboration with the BHL, IA maintains a strong interest in biodiversity, but the key benefits to both organizations in the Archive’s joining BHL as an Affiliate will be in the areas of technology, collaborative grants, building new partnerships, and advocacy for open content.”

The Naturalis Biodiversity Center

The Library of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center is of national importance, holding approximately 350,000 books, journals, rare books, drawings and a variety of archival material. The library collection of the Dutch Entomological Society is also incorporated. For almost 200 years, collection concentrations have been linked to Naturalis’ research themes. Through its affiliation, Naturalis will enhance the Biodiversity Heritage Library’s current corpus of over 48 million pages through the contribution of titles not yet found within BHL’s collection.

“I am very pleased that we now can share our digitized library collection in BHL,” stated Caroline Pepermans, Head of Library Collections at Naturalis. “In our domain BHL is ‘the’ global repository of legacy biodiversity literature. Our affiliation fits very well with our strategic goals of sharing knowledge, resources and data. We are excited to participate in such an innovative consortium as BHL.”

There have been some exciting developments in BHL-land, including new projects to add more content to BHL such as in-copyright titles, materials from new contributors, and field notes. These new projects come with new funding as well. We’ve also expanded our consortium with two new affiliates and participated in some fun outreach activities. Find all this and more in the Winter 2016 BHL Newsletter.

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Graham Higley (left, Natural History Museum; and Tom Garnett (right, future BHL Program Director, Smithsonian Libraries)

On June 12, 2006, representatives from the first ten partners of the just forming Biodiversity Heritage Library met in Washington at the Smithsonian Institution to plan for the formation of the BHL.

Representatives from the Smithsonian Libraries; the Missouri Botanical Garden; the Natural History Museum (London); the Marine Biological Laboratory / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Library; the American Museum of Natural History; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; the Ernst Mayr Library of the Museum of Comparative Zoology; and the Field Museum attended the meeting. Representatives from the two remaining founding institutions, Harvard Botany Libraries and the New York Botanical Garden, were unable to attend.

Also attending the meeting were Brewster Kahle of the Internet Archive, the longtime BHL partner in digitization activities; staff from OCLC; and representatives from a number of technology firms interested in the nascent work of the BHL.

Since 2006, BHL has grown from a group of ten founding institutions to a worldwide consortium of 23  Members and Affiliates in the US and the UK and global nodes in Europe, China, Brazil, Africa, Egypt, Mexico, Singapore, and Australia. We look forward to the next nine years, and hope to add many millions more pages to our library. Can we reach 100 million pages by 2024?

Rear left, Chris Freeland, Founding BHL Techinical Director * * * * *

(left to right) Neal Thompson and Bernard Scaife (NH London), Martin R. Kalfatovic (Smithsonian Libraries) and Brewster Kahle (Internet Archive)

Attendees at the first organizational meeting for BHL.

So you probably know that BHL is a global consortium and that to date we have 23 Members and Affiliates plus 8 global nodes. Explore our Members and Affiliates’ contributions to BHL in our latest quarterly report and newsletter. The report is also full of other awesome updates and will provide answers to your pressing questions like “What’s Garden Stories anyway?” and “How can I get involved in BHL by providing support or engaging in citizen science activities?”. Check it out!

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The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) welcomes The Field Museum as a new member. One of the original founding institutions of BHL in 2007, The Field Museum has participated in the Biodiversity Heritage Library as an Affiliate since 2012 and now represents the consortium’s 16th Member.

Descriptive catalogue of the lepidopterous insects contained in the Museum of the Honourable East-India Company. 1828-29. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37023686. Digitized for BHL by The Field Museum Library.

Founded in 1893 as the Columbian Museum of Chicago, The Field Museum has been inspiring curiosity about life on earth for more than 120 years. The Field Museum Library, founded in 1894, is committed to supporting the Museum’s mission as an educational and research institution concerned with diversity and relationships in nature and among cultures. With a collection of over 275,000 volumes of books and journals and other significant special collections of archives, manuscripts, photo archives and original natural history illustrations, the Library serves the scientific, professional, and creative needs of the Museum’s staff and research associates, volunteers, and interns, as well as visiting researchers, specialists, and scholars from around the world.

Great and small game of Africa. 1899. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37141656. Digitized for BHL by The Field Museum Library.

The Field Museum started contributing to the BHL collection in 2007 through a collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Museum’s first contributions included over a centuries’ worth of Field Museum scientific publications and reports as well as select publications related to Hymenoptera. Since then, the Library has been digitizing missing volumes from publication runs in BHL, priority requests from users, and select collections with support from The Field Museum’s Africa Council and the CARLI Book Digitization Initiative (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois). Through participation in BHL at the full Member level, the Museum hopes to digitize many unique and significant titles, including rare volumes from the Library’s ornithology collection.

“Increasing access to Field Museum collections is a high institutional priority and critical to fulfilling our mission,” emphasized Christine Giannoni, Museum Librarian and Head of Library Collections at the Museum Library. “The collaborative nature of the BHL partnership allows us to effectively digitize and share our collections while fulfilling our mission.”

Onze vogels in huis en tuin. 1869-76. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41754973. Digitized for BHL by The Field Museum Library.

Since 2012, BHL’s consortium has operated within a tiered structure comprised of Members and Affiliates. While Affiliates can contribute content, provide technical services, and participate in select committees, participation at the full Member level allows for greater institutional impact, including the right to vote on strategic directives, help govern the BHL program, and use central digitization funds. Those participating at the Member level also commit to an annual fee that helps support BHL’s financial stability.

“We are thrilled to welcome The Field Museum – an institution that has been part of the BHL family since the very beginning – as a BHL Member,” affirmed Martin R. Kalfatovic, BHL Program Director. “As we continue to refine our strategic and operational priorities to ensure long-term sustainability, the support of our Members is central to the health of our organization and helps us achieve our mission to provide free, open, and global access to the world’s biodiversity knowledge.”

View books contributed by The Field Museum in BHL.
View images from books contributed by The Field Museum in the BHL Flickr.

Attendees at the 2015 BHL Annual Meeting at The Field Museum in Chicago, IL.

BHL Members and Affiliates met in Chicago, IL, for the 2015 Annual Meeting (17-18 March 2015). The annual meeting is a chance for BHL Member and Affiliate representatives to learn what is happening around BHL and to give updates from their own institutions.

Christine Giannoni. Director, The Field Museum Library.

This year, the meeting was hosted by Christine Giannoni (Museum Librarian & Head of Library Collections, The Field Museum Library) at The Field Museum, one of the original founding institutions of the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Since 2012, The Field Museum has participated in BHL as an Affiliate. The venue was a decidedly appropriate one, as, on the first day of the meeting, The Field Museum announced their decision to join BHL as a Member institution! Stay tuned for more information about this exciting development.

This year’s meeting began with an open BHL-Day on 17 March, during which librarians, scientists, and interested parties in the Chicago area were invited to attend a half-day program about BHL. Dr. Nancy E. Gwinn, BHL Executive Committee Chair and Director of the Smithsonian Libraries, presented on the Origins and Growth of BHL. William Ulate, BHL Technical Director, followed with updates on current BHL projects, including Purposeful Gaming, Art of Life, and Mining Biodiversity. Constance Rinaldo, BHL Executive Committee Vice-Chair and Librarian of the Ernst Mayr Library of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, provided updates from BHL’s global nodes, and Grace Costantino, BHL Outreach and Communication Manager, provided an overview of BHL’s use of social media to reach and engage with audiences.

The highlight of the event, however, was a presentation by Dr. Matthew von Konrat, Head of Botanical Collections and McCarter Collections Manager (Bryophytes and Pteridophytes) at The Field Museum. Dr. von Konrat explained how he uses BHL daily to support his work, which includes creating a key to bryophytes (liverworts, hornworts, and mosses) – the second largest group of land plants after flowering plants.

Dr. Matthew von Konrat presenting at the 2015 BHL Annual Meeting at The Field Museum in Chicago, IL.

Martin R. Kalfatovic, BHL Director and Associate Director of Smithsonian Libraries, concluded the BHL-Day celebration with a presentation on the 2014 year in review and a look at future plans for BHL. Following a working lunch for BHL representatives, the meeting continued the afternoon of 17 March with a session open to BHL Members and Affiliates, during which representatives provided updates about BHL activities and progress at their home institutions. After a more detailed technical and global discussion from William Ulate and Constance Rinaldo (respectively), Bianca Crowley, BHL Collections Coordinator, presented collections committee updates and Carolyn Sheffield, BHL Program Manager, gave a presentation on the current status of BHL’s administration and financials.

Meeting attendees were treated to a lovely catered dinner in The Field Museum Library the evening of 17 March, which provided a unique opportunity to catch-up with fellow BHL colleagues and enjoy a good meal while surrounded by library books!

The business portion of the meeting took place the following day, 18 March, during which the 2015 budget was approved, a committee to revise membership policies was organized, and updates to our strategic plan through 2017 were discussed. Finally, a new BHL Executive Committee was elected. Dr. Nancy E. Gwinn and Constance Rinaldo were both re-elected to serve as Chair and Vice-Chair (respectively). Jane Smith (Head of Library and Archives at the Natural History Museum, London) was elected to serve as the Executive Committee Secretary, succeeding Susan Fraser (Director, The LuEsther T. Mertz Library, The New York Botanical Garden).

Representatives from 18 out of the 23 BHL Member and Affiliate institutions attended the meeting. Pictured at the top of this post are the meeting attendees:

Front Row, left to right: Bianca Crowley (BHL Collections Coordinator), Grace Costantino (BHL Outreach and Communication Manager), Chris Mills (Kew), Nancy Gwinn (Smithsonian Libraries).

Second Row, left to right: Eric Chin (BHL Singapore), Carolyn Sheffield (BHL Program Manager), Anne-Lise Fourie (BHL Africa), Leora Siegel (Chicago Botanic Garden), Diane Reilinger (MBL/WHOI).

Third Row, left to right: Patricia Koleff (CONABIO, BHL Mexico), Tomoko Steen (Library of Congress), Christine Giannoni (Field Museum), Susan Fraser (NYBG), Constance Rinaldo (Harvard/Museum of Comparative Zoology), Judy Warnement (Harvard Botany Libraries), Jane Smith (NHM, London).

Back Row, left to right: Richad Hulser (NHMLAC), Kelli Trei (UIUC), Doug Holland (Missouri Botanical Garden), Martin R. Kalfatovic (BHL Program Director), Marty Schlabach (Cornell), Tom Baione (AMNH), William Ulate (BHL Technical Director).

Almost two years ago, BHL Africa officially launched during a three-day workshop hosted by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden in Pretoria, South Africa. In the subsequent two years, BHLA has begun digitization at some participating institutions and has drafted a governance framework for the node. Recent developments, including a grant from the JRS Biodiversity Foundation and a new status within the global BHL community, have brought our colleagues significantly closer to achieving their vision of global access to biodiversity resources in sub-Saharan African institutions.

On January 30, 2015, the JRS Biodiversity Foundation, which is committed to enhancing the understanding of biological diversity for the benefit and sustainability of life on earth, announced an award of $150,000 to facilitate the growth of BHL Africa. JRS’ support of BHL Africa began in 2011 with a sponsorship for African attendance at the BHL Life and Literature Conference in Chicago, IL, followed by additional support for the launch ceremony and corresponding workshop in April, 2013.

Group photo at the BHL Africa launch ceremony. Pretoria, South Africa. April, 2013.

Awarded to SANBI, this new grant will grow BHLA through assessment, collaboration, and digitization, resulting in a wealth of collections unique to African institutions being added to BHL. This new JRS support will allow BHLA to:

• Conduct outreach to expand active BHLA participation through engagement with current members and recruitment of new participants
• Improve communications and host workshops and trainings for 13 BHLA member institutions
• Analyze the existing capacity for participation and content aggregation
• Stabilize the governance of the organization and infrastructure through sustainability planning

In order to accomplish these objectives, Anne-Lise Fourie, Assistant Director of SANBI Libraries, Chair of BHLA and PI on the JRS Africa project, plans to survey current members and potential partners and conduct site visits to Kenya and Uganda to establish capacities and collection profiles. This information will help inform future trainings regarding identification of unique content for inclusion in BHL and the selection of digitization service providers.

Learn more about the project, planned outputs, and project staff on the BHL Africa web page on the JRS website.

We are also pleased to announce that BHL Africa has joined BHL as an Affiliate, following the example of BHL Singapore and BHL Mexico, which participate in BHL both as autonomous regional nodes and Members of the BHL. As an Affiliate, BHLA may participate in BHL committees, task forces, and working groups and will collaborate more extensively within the global BHL community. See a list of current BHL Members and Affiliates here.

We are thrilled at BHL Africa’s progress and look forward to witnessing the continued growth of the project.

Contributions from BHL Africa

Important Birds Areas in Kenya. Contributed by Nature Kenya, East Africa Natural History Society for BHL Africa. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/87589.

Current BHL Africa partner contributions to the BHL Collection include:

• Publications from the South African National Biodiversity Institute
• Articles and Publications from Nature Kenya, East Africa Natural History Society
• The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity’s “Ichthyological Papers of J.L.B. Smith 1931-1943”