BHL Africa WorkshopAn Overview of the BHL

Martin R. Kalfatovic24 September, 2015

National Museum of Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya

Good Morning!

Extensive…

The cultivation of natural science cannot be efficiently carried on without reference to an extensive library

Charles Darwin, et al (1847)

Created in 2006…

… with 10 US and UK institutions

A Vast Library of Life

A Global Project that Encompasses

Technology Libraries Science

Committed to Open Access

http://bouchoutdeclaration.org/

Our natural world is a source of food, water, resources, protection and enjoyment that our society needs. The richness and complexity of nature, and the speed of new discoveries made possible by genomic and digital technologies, challenge us to find new ways to benefit from and be better custodians of the natural world. Digital information management systems can bring together the wealth of information now dispersed in a myriad of different documents, institutions, and locations. With such systems, we can harness the benefits of rapid discovery and open up our legacy of over 260 years of biological observations.

Bouchout Declaration Signatory

Global Growth

BHL has now grown to 23 members and affiliates

23 Members and Affiliates

16 MembersAmerican Museum of Natural History Cornell UniversityThe Field Museum of Natural HistoryHarvard University Botany LibrariesMayr Library of the Museum of Comp. Zoology (Harvard University)Library of CongressMarine Biological Laboratory & Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionMissouri Botanical Garden LibraryBHL Singapore (National Library Board)BHL Mexico (CONABIO)Natural History Museum, London The New York Botanical GardenRoyal Botanic Garden, KewSmithsonian LibrariesUnited States Geological Survey LibrariesUniversity of Illinois

23 Members and Affiliates

7 AffiliatesAcademy of Natural Sciences Natural History Museum, LA CountyChicago Botanic GardenCalifornia Academy of SciencesNational Agriculture LibraryWashington UniversityBHL Africa (SANBI & National Museums of Kenya)

Global GrowthAnd now has global partners throughout the world

Europe, China, Brasil, Australia, Egypt, Sub-Saharan Africa, Singapore, & Mexico

Global Growth

Secretariat & Technical StaffProgram Director

Program ManagerCollections CoordinatorCommunication & Outreach

Manager

Technical DirectorProgrammer / Secret WeaponData Project Coordinator

BHL Global Governance

Dr. Elycia Wallis Dr. Nancy GwinnDr. Jiri Frank

And Growth of Content: 2007-2015

47,166,662 pages 166,903 items 98,861 titles145K+ articles

September 2015

Publisher Agreements

Increase agreements with publishers of in copyright materials

► 390+ titles ► 160+ publishers

March 2015

And growth of users (CY 2014):

2007

2014151,944 visitors | March 2014

- 927,371 visitors- 1,568,460 sessions- 4.7m page visits- 57.49% vs 42.51% new vs. recurring

…to this?

Mobile/Tablet Usage

10.19% sessions(32% iPad) Mobile/Tablet Sessions CY 2014

5.96% sessions(45% iPad) Mobile/Tablet Sessions CY 2013

BHL Usage: Africa: By Country

BHL Usage: Africa: By City

BHL Usage: Africa: By Region

BHL Usage: Africa: By Region

BHL Usage: Africa: By Region

BHL Usage: Africa: By Region

BHL Usage: Africa: By Region

TheMachineIsUs/ingUs<Response xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"><Status>ok</Status><Result><Item><ItemID>16800</ItemID><Volume/><Contributor>MBLWHOI Library</Contributor><Sponsor>MBLWHOI Library</Sponsor><Language>English</Language><LicenseUrl/><Rights/><DueDiligence/><CopyrightStatus/><CopyrightRegion/></Item></Result></Response>

But many "visits" arefrom other machines

27+ million visitors in total | 96K + images (2014)

And now increased archival content

► 500+ Field Notes ► Use of transcription tools

New areas like Biodiversity Library Exhibitions

Committed to Open AccessIn any well-appointed Natural History Library there should be found every book and every edition of every book dealing in the remotest way with the subjects concerned.

Charles Davies Sherborn Epilogue to Index Animalium, March

1922

Inspiring Discovery through Free Access to Biodiversity

Knowledge Vision

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

Looking Forward

In any well-appointed Natural History Library there should be found every book and every edition of every book dealing in the remotest way with the subjects concerned.

Charles Davies Sherborn Epilogue to Index Animalium, March 1922

“BHL is radically changing the status quo and democratizing

access to knowledge about biodiversity. Now anybody in the

world has instant access to the original species description

in a couple of clicks!”Dr. John S., Ichthyologist

"I think BHL is one of the most important and useful resources online right now. Judging by how often I use it,

I’d say it has an impact on my research commensurate with that of Google Scholar or Web of Science.”

Andrew D., Herpetologist

“BHL is a tremendous and extremely valuableresource. It has done an enormous amount to enhance the capacity of developing countries

to undertake taxonomic research on their biota.”Dr. Dai H., Malacologist

Thank You!