On March 8-9, 2011, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) Institutional Council met at Smithsonian Institution Libraries in Washington, DC.
Category: Biodiversity Heritage Library
I want you to think in terms of the functioning and changing ecology in which you will be operating, the set of relationships between individuals, institutions, money flows, information flows, projects, programs and effectors. I will start with some considerations of this way of considering your world and then briefly illustrate it with some specifics derived from my experience with the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
You are or will be hustling for jobs. Libraries are under tight budgets for the foreseeable future. How are you going to ride the rapids? It is likely your current jobs will not exist in 20 years and that the institutions that house your current jobs will be radically different.
It is no secret that the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) project has grown on a global scale, with BHL projects springing up in Europe, China, Australia, Brazil, and Egypt. Many of our new partners rely of the experience of BHL-U.S., as the original BHL project has come to be known, for insight and suggestions.
In November, Keri Thompson and Martin Kalfatovic attended technical meetings related to the Biodiversity Heritage Library China node. Thompson and Kalfatovic accompanied BHL Technical Director, Chris Freeland (Missouri Botanical Garden) to the more ยป
Nancy Gwinn, Martin Kalfatovic and Suzanne Pilsk attended two meetings sponsored and hosted by the Internet Archive. Held at the facilities of the Internet Archive in San Francisco, the gatherings focused on providing content and the future of books and reading in an online, and increasingly mobile, environment.
Our iPad was a popular new device to demonstrate our digital efforts. Many folks were thrilled they could see entire books at home for free with the Biodiversity Heritage Library and our online exhibits. The latest Kindle e-book reader we brought along was a big hit, too.