Following its transition away from Smithsonian hosting, BHL officially began operating as an independent global consortium on 1 January 2026.
For BHL users, very little has changed: BHL continues to provide free access to more than 63 million pages of biodiversity literature and archives, and to support discovery, access, and reuse.
Behind the scenes, however, major changes have been taking place. While key foundations are now in place, we are continuing to work hard to secure BHL’s long-term future and build the support, infrastructure, and resources needed for the years ahead.
Over the past year, we have shared a series of blog posts documenting this journey. If you’d like to follow the story in more detail, these updates provide useful background:
- A New Future for the Biodiversity Heritage Library (22 April 2025) – the first public announcement of the transition from Smithsonian hosting.
- Reflecting on the 2025 BHL Annual Meeting in Berlin (22 May 2025) – reflections on the meeting where BHL’s transition and future direction were central themes.
- Leadership, Fiscal Sponsorship, and Hosting Opportunities (28 May 2025) – an early update on the path ahead, including the search for new organisational and infrastructure arrangements.
- Call for Support Now Open (11 June 2025) – the launch of BHL’s call for financial, technical, and in-kind support.
- Gaining Momentum (11 July 2025) – an update on the encouraging global response and the momentum building around BHL’s future.
- Welcoming CLIR as BHL’s New Fiscal Sponsor (11 Aug 2025) – an important milestone in establishing BHL’s new administrative and financial home.
- From Call for Support to Next Steps (4 Sept 2025) – an update on the support received and the principles guiding BHL’s next decisions.
- Fundraising Campaign – Support the Future of Open Biodiversity Knowledge (17 Oct 2025) – the launch of BHL’s public fundraising campaign.
- BHL at Living Data 2025 & GBIF Governing Board Meeting (3 Nov 2025) – a look at how BHL shared its transition story and future vision with the broader biodiversity community.
- Help Give BHL Wings this Giving Tuesday (2 Dec 2025) – a public appeal to help support BHL at a critical moment in its transition.
- BHL is Growing! Announcing the First of Our New Members: University of South Florida Libraries (18 Dec 2025) – the first announcement of new institutional support in BHL’s next chapter.
- The New Chapter Begins (9 Jan 2026) – marking the official start of BHL’s new independent chapter.
- Celebrating the Team Stewarding BHL’s Next Chapter (19 Feb 2026) – an introduction to the people helping guide BHL through this transition and beyond.
- The Field Museum to Host BHL’s Technical Infrastructure (26 Feb 2026) – the announcement that the Field Museum will host BHL’s technical infrastructure, including the BHL website.
- Celebrating 20 Years of BHL: Introducing Our Anniversary Blog Series (23 March 2026) – an introduction to BHL’s 20th anniversary blog series, highlighting the extraordinary collections, stories, and people that have shaped BHL over the past two decades.
This forum is part of our new chapter too. We hope it becomes a welcoming space for questions, conversation, knowledge-sharing, and community connection across the many people who use, support, and care about BHL.
Thank you for being part of this community, and for being part of BHL’s future. Follow along on here and on the BHL Blog for more updates.
Questions and comments are very welcome below.