Biodiversity Heritage Library
biodiversitylibrary.org
A consortium-backed digital archive of millions of pages from natural history literature spanning centuries, freely accessible online.
Why it is useful
Preserves scientific literature on biodiversity that is out of print and often impossible to find anywhere else — field guides, expedition journals, and taxonomic descriptions going back to the 1400s. For botanists, zoologists, and naturalists, it provides the primary literature needed for species identification and historical range documentation. The illustrations alone are extraordinary.
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