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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/18/natural-world-digital-biodiversity-heritage-library-scientific-knowledge-free-access-aoe>
"Some go there to read about the wood that Victorian manufacturers used to make
walking sticks. Others want to see an illustration of a Tasmanian tiger or
marvel at the field diary of one of the first known botanists to explore the
Antarctic.
Over the past 20 years, more than 64m pages have been made freely available
through the
Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) – a digital treasure trove
for fans of the natural world. More than 680 museums, universities, libraries
and scientific institutions from China, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand to
Europe, Africa, Mexico, Canada and the US, have contributed to the library.
This week, a report from Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG), Kew revealed the crucial
role digitisation is playing in “transforming our ability to understand and
respond to the climate and biodiversity crises”, but it was the creation of the
BHL 20 years ago that first demonstrated how bringing centuries of scientific
knowledge online can unlock transformative discoveries and insights about the
natural world.
David Iggulden, who chairs the BHL executive committee alongside his job as
head of data and digital, library and archives at RBG Kew, describes the
library as an invaluable and “absolutely essential” resource for scientists in
the field. But it is also used by scientific researchers, environmental
historians, educators, art historians, artists, citizen scientists and members
of the public who – like Iggulden – simply enjoy browsing its contents on a
rainy weekend.
“I just get caught up in it sometimes, looking at the various collections,” he
says. “I think it’s amazing that we can explore such a vast array of different
collections from very different institutions.”
As well as published biodiversity literature and journals, there are letters,
illustrations, climate records, field diaries, ecosystem profiles, distribution
records and manuscripts containing the original collecting stories of a
particular species or detailing voyages of discovery."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
