Smithsonian Libraries & The Biodiversity Heritage Library: 2003 - 2012

Martin R. Kalfatovic | Smithsonian Libraries Town Hall | 19 September 2012 National Zoo | Washington, DC

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

Charles Darwin, et al (1847)Darwin, C. R. et al. 1847. Copy of Memorial to the First Lord of the Treasury [Lord John Russell], respecting the Management of the British Museum. Parliamentary Papers, Accounts and Papers 1847, paper number (268), volume XXXIV.253 (13 April): 1-3. [Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online]

The Wherefore of BHL

Smithsonian Libraries & BHL Pre-historyUS Exploring Expedition, 2003

Smithsonian Libraries & BHL Pre-historyBiologia Centrali-American, 2004

Smithsonian Libraries & BHL: 2006

New BHL Governance Structure

Executive Committee - Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary - Project Director, Deputy Project Director - Technical Director

Steering Committee - Contribute funds to the Secretariat - 10 institutions (subset of the Institutional Council)

Institutional Council - Interested institutions who sign participation agreement- 14 institutions

BHL Founding DirectorTom Garnett retires, March 2012

Executive CommitteeAugust 2011

Vice Chair

Chair

Secretary

Secretariat and Technical StaffAugust 2011Program Director

Program ManagerCollections Coordinator

Technical DirectorProgrammerData Analyst

Dedicated & Funded StaffAugust 2011

Stefaan HurtsImaging Specialist

JJ FordBHL Librarian

Erin ThomasBHL Librarian

Gilbert BorregoLibrary Technician

“Merely” Dedicated StaffAugust 2011AdministrationNancy GwinnMary Augusta ThomasPolly Khater

MetadataSuzanne PilskBess MissellDiane ShawJulia Blakely (contract)

Special CollectionsLeslie OverstreetDaria Wingreen-Mason

Information TechnologyKeri ThompsonJoel RichardErin Rushing

Natural & Physical SciencesGil Taylor

Robin Everly

Book ConservationVanessa Smith

Katie Wagner

DigitizationDavid HolbertConrad Ziyad

FinancesKathy Hill

Ninette DeanDave Opkins

Sharon Glenn-Burroughs

And allSIL staff!

Scanning Operations: NMNHEquipment

Internet Archive Scribe

StaffDaniel EuperatInternet Archive

Scanning Operations: PennSILEquipment

Phase I BC 100

StaffDavid HolbertImaging Specialist

Stefaan HurtsImaging Specialist

Scanning Operations: FedScanEquipment

12 Internet Archive Scribes

1 large van

Many book carts

Whole lotta shrink wrap

Scanning Operations: Macaw

SIL Funding

Atherton Seidell Endowment$1.7 million / over 5 years

Increase to Federal appropriations$150K / year ($200K FY 12)

Internal “pool” funds$100,000 / over past 3 years

In Kind Contributions: CY 2011SIL Direct Staff Contributions 5.3 FTE $408,164

Other Costs $242,948

Funding Received (internal, grants, etc.) $537,607

Administration

Metadata

Collections support

Database/Systems

Conservation

Scanning Preparation

Direct Scanning

Quality control

BHL Member Participation Staff FTE

16.22 FTE from the 14member institutions(does not include Secretariat or Technical staff)

In-kind Participation Contributions

Staff

Other

Scanning

Internal Grants

External Grants

$980K

$470K

$923K

$980K

$422K

$505K

39,513,872 pages107,808 items56,718 titles

September 2012

SIL Scanning Statistics

2004-2012/Sep

6,058 Titles15,979 Items6,418,882 Pages21,156,338 Names found

2012

2004

User Statistics: 2007 - 2012Visitors: 3,628,088Page Views: 17,604,395New vs. Returning: 48.88% vs. 50.12%

2007

2012112,584 visitors | March 2012

233 countries

“Thank you much for your help. It is so useful as I am right now working on the fishes of Ganges. Moreover it is so great that the library provides classic literature on fishes and it was a dream to me [when] I started my taxonomy ten years back. It is marvellous [what] you did for us which are badly in need of old literature. Thanks a lot.”“Thank you much for your help. It is so useful as I am right now working on the fishes of Ganges. Moreover it is so great that the library provides classic literature on fishes and it was a dream to me [when] I started my taxonomy ten years back. It is marvellous [what] you did for us which are badly in need of old literature. Thanks a lot.”

What an absolutely wonderful site. It is a treasure trove of information. Thank you!

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.

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.

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June 2012

Over 30 librarians, scientists, informaticians gathered in Cape Town, South Africa to start the formation of the BHL Africa node

FacebookTotal Post Views: 245,095Audience Growth (Total new people who like our page): 338Audience Engagement (Total post interactions): 1,620Total Monthly active Users by End of Q1, FY12: 1,273Total Page Likes: 1,871

Twitter @ BioDivLibraryTotal Followers: 1,951

BlogTotal Visits: 4,868Unique Visitors: 3,540

2,567,169 total views (September 2012)

More Outreach

BHL & EOL BoothAmerican Library Association MeetingDallas, TX, January 2012

Related Projects: TL-2

Related Projects: Field Notes

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

Thanks