Biodiversity Heritage Library@BioDivLibrary

The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) provides free & open access to 63+ million pages of biodiversity literature online.

 everywhere, all the time
biodiversitylibrary.org/
Joined February 2009
10,227 Photos and videos
🎉 To celebrate BHL’s 20th anniversary, we’re inviting our community to help sustain and strengthen it. If BHL supports your work or curiosity, please consider supporting it in return. 👉 Support BHL’s next chapter: ancrywkv.donorsupport.co/pag… #BHLat20 #ILoveBHL 🧪 🌏 📖 🌱
An historic illustration of bright red, yellow, and pink flowers.

ALT An historic illustration of bright red, yellow, and pink flowers.

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BHL needs ongoing support to grow, improve, and remain open to everyone. 📚️ 🧪 Like the eggs in these historic plates, recurring gifts can be Swallow-sized, Puffin-sized, Falcon-sized, or anything in between. 🐣 What size BHL Sustainer will you be? ancrywkv.donorsupport.co/pag…
An historic illustration of different sized eggs

ALT An historic illustration of different sized eggs
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Last year, the BHL community helped us take flight into a new independent future. Now we need reliable monthly support to sustain the people, systems & infrastructure that keep BHL’s 64 million pages freely available to everyone. 🧪 Become a #BHLSustainer ancrywkv.donorsupport.co/pag…
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It's #OwlAwarenessDay! These #owls are from Atlante Ornitologico (1902). Contributed to BHL by the Research Library of @AMNH : biodiversitylibrary.org/page… 🧪🦉
An historic illustration of 9 species of owls perches on tree branches and rocks.

ALT An historic illustration of 9 species of owls perches on tree branches and rocks.
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Last chance to help shape the future of BHL: the BHL User Survey closes today, July 27. Take 3–5 minutes to tell us what would make BHL more useful to you. Your feedback will directly guide our priorities and improvements as we modernize the BHL platform. bit.ly/4fpc75D

BHL User Experience

BHL is beginning a major modernization of its platform. We’d like users to help shape what comes next. This 3–5 minute survey asks about how you use BHL and the improvements you’d like to see. Your...

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What would make BHL better for you? As work begins to modernize the BHL platform, we’re inviting users to take a 3–5-minute survey. Your feedback will directly inform our priorities and shape a better BHL experience. 🧪 🌱 Take the survey: bit.ly/4fpc75D
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BHL’s latest newsletter is out! Catch up on BHL in @guardian, our server move to the @FieldMuseum, the new BHL Community Forum, Annual Meeting highlights, new member news, and more from our 20th anniversary year. Read it here: conta.cc/4ffdROv 🧪
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Biodiversity Heritage Library retweeted
Internet Archive
@internetarchive
Jun 30
🌿📚 More than 64 million pages of biodiversity knowledge are freely available through the Biodiversity Heritage Library, a global digital archive built by hundreds of museums, libraries, and research institutions. Now its future faces financial uncertainty after the loss of key support. The Internet Archive is proud to be one of BHL’s longtime preservation and digitization partners, helping ensure this extraordinary record of life on Earth remains accessible. 🌎🦋 Learn more 👇 theguardian.com/environment/… @BioDivLibrary
Illustrations from Poissons, Ecrevisses et Crabes by Louis Renard, 1754. Photograph: Ernst Mayr Library/Museum of Comparative Zoology/ Harvard University/Biodiversity Heritage Library

ALT Illustrations from Poissons, Ecrevisses et Crabes by Louis Renard, 1754. Photograph: Ernst Mayr Library/Museum of Comparative Zoology/ Harvard University/Biodiversity Heritage Library

The illustrated exhibition catalogue of Henry Howell & Co. Photograph: Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Biodiversity Heritage Library

ALT The illustrated exhibition catalogue of Henry Howell & Co. Photograph: Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Biodiversity Heritage Library

The entry for the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, in The Mammals of Australia (1863), by British naturalist John Gould. Photographs: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives/Biodiversity Heritage Library

ALT The entry for the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, in The Mammals of Australia (1863), by British naturalist John Gould. Photographs: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives/Biodiversity Heritage Library

An excerpt and illustration from Sir Joseph Hooker’s illustrated Antarctic journal 1839-43. Photograph: Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Biodiversity Heritage Library

ALT An excerpt and illustration from Sir Joseph Hooker’s illustrated Antarctic journal 1839-43. Photograph: Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Biodiversity Heritage Library

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🚚 The BHL server move has reached its biggest milestone! From 25–30 June, BHL’s web traffic will switch from the Smithsonian to the Field Museum. BHL will remain online, but full-text search, filters & on-demand PDFs will be unavailable. Learn more: about.biodiversitylibrary.or… 🧪
An historic map of north eastern USA, with a red arrow between Washington DC and Chicago

ALT An historic map of north eastern USA, with a red arrow between Washington DC and Chicago

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Biodiversity Heritage Library retweeted
Bernadette Arnaud
@NarudaaArnaud
Jun 19
C’est la plus grande archive numérique open-access au monde consacrée à la #biodiversité! La Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) et ses 64 millions de pages vous attendent! Depuis 20 ans, plus de 680 institutions (musées, universités, bibliothèques du monde entier ont numérisé et mis en ligne gratuitement des millions de documents historiques sur la vie sur Terre : (livres scientifiques, journaux de terrain, illustrations, lettres, manuscrits, catalogues, etc.). De quoi vous émerveiller sans vous déplacer. Son lien direct : biodiversitylibrary.org Article du @Guardian de Donna Ferguson ; theguardian.com/environment/…
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Biodiversity Heritage Library retweeted
Ticia Verveer@ticiaverveer
Jun 18
The Biodiversity Heritage Library @biodivlibrary is an irreplaceable cornerstone of global science, housing millions of digitized pages. Yet, this vital archive of our planet’s natural heritage stands at a critical turning point. theguardian.com/environment/…

A bonanza for fans of the natural world: the digital library sharing 64m pages of scientific...

The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt

theguardian.com
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Did you see BHL in @theguardian.com?🌱 It’s a powerful reminder of why biodiversity knowledge matters. If BHL has fuelled your research, teaching, art, writing, conservation work, or curiosity, please consider a monthly gift to support its future. 🧪 theguardian.com/environment/…

A bonanza for fans of the natural world: the digital library sharing 64m pages of scientific...

The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt

theguardian.com
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Biodiversity Heritage Library retweeted
Owen Boswarva@owenboswarva
Jun 20
A bonanza for fans of the natural world: the digital library sharing 64m pages of scientific knowledge with everyone theguardian.com/environment/… Biodiversity Heritage Library biodiversitylibrary.org/ @BioDivLibrary Public domain imgs flickr.com/photos/biodivlibr… #biodiversity #opendata
Iggulden says the potential for BHL to use AI to unlock data is huge. "AI is a real positive for BHL," he says. "The library contains vast quantities of taxonomic, geographical, ecological and specimen-level knowledge that remains inaccessible to modern computational workflows. So, unlocking this at scale would create new opportunities for biodiversity synthesis, collections linkage, historical ecological analysis and AI-assisted scientific discovery."

ALT Iggulden says the potential for BHL to use AI to unlock data is huge. "AI is a real positive for BHL," he says. "The library contains vast quantities of taxonomic, geographical, ecological and specimen-level knowledge that remains inaccessible to modern computational workflows. So, unlocking this at scale would create new opportunities for biodiversity synthesis, collections linkage, historical ecological analysis and AI-assisted scientific discovery."
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BHL is featured in the @guardian's Age of Extinction series. The article highlights the extraordinary value of BHL and the urgent need to ensure it remains free and open into the future. Please read and share: theguardian.com/environment/… 🧪 🌎 📖 🔗 🐟 💚

A bonanza for fans of the natural world: the digital library sharing 64m pages of scientific...

The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt

theguardian.com
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🚚 BHL’s servers are on the move! Over the next 3 weeks, BHL’s technical infrastructure will journey from the Smithsonian in Washington DC to the Field Museum in Chicago. BHL will remain online, with only #FullTextSearch affected while in transit. More: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org…🧪
An historic map of north east United States

ALT An historic map of north east United States
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BHL celebrated 20 years at our 2026 Annual Meeting in London, hosted by @NHM_London and #KewGardens. Partners gathered to reflect on two decades of collaboration and plan the next chapter for open biodiversity knowledge. Read more: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org… #BHLat20
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📢 If you haven’t discovered it already, check out the BHL Community Forum on Discourse 🌿 📚 Connect with the global BHL community to ask/answer questions, share projects and ideas, discuss tools and data, and explore biodiversity literature. 🧪 🌏 ➡️ forum.biodiversitylibrary.or…
A screenshot of a post on an online community forum

ALT A screenshot of a post on an online community forum

A screenshot of a post on an online community forum

ALT A screenshot of a post on an online community forum

A screenshot of a post on an online community forum

ALT A screenshot of a post on an online community forum

A screenshot of a post on an online community forum

ALT A screenshot of a post on an online community forum

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This #BiodiversityDay, BHL needs your help. Since transitioning from the Smithsonian, we are reliant on public donations to keep BHL's 64 million pages freely accessible and discoverable online. 🧪🌱 🌏 Please consider a one-time or recurring donation: ancrywkv.donorsupport.co/pag…
An historic illustration of yellow and blue striped fish.

ALT An historic illustration of yellow and blue striped fish.
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Missed #BHLDay2026? Or want to relive it? The recordings and slides are now available! Thank you @NHM_London for hosting this fabulous event, and to all the wonderful speakers for sharing their work, stories, and ideas for BHL's future: about.biodiversitylibrary.or… 🧪
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🌏 We think every day is #EarthDay. To take a deep dive into the incredible biodiversity of our precious planet, peruse the 63+ million pages (800+ years) of biodiversity knowledge on BHL. biodiversitylibrary.org #EarthDay2026 #ILoveBHL 🧪 📖 🌱
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This beautiful illustration is from Alfred Moquin-Tandon's "The world of the sea" (1869) digitized for BHL by @SILibraries : biodiversitylibrary.org/page…
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