# Latest **URL:** https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/latest.md [Latest](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/latest.md) · [Categories](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/categories.md) · [Tags](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/tags.md) --- ## [Welcome to BHL Community Forum! 👋](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/welcome-to-bhl-community-forum/5)
**Author:** [@system](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/system)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [April 24, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/welcome-to-bhl-community-forum/5 "2026-04-24T17:04:35Z")
We’re so glad you joined us! This is a place to connect with other BHL users, ask questions, share discoveries, suggest improvements, and explore new ways of using BHL tools, collections, and data. We hope you find this… --- ## [New #BHLat20 Post: Study Nature Not Books, While Getting to Know BHL](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/new-bhlat20-post-study-nature-not-books-while-getting-to-know-bhl/201)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/new-bhlat20-post-study-nature-not-books-while-getting-to-know-bhl/201 "2026-10-22T16:38:00Z")
Our latest contribution to the BHL 20th Anniversary blog series comes from Matthew Person at the MBLWHOI Library in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Matthew shares how the MBLWHOI Library introduces students to BHL through ha… --- ## [Reflections on TDWG 2026 and GBIF GB33](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/reflections-on-tdwg-2026-and-gbif-gb33/200)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2026, 6:43am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/reflections-on-tdwg-2026-and-gbif-gb33/200 "2026-10-15T06:43:57Z")
I’ve just published a blog post about my/our recent two weeks in Oslo for TDWG and the GBIF Governing Board meeting: Building Connections and New Possibilities for BHL at TDWG 2026 and GBIF GB33. It was my ninth consecu… --- ## [48 natural history plates turned into a grid-drawing coloring book](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/48-natural-history-plates-turned-into-a-grid-drawing-coloring-book/199)
**Author:** [@PaulCheca](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/PaulCheca)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2026, 6:51am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/48-natural-history-plates-turned-into-a-grid-drawing-coloring-book/199 "2026-10-09T06:51:48Z")
I made a coloring book with no colors in it, built out of public domain natural history plates. Each page is a grid of numbered squares. You draw one of four marks following a key, a dot, a slash, a cross, a filled squa… --- ## [Collections as data: Transcribing the ornithological observations of Walter Faxon](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/collections-as-data-transcribing-the-ornithological-observations-of-walter-faxon/198)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2026, 2:58pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/collections-as-data-transcribing-the-ornithological-observations-of-walter-faxon/198 "2026-10-08T14:58:49Z")
With the GBIF Governing Board Meeting and Science Symposium taking place last week, alongside celebrations of their 25th anniversary – Happy Birthday GBIF! – this seemed like great timing for our latest bhlat20 anniversa… --- ## [People and organisations BHL should talk to](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/people-and-organisations-bhl-should-talk-to/197)
**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/rdmpage)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2026, 8:55am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/people-and-organisations-bhl-should-talk-to/197 "2026-10-08T08:55:42Z")
This is sort of a note to myself, but every so often I come across people or organisations that I think would be really interesting to talk to about digital libraries and the future of BHL. I thought I’d keep a list her… --- ## [The potential value of BHL to biology](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/the-potential-value-of-bhl-to-biology/196)
**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/rdmpage)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2026, 7:49am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/the-potential-value-of-bhl-to-biology/196 "2026-09-26T07:49:27Z")
Within biology as a whole, BHL probably has closer links to taxonomists than to other disciplines. After all, BHL is full of original descriptions of new names, taxonomic revisions, and keys to flora and fauna. But the l… --- ## [BHL Workshop at TDWG 2026 feedback](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/bhl-workshop-at-tdwg-2026-feedback/195)
**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/rdmpage)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2026, 7:15am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/bhl-workshop-at-tdwg-2026-feedback/195 "2026-09-25T07:15:54Z")
Yesterday @bhl\_nicole and I ran a workshop on “future interfaces for BHL” at the TDWG 2026 in Oslo. The workshop was “hands on” with live demos of various tools that I’ve posted here, such as the BHL name timeline and… --- ## [Should BHL charge for access?](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/should-bhl-charge-for-access/194)
**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/rdmpage)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [September 18, 2026, 9:26am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/should-bhl-charge-for-access/194 "2026-09-18T09:26:20Z")
Given that most people’s reaction to the question “should BHL charge for access?” is likely to be an emphatic NO! let me explain my goal here. I have no formal role in BHL, this post is purely me shooting the breeze, and… --- ## [Extinct Species Descriptions: the most precious treasure in BHL](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/extinct-species-descriptions-the-most-precious-treasure-in-bhl/191)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 7, 2026, 7:22am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/extinct-species-descriptions-the-most-precious-treasure-in-bhl/191 "2026-09-07T07:22:00Z")
It was never the plan for me, as BHL’s Communications Director, to contribute a post to our #BHLat20 Anniversary blog series, but someone had to pull out and I had to fill the gap. But, oh, the dilemma! How does one cho… --- ## [Introducing the BHL Platform Modernization Project — Survey Results & What's Next](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/introducing-the-bhl-platform-modernization-project-survey-results-whats-next/189)
**Author:** [@rahul](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/rahul)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 30, 2026, 9:47am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/introducing-the-bhl-platform-modernization-project-survey-results-whats-next/189 "2026-08-30T09:47:36Z")
Hi everyone, My name is Rahul Sharma, and I’m writing to formally introduce myself to the community as the Project Manager & Cloud Engineer for the BHL Platform Modernization initiative, authorized by the BHL Executive … --- ## [In-copyright freshwater science now in BHL](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/in-copyright-freshwater-science-now-in-bhl/186)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/in-copyright-freshwater-science-now-in-bhl/186 "2026-08-23T11:54:00Z")
In celebration of #WorldLakeDay this Thursday (27 August), I thought I’d share a recent BHL Australia digitisation effort. Last year, BHL Australia was contacted by freshwater scientists who needed access to two publica… --- ## [Creating clip art from scanned images](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/creating-clip-art-from-scanned-images/185)
**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/rdmpage)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 21, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/creating-clip-art-from-scanned-images/185 "2026-08-21T18:00:49Z")
From the is a post by Dario Taraborelli highlighting work by Daniel van Strien: Every one of the 1.02 million illustrations in the British Library's 19th-century book images dataset now comes with an instance mask. The g… --- ## [Rejected to Accepted: New #BHLat20 Treasures post](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/rejected-to-accepted-new-bhlat20-treasures-post/178)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 18, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/rejected-to-accepted-new-bhlat20-treasures-post/178 "2026-08-18T15:47:15Z")
Our latest BHL 20th Anniversary Treasures post comes from Elizabeth McKinley (@emckinley) at the Field Museum’s Marie Louise Rosenthal Library. It tells a wonderfully BHL story about rare books, scientific nomenclature,… --- ## [Welcoming our new BHL EC Members!](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/welcoming-our-new-bhl-ec-members/184)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 17, 2026, 6:09am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/welcoming-our-new-bhl-ec-members/184 "2026-08-17T06:09:04Z")
We’re delighted to officially welcome Amanda Boczar and Leora Siegel (lsiegel) to two newly created positions on the BHL Executive Committee. Amanda has been appointed BHL’s inaugural Strategic Development Officer, b… --- ## [Plotting how the use of a taxonomic name changes over time using BHL](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/plotting-how-the-use-of-a-taxonomic-name-changes-over-time-using-bhl/183)
**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/rdmpage)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 14, 2026, 10:41am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/plotting-how-the-use-of-a-taxonomic-name-changes-over-time-using-bhl/183 "2026-08-14T10:41:23Z")
I’ve created a tool to display how the use of a taxonomic name changes over time in BHL, see BHL Name Timeline This is part of a series of demos for the upcoming BHL workshop at the TDWG meetings in Oslo. I’ve built var… --- ## [FineBooks: are open OCR models good enough to unlock historical knowledge?](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/finebooks-are-open-ocr-models-good-enough-to-unlock-historical-knowledge/182)
**Author:** [@UDCMRK](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/UDCMRK)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [August 12, 2026, 12:53pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/finebooks-are-open-ocr-models-good-enough-to-unlock-historical-knowledge/182 "2026-08-12T12:53:42Z")
Apologies if this is old news, but I just came across it. Great to see “The first collection we have chosen to work on is the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), a global collection of more than 300,000 digitized histor… --- ## [New BHL at 20 post: Pioneers of Illinois Natural History](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/new-bhl-at-20-post-pioneers-of-illinois-natural-history/174)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/new-bhl-at-20-post-pioneers-of-illinois-natural-history/174 "2026-08-11T16:00:12Z")
Our latest anniversary treasure takes us to Illinois and the work of two pioneering scientists: Stephen A. Forbes and Charles Robertson. Forbes helped shape modern ecology through his research on fishes, insects, birds,… --- ## [Please, Livre des simples médecines：Codex Bruxellensis IV. Roberts and William T. Stearn(Antwerp, 1984)](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/please-livre-des-simples-medecines-codex-bruxellensis-iv-roberts-and-william-t-stearn-antwerp-1984/175)
**Author:** [@anhao](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/anhao)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2026, 2:00pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/please-livre-des-simples-medecines-codex-bruxellensis-iv-roberts-and-william-t-stearn-antwerp-1984/175 "2026-08-09T14:00:10Z")
Livre des simples médecines：Codex Bruxellensis IV. Roberts and William T. Stearn(Antwerp, 1984) --- ## [New BHL monthly giving campaign](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/new-bhl-monthly-giving-campaign/173)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 5, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/new-bhl-monthly-giving-campaign/173 "2026-08-05T13:27:39Z")
We’ve just launched a new fundraising campaign inviting supporters to become BHL Sustainers by making a recurring monthly gift. Over the past year, the BHL community has helped BHL transition to a new independent future… --- ## [Type catalogues, Wikidata and BHL](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/type-catalogues-wikidata-and-bhl/172)
**Author:** [@Ambrosia10](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/Ambrosia10)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/type-catalogues-wikidata-and-bhl/172 "2026-08-02T02:34:06Z")
Sabine von Mering has recently published a paper discussing her work using Wikidata to create a multilingual dataset of published type catalogues. The Biodiversity Heritage Library was used to find publications that prov… --- ## [New #BHLat20 blog: Tasmania’s history in the Papers and Proceedings](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/new-bhlat20-blog-tasmania-s-history-in-the-papers-and-proceedings/169)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 2, 2026, 2:26am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/new-bhlat20-blog-tasmania-s-history-in-the-papers-and-proceedings/169 "2026-08-02T02:26:10Z")
The first volume of the Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen’s Land appeared in 1849, beginning a tradition of scientific and cultural publishing that continues today. In our latest BHL 20th Anniver… --- ## [BHL workshop at TDWG 2026](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/bhl-workshop-at-tdwg-2026/170)
**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/rdmpage)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 30, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/bhl-workshop-at-tdwg-2026/170 "2026-07-30T18:23:56Z")
I have started planning for the BHL workshop that will be held at TDWG 2026 in Oslo in September. My intention is to explore a range of possible interface ideas for BHL, based on some demos that I and others have created… --- ## [Introduce yourself to the BHL community](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/introduce-yourself-to-the-bhl-community/26)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [July 27, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/introduce-yourself-to-the-bhl-community/26 "2026-07-27T19:28:21Z")
Welcome to the BHL Community Forum! If you’re new here, feel free to introduce yourself. We’d love to get to know the people who make up the global BHL community. You might like to share: where you’re based your inst… --- ## [The Biodiversity Libroscope](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/the-biodiversity-libroscope/144)
**Author:** [@UDCMRK](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/UDCMRK)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 24, 2026, 10:13am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/the-biodiversity-libroscope/144 "2026-07-24T10:13:30Z")
The “The Biodiversity Libroscope: A Community roadmap to liberate and mobilize knowledge from scientific publications” released the other day makes for interesting reading. Donat has been working on this for a while and … --- ## [Senckenberg joins BHL!](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/senckenberg-joins-bhl/168)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 22, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/senckenberg-joins-bhl/168 "2026-07-22T13:30:52Z")
We’re delighted to welcome Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (Senckenberg Nature Research) as BHL’s newest Member. In a new post on the BHL Blog, Dr. Jana Hoffmann reflects on what Senckenberg’s membership mea… --- ## [Wikimania 2026 posters](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/wikimania-2026-posters/166)
**Author:** [@Ambrosia10](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/Ambrosia10)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 21, 2026, 7:06am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/wikimania-2026-posters/166 "2026-07-21T07:06:47Z")
Waiting for the pre conference on climate change and reading the posters outside the venue. Of the few posters I’ve seen TWO mention BHL related content. --- ## [What would make BHL better for you?](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/what-would-make-bhl-better-for-you/165)
**Author:** [@bhl\_nicole](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/bhl_nicole)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 20, 2026, 3:27am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/what-would-make-bhl-better-for-you/165 "2026-07-20T03:27:24Z")
Help shape the future of BHL As work begins to modernise the BHL platform, we’re inviting members of the BHL community to share their experiences through a 3–5-minute survey. However you use BHL, we want to hear about: … --- ## [Bringing Scandinavian Flora back to life: Digital restoration of classic botanical plates](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/bringing-scandinavian-flora-back-to-life-digital-restoration-of-classic-botanical-plates/161)
**Author:** [@mikkel](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/mikkel)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2026, 1:53pm UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/bringing-scandinavian-flora-back-to-life-digital-restoration-of-classic-botanical-plates/161 "2026-07-19T13:53:27Z")
Dear BHL Community, I wanted to share a creative project with users of the incredible archives of the Biodiversity Heritage Library. I have taken on the task of digitally enhancing a large collection of classic Scandin… --- ## [Al Search Is Rebundling Everything Libraries Know About Discovery](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/al-search-is-rebundling-everything-libraries-know-about-discovery/164)
**Author:** [@rdmpage](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/u/rdmpage)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 19, 2026, 4:14am UTC](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/t/al-search-is-rebundling-everything-libraries-know-about-discovery/164 "2026-07-19T04:14:46Z")
Aaron Tay has published a lengthy essay entitled Al Search Is Rebundling Everything Libraries Know About Discovery that might resonate with librarians. I’m not a librarian, but I always find Aaron Tay’s essays to be inte… [Next page](https://forum.biodiversitylibrary.org/latest.md?page=1)