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

The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) has made over 64 million pages of historical scientific texts freely available online, offering access to information on species and natural history. This digital archive, supported by more than 680 museums, universities, libraries, and scientific institutions globally, includes diverse content ranging from Victorian-era manufacturing details to illustrations of extinct animals and field diaries from explorers. Among its oldest holdings is a manuscript on parchment from "Circa instans," dating back to approximately 1190, which is housed at the LuEsther T Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden. The BHL's extensive collection serves as a vital resource for researchers, enthusiasts, and the public interested in biodiversity and the natural world, drawing contributions from institutions across continents including Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, and North America. Despite its significant contribution to scientific knowledge dissemination, the future of the BHL is currently uncertain, raising concerns about continued access to this vast digital library.