Presented at CONUL conference, May 2018, Galway, Ireland

1. Transforming research by unlocking biodiversity data
in library and archives collections
30 May 2018 | CONUL Conference, Galway
Jane Smith, Natural History Museum, London
Constance Rinaldo, Ernst Mayr Library of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
University;
Martin Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Institution Libraries (Twitter @udcmrk)

2. The inspiration for the
Biodiversity Heritage Library
“The cultivation of natural science cannot be efficiently
carried on without reference to an extensive library”
Charles Darwin, et al (1847)

3. The drivers for BHL:
Supporting scientists working with colleagues and specimens
geographically dispersed.
Expectation and need that literature and data be a click away
whether in the laboratory or in the field.

4. Making literature available
through:
• Digitization
• Open access
• Data integration
• Linking library and archives to
specimens
• User engagement
Supporting Open Science

5. Our Vision
Inspiring Discovery through
Free Access to Biodiversity Knowledge
The Biodiversity Heritage
Library improves
research methodology
by collaboratively
making biodiversity
literature openly available
to the world as part of a
global biodiversity
community.
Mission

6. “BHL has made available rare and unique
publications from the 18th and 19th century,
much needed for my research, that I cannot
find in The Netherlands. In a word,
BHL helps me progress.”
Eulàlia Gassó Miracle
Curator of Butterflies
Naturalis Biodiversity Center

7. The problem we are jointly solving is
the Taxonomic Impediment
Much of the biodiversity literature, published and
original material, is available in only a few select libraries
in the developed world. Lack of access to the literature is
a major impediment to the efficiency of scientific
research.

8. The problem we are jointly solving-
the Taxonomic Impediment
Much of the biodiversity literature, published and
original material, is available in only a few select libraries
in the developed world. Lack of access to the literature is
a major impediment to the efficiency of scientific
research.How?

9. BHL combines
Science
+
Libraries
+
Technology

10. Natural history literature and archives contain
information that is critical to studying life on Earth.
SPECIES
DESCRIPTIONS
DISTRIBUTION
RECORDS
HISTORY OF
SCIENTIFIC
DISCOVERY
CLIMATE
RECORDS
INFORMATION
ON EXTINCT
SPECIES
SCIENTIFIC
OBSERVATIONS
ECOSYSTEM
PROFILES
SCIENTIFIC
ILLUSTRATIONS

11. Unlocking the data – connecting the data

12. The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an open access digital library for
biodiversity literature and archives.
(www.biodiversitylibrary.org)

13. CUSTOM PDF
DOWNLOADS
584,000+
TO DATE
ARTICLE
INDEXING
228,000+
TO DATE
DOI
ASSIGNMENT
111,000+
TO DATE
BHL offers a range of free services
API and
DATA EXPORTS
TAXONOMIC
NAME
SEARCHING
REFERENCE
MANAGEMENT
TOOLS
*Stats as of May 2018

14. CUSTOM PDF
DOWNLOADS
584,000+
TO DATE
ARTICLE
INDEXING
228,000+
TO DATE
DOI
ASSIGNMENT
111,000+
TO DATE
BHL offers a range of free services
API and
DATA EXPORTS
TAXONOMIC
NAME
SEARCHING
REFERENCE
MANAGEMENT
TOOLS
*Stats as of May 2018
from May
2018

16. Greater than the sum of our parts

17. BHL is a Global Consortium
20 MEMBERS
As of May 2018
20AFFILIATES
80+WORLDWIDE PARTNERS

18. Benefits of collaboration: What BHL institutions have in common
C15th C16th C17th C18th C19th C20th C21st
Extensive
Open
Global
Linked
Natural history sciences
Collectors /naturalists
Exploration
Regions
Focus on natural history science
 Biodiversity specifically
 Extensive collections –
published and original material
 Complementary collections
 Supporting scientists and other
researchers
 Often the same researchers
moving between institutions
Differences:
 Home institutions – type, drivers,
strategies
 Funding, legal frameworks
 Subject coverage

19. How we work together - Virtual organisation

20. FUNDING & IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS
DIRECT STAFF
$1,424,792.54
VALUE
OF
MEMBER & AFFILIATE CONTRIBUTIONS
2015- 2017
OTHER
$392,751.28
TOTAL IN-KIND
CONTRIBUTIONS
2015
$1,358,908.20
2016
$1,817,543.82
27.26
TOTAL MEMBER &
AFFILIATE FTEs
WORKING ON BHL
IN 2017

21. Common Digitization Strategy
Local strategies reflected
in the common strategy for
BHL
Common collection development
policy
- Started with published out-
copyright serials and books
- Obtaining permissions for in-©
material
- Now moving on to special
collections and archives

22. Common Digitization Practice: Technical
Shared technology approach
- Repository
- Workflows
- Tools and applications
- Standards of practice –
raising the bar

23. BHL collaborates with and contributes content to a
variety of partners…

24. Local benefits of collaboration – a few
examples
Resources: Shared the cost to digitization​ to meet our end user needs
Locally – and in partnership - able to consider
- Conservation​ and preservation
- Disaster planning​
- Space planning​
- Lease vs. buy collections​
- Weeding & deduplication of collections​
Sharing knowledge, expertise, bench marking etc.
Impacts of Digitization : Literature and Specimens
- Improved data linkages​
- Improved accessibility of our digital objects​
- Managing changes in physical storage/space needs​
- Cost/Shared solutions​
- Downsides
- Collection dispersal​
- Less accessibility to physical objects​
- Potential Loss of “browsability​”
- Potential loss of physical object data​

25. Primary goal - benefits to our users
Focus on scientists (taxonomists /systematists)
• Often working on cross-institutional, cross-funded projects
• Need to access, extract, use data in similar ways
• Critical mass of content for our users
• Extending how we work with our “local” constituencies – using
feedback and engagement from our science users
• Wider audiences in other research disciplines and public

26. 7+MILLION
TOTAL USERS TO DATE
AVERAGE MONTHLY
USERS118,000+
14+ MILLION
TOTAL WEBSITE VISITS TO DATE
AVERAGE MONTHLY
VISITS212,000+
VISITS FROM
243COUNTRIES &
TERRITORIES
*Stats as of April 2018

27. 100,000+
TOTAL FOLLOWERS ON
SOCIAL MEDIA
TOTAL FOLLOWERS
18,000+
TOTAL FOLLOWERS
15,000+
TOTAL FOLLOWERS
45,000+
TOTAL FOLLOWERS
5,600+
AVERAGE MONTHLY
READERS (CY18)
2,500+
FOLLOW @BIODIVLIBRARY
*Stats as of April 2018
TOTAL FOLLOWERS
14,400+
TOTAL FOLLOWERS
2,000+

28. A Commitment to Open Access…
BHL is a charter signatory of the Bouchout Declaration for Open
Biodiversity Knowledge Management.
Fundamental principles of the Declaration:
Free & Open Use
Policies to Foster Free & Open
Access
Registers for Content &
Services
Linked Data
Sustainable Knowledge Management
Persistent Identifiers
Tracking Identifiers to Ensure Attribution
Infrastructure, Standards &
Protocols to Improve Access

29. Engagement with scientists and user
feedback.
Working with and understanding user needs is crucial to prioritising content and collaborative
linking; technical development -user tools, applications

30. "We believe that by sharing important collections in BHL and allowing
free digital access to such materials, we will greatly assist researchers
in furthering their own research on biodiversity. Information inequality
between developing and developed world researchers can be
narrowed with the availability of open access digital repositories.”
Dr. Nura Abdul Karim
Deputy Director
Library, Training, and External Relations
Singapore Botanic Gardens

31. SPECIES NAMED IN HONOR OF BHL
Vargapupa biheli
“We may think it is natural to have old literature online,
but if we didn't, we would have serious trouble finding
the relevant publications. Therefore
I thought BHL definitely deserves a new species named
after it for the help it provided.”
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3937.1.1
Dr. Barna Páll-Gergely

32. Use beyond science – arts, humanities, social sciences
“The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an amazing resource
for visual artists! Any artist interested in learning about
natural history and science would consider these rare
resources invaluable.”
Emily Williams
Glass Artist and Adjunct Art Professor
Troy University

33. Summary
 Focused purpose
 Collaboration across science,
libraries, technology
 Shared standards and practice
 User engagement critical
 Open, linked, global

34. “BHL is an excellent, unique initiative that
creates a virtuous circle in which scientific
knowledge is available to those who need it
the most, helping them to produce more
knowledge and bridging geographic and
cultural frontiers as if they don't exist.”
Dr. Alejandro Bortolus
Coastal Ecologist
Head of the Grupo de Ecología en Ambientes
Costeros at IPEEC-CONICET

35. Questions?
www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Jane.smith@nhm.ac,uk
crinaldo@oeb.harvard.edu
kalfatovicm@si.edu