African Digital Libraries in Global Content: The Biodiversity Heritage Library Model. Martin R. Kalfatovic & Anne-Lise Fourie, ICADLA-4. Accra, Ghana, 28 May 2015

1. African Digital Libraries in Global Content: The
Biodiversity Heritage Library Model
library.si.edu
Martin R. Kalfatovic & Anne-Lise Fourie | 28 May 2015 | Legon, Ghana
4th International Conference on African Digital Libraries & Archives

2. Good afternoon!
‫الخير‬ ‫!مساء‬
Salama!
Lumelang!
Litshonile
Bon après-midi!
Good mchana!
Boa tarde!
Goeie middag!
Ndewo
Thupama e e monate
E kaasan!
Sawubona!
Barka da yamma

3. The cultivation of
natural science
cannot be
efficiently carried
on without
reference to an
extensive library
Charles Darwin, et al (1847)
Extensive … and vast ...

4. Created in 2006 ...
… with 10 US and UK institutions

5. BHL is a vast library of life …

6. Technology Libraries Science
A global project that encompasses

7. 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

8. BHL has now grown to 23 members and affiliates

9. 23 Members and Affiliates
16 Members
American Museum of Natural History
Cornell University
The Field Museum of Natural History
Harvard University Botany Libraries
Mayr Library of the Museum of Comp. Zoology (Harvard University)
Library of Congress
Marine Biological Laboratory & Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Missouri Botanical Garden Library
BHL Singapore (National Library Board)
BHL Mexico (CONABIO)
Natural History Museum, London
The New York Botanical Garden
Royal Botanic Garden, Kew
Smithsonian Libraries
United States Geological Survey Libraries
University of Illinois

10. 23 Members and Affiliates
7 Affiliates
Academy of Natural Sciences
Natural History Museum, LA County
Chicago Botanic Garden
California Academy of Sciences
National Agriculture Library
Washington University
BHL Africa (SANBI & National Museums of Kenya)

11. And now has “global nodes” throughout the world
Europe, China, Brasil, Australia, Egypt,
Sub-Saharan Africa, Singapore, & Mexico

14. Secretariat and Technical Staff
August 2011Program Director
Program Manager
Collections Coordinator
Communication & Outreach Manager
Technical Director
Programmer / Secret Weapon
Data Project Coordinator

15. Global BHL Steering Committee
August 2011
Vice Chair SecretaryChair
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Global Governance
Dr. Elycia Wallis Dr. Jiri FrankDr. Elycia Wallis Dr. Nancy GwinnDr. Jiri FrankDr. Jiri Frank

17. 45,721,826 pages
158,636 items
93,161 titles
145K+ articles
March 2015
And growth of content: 2007-2015

18. Increase agreements
with publishers of in
copyright materials
► 390+ titles
► 160+ publishers
March 2015

19. 2007
2014
151,944 visitors | March 2014
And growth of users (CY 2014):
- 927,371 visitors
- 1,568,460 sessions
- 4.7m page visits
- 57.49% vs 42.51% new vs. recurring

20. ... to this?

21. 10.19% sessions(32% iPad)
Mobile/Tablet Sessions CY 2014
5.96% sessions(45% iPad)
Mobile/Tablet Sessions CY 2013

22. BHL Usage: Africa: By Coun

23. BHL Usage: Africa: By City

24. BHL Usage: Africa: By Regi

25. BHL Usage: Africa: By Regi

26. BHL Usage: Africa: By Regi

27. BHL Usage: Africa: By Regi

28. BHL Usage: Africa: By Regi

29. BHL Usage: Africa: Ghana

30. 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>
But many "visits" are
from other machines

31. 27+ million visitors in total | 96K + images (2014)

32. And now increased archival content
► 500+ Field Notes
► Use of transcription tools

33. New areas like Biodiversity Library
Exhibitions

35. BIODIVERSITY HERITAGE LIBRARY AFRICA
Launched in April 2013 | Form part of the global
BHL initiative | Common goal to digitize past
and present literature

36. REGIONS OF BHL Africa

Western and Central Africa

Eastern Africa

Southern Africa

37. WHAT DO WE DO?
• Digitize biodiversity literature not available from other BHL
global nodes
• Create an awareness of Africa’s variety of biodiversity
material
• Digitize significant content relevant to African biodiversity
• Content Creation
• Audience Building
• Content Identification
• Partnership Building

38. IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION
If you want to go far, go together
Two strong collaborations currently in Africa
National Museums Kenya and their partners
South African National Biodiversity Institute
(SANBI) and the University of Pretoria (UP)
Macaw
Internet Archive scribes

39. MEMBER BENEFITS

Access to specialized repository software and
technical support

Global exposure of institutes and their holdings

Material formerly only physically accessible now
online available

Membership promotes and increases stronger
awareness towards fragile biodiversity of Africa

40. THE ROAD AHEAD FOR BHLA
FOR THE FIRST 2 YEARS...
• Identifying those unique collections
• Identification of available resources and
digitization capacity
• Extensive training will be done

41. THE ROAD AHEAD FOR BHLA
NEXT 5 YEARS...
• Collaborate and share resources amongst
participating members
• Partnership and audience building
• Funding for identified projects
• Book and Digital Preservation
• Scribes

42. “
T
h
a
n
k
y
o
u
m
u
c
h
f
o
r
y
o
u
r
h
e
May I compliment you on this
splendid service? The
Library's invaluable for my
work on seasonal variability
of climate and vector-borne
disease in British India, 1875-
1940.
Compliments from our users

43. What an absolutely
wonderful site. It is a
treasure trove of
information. Thank you!
Compliments from our users

44. “
T
h
a
n
k
y
o
u
m
u
c
h
f
o
r
y
o
u
r
h
e
I really appreciate your work.
The Biodiversity Heritage
Library is an excellent resource
that regularly helps my
assistant and I obtain original
descriptions for plants .... I feel
so privileged to be working in a
day in age when such resources
are so readily available and
easy to obtain
Compliments from our users

45. “
T
h
a
n
k
y
o
u
m
u
c
h
f
o
r
y
o
u
r
h
e
I really appreciate your work.
The Biodiversity Heritage
Library is an excellent resource
that regularly helps my
assistant and I obtain original
descriptions for plants .... I feel
so privileged to be working in a
day in age when such resources
are so readily available and
easy to obtain
Compliments from our users

46. 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

47. 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

48. 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
Inspiring discovery through free
access to biodiversity knowledge

49. Thank You! @BioDivLibrary