Recent entries in university extension weblogs, biodiversity weblogs and weblogs from botanical gardens other than UBC. An eclectic hodgepodge. Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:16:03 +0000 Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:16:03 +0000 UBC Botanical Garden Forums https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/plants-weblogs-of-interest.323/ Fri, 24 Feb 2023 20:03:38 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-is-round-tripping-persistent-identifiers-with-the-wikidata-query-service.103153/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-is-round-tripping-persistent-identifiers-with-the-wikidata-query-service.103153/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​In the Spring of 2022, the BHL Cataloging and Metadata Committee investigated the possibility of harvesting persistent identifiers (PIDs) from Wikidata as part of the group’s longstanding project to disambiguate and deduplicate author records in the BHL database. The motivation behind this one-time experimental data harvest was to see if BHL could:

1. ...

BHL is Round Tripping Persistent Identifiers with the Wikidata Query Service]]> Fri, 24 Feb 2023 20:03:38 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/providing-more-robust-data-in-bhl%E2%80%99s-oai-pmh-dublin-core-feed.103152/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/providing-more-robust-data-in-bhl%E2%80%99s-oai-pmh-dublin-core-feed.103152/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader BHL’s Developer and Data Tools. BHL's live data outputs include:

• API v3
• OAI-PMH

OAI-PMH is an acronym for the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting. It allows other...

Providing More Robust Data in BHL’s OAI-PMH Dublin Core Feed]]> Tue, 31 Jan 2023 16:02:18 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-technical-development-year-in-review.103146/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-technical-development-year-in-review.103146/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​For BHL, 2022 was a year to focus on critical upgrades for the BHL platform to ensure the sustainability of our services for our global users. Although BHL's basic technical infrastructure remains the same, consisting of years of refinement, knowledge, and reliability, a few updates were definitely in order. Most of these upgrades were...

BHL Technical Development: Year in Review]]> Tue, 29 Nov 2022 14:32:36 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-bi-annual-newsletter-november-2022-now-available.103020/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-bi-annual-newsletter-november-2022-now-available.103020/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​Our latest bi-annual newsletter is now available! From saving pirated research journals to releasing our new Collection Development Policy, don’t miss the latest news from the BHL community. View our November 2022 Bi-annual Newsletter....

BHL Bi-annual Newsletter (November 2022) Now Available!]]> Thu, 17 Nov 2022 18:02:30 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/new-collection-development-policy.102993/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/new-collection-development-policy.102993/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​The BHL Collections Committee has completed a comprehensive review and revision of BHL's collection development policy. The new policy is written to provide recommendations and serve the collection management needs of BHL Partners. As a key...

New Collection Development Policy]]> Mon, 31 Oct 2022 20:33:40 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/constance-rinaldo-immediate-past-chair-bhl-executive-committee-has-died.102950/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/constance-rinaldo-immediate-past-chair-bhl-executive-committee-has-died.102950/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​It is with unbelievable sadness that we pass along the news that Constance Rinaldo, in so many ways the heart of the Biodiversity Heritage Library, has died after a rapid and sudden illness. After some glimmers of hope that she might recover, she passed away on Thursday, October 27th. Connie’s family expects celebrations of her life in Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine. BHL...

Constance Rinaldo, Immediate Past Chair, BHL Executive Committee, has died]]> Tue, 19 Jul 2022 14:42:52 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ocr-improvements-an-early-analysis.102585/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ocr-improvements-an-early-analysis.102585/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​Optical character recognition (OCR) plays a critical part in BHL's contributions to the scientific community. OCR in and of itself is a remarkable achievement, converting images of typewritten text to computer-readable text with "pretty good" accuracy. OCR on handwritten text is an even greater challenge to address and is beyond the scope of the...

OCR Improvements: An Early Analysis]]> Thu, 30 Jun 2022 19:52:19 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/2022-bhl-annual-meeting-%E2%80%94-a-global-hybrid.102514/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/2022-bhl-annual-meeting-%E2%80%94-a-global-hybrid.102514/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​For the first time, the Biodiversity Heritage Library held its annual meeting in conjunction with a major biodiversity/natural sciences organization. In June 2022, BHL joined with the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) and the Natural Sciences Collections Society (NatSCA) to host our meetings in Edinburgh, Scotland. Recognizing that the...

2022 BHL Annual Meeting — A Global Hybrid]]> Thu, 12 May 2022 14:52:20 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-bi-annual-newsletter-may-2022-now-available.102286/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-bi-annual-newsletter-may-2022-now-available.102286/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​Our latest bi-annual newsletter is now available! From welcoming new staff to celebrating major milestones, don’t miss the latest news from the BHL community. View our May 2022 Bi-annual Newsletter....

BHL Bi-annual Newsletter (May 2022) Now Available!]]> Mon, 09 May 2022 18:02:59 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/the-vast-library-of-life-15-years-of-the-bhl-portal.102274/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/the-vast-library-of-life-15-years-of-the-bhl-portal.102274/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​It seems like we are on an anniversary splurge. In April, I marked my 10th year as BHL Program Director. Today is a more important date in BHL history. May 9, 2007 marked the official launch of BHL content on the web. We celebrated that day...

The Vast Library of Life: 15 Years of the BHL Portal]]> Wed, 27 Apr 2022 19:52:39 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/10-years-of-bhl-growth-and-transformation-while-program-director.102224/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/10-years-of-bhl-growth-and-transformation-while-program-director.102224/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​This month (April 2022) marks my tenth year as the BHL Program Director. Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen a lot of change -- and a lot of growth -- with the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Taking over from our first Program Director, Tom Garnett, was a daunting...

10 Years of BHL Growth and Transformation While Program Director]]> Mon, 14 Mar 2022 20:02:59 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/new-article-pdf-content-available.102030/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/new-article-pdf-content-available.102030/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​The BHL Tech Team is pleased to announce a new form of content available in BHL: Article PDFs. While this may not sound like anything new, after all, we have had a tool to download PDF content for some time, this update changes both how the PDFs are created and maintained, and how BHL is viewed by content aggregators on the internet, most notably Unpaywall....

New Article PDF Content Available]]> Thu, 24 Feb 2022 21:02:12 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/catalogue-of-all-specimens-of-natural-history-collected-by-mr-blandowski%E2%80%99s-party-during-an.101973/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/catalogue-of-all-specimens-of-natural-history-collected-by-mr-blandowski%E2%80%99s-party-during-an.101973/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​Blandowski’s Catalogue is one of the most precious items held by the Museums Victoria Archives. It documents natural history specimens collected by William Blandowski (1822-1878) and Gerard Krefft (1830-1881) for the National Museum of Victoria (predecessor of Museums Victoria) during an expedition along the Lower Murray and Darling River in 1857. The catalogue has...

Catalogue of All Specimens of Natural History Collected by Mr Blandowski’s Party During an...]]> Fri, 28 Jan 2022 15:52:31 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/welcome-to-jj-dearborn-bhl-data-manager.101889/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/welcome-to-jj-dearborn-bhl-data-manager.101889/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​The Biodiversity Heritage Library is pleased to welcome JJ Dearborn to the newly created position of BHL Data Manager. The new Data Manager position is part of the BHL Secretariat, hosted by the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. As Data Manager, Ms. Dearborn will be responsible for the oversight and management of the digital data collections (datasets) of BHL. She will be...

Welcome to JJ Dearborn, BHL Data Manager]]> Wed, 08 Dec 2021 23:58:15 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/acknowledging-harm-rethinking-collections.101715/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/acknowledging-harm-rethinking-collections.101715/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​The Biodiversity Heritage Library has released an Acknowledgment of Harmful Content to recognize deep prejudices within some of the pages of its collection. As a digital library of natural science publications and archival materials, BHL is a free and open access online resource that...

Acknowledging Harm, Rethinking Collections]]> 2 Wed, 08 Dec 2021 19:36:11 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/from-poetry-to-pulp-fiction-carnivorous-plants-in-popular-culture.101716/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/from-poetry-to-pulp-fiction-carnivorous-plants-in-popular-culture.101716/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​Carnivorous plants, beguiling vegetables capable of attracting, trapping, and digesting animal prey, have fascinated generations of botanists on nearly every continent. However, there is perhaps no better way to trace their rise to cultural prominence than through the eyes of the Darwin family. The botanical legacy of Charles Darwin, his grandfather Erasmus, and...

From Poetry to Pulp Fiction: Carnivorous Plants in Popular Culture]]> 1 Wed, 08 Dec 2021 18:33:35 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/the-geopolitics-of-metadata-knowing-panama-through-the-biodiversity-heritage-library.101720/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/the-geopolitics-of-metadata-knowing-panama-through-the-biodiversity-heritage-library.101720/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​In the first part of this blog series, I explained a portion of the analyses I performed during my time as an intern for the Biodiversity Heritage Library (July-August 2021). These analyses revolved around metadata patterns in BHL’s...

The Geopolitics of Metadata: Knowing Panama Through the Biodiversity Heritage Library]]> Wed, 08 Dec 2021 18:33:35 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/understanding-bhl-through-metadata-patterns-of-bio-diverse-knowledge-production.101719/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/understanding-bhl-through-metadata-patterns-of-bio-diverse-knowledge-production.101719/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​During my time as an intern for the Biodiversity Heritage Library (July-August 2021), I worked on a project, I hope, will help engender important and critical conversations around the Library’s work and responsibilities vis-á-vis the sometimes harmful and problematic origins of its materials, as well as around the possibilities for the decolonization of its collection and archival...

Understanding BHL Through Metadata: Patterns of Bio-Diverse Knowledge Production]]> Wed, 08 Dec 2021 18:33:35 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-bi-annual-newsletter-november-2021-now-available.101718/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bhl-bi-annual-newsletter-november-2021-now-available.101718/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​Our latest bi-annual newsletter is now available! From the release of an Acknowledgment of Harmful Content to supporting research on natural mosquito control measures and landscape gardening history, don’t miss the latest news from the BHL community....

BHL Bi-annual Newsletter (November 2021) Now Available!]]> Wed, 08 Dec 2021 18:33:35 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/supporting-the-biodiversity-community-bhl-engages-in-global-biodiversity-projects.101717/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/supporting-the-biodiversity-community-bhl-engages-in-global-biodiversity-projects.101717/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​The Biodiversity Heritage Library thrives on international partnerships and collaborative projects. In the fall of 2021, representatives from BHL participated in a number of planning meetings and conferences in support of global biodiversity projects. Meetings included the BiCIKL hackathon, GBIF Governing Board Meeting, and TDWG 2021 virtual conference....

Supporting the Biodiversity Community: BHL Engages in Global Biodiversity Projects]]> Wed, 08 Dec 2021 17:55:06 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/flytraps-sundews-and-pitchers-discovering-the-carnivorous-plants-of-bhl.101714/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/flytraps-sundews-and-pitchers-discovering-the-carnivorous-plants-of-bhl.101714/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​In a world where staggering habitat destruction and biodiversity loss have become the new normal, understanding the extraordinary interactions between plants and humans is increasingly urgent. Yet the human tendency to ignore the importance of plant-human interactions remains persistent. The Plant Humanities Initiative at Dumbarton Oaks seeks to address this gap in plant...

Flytraps, Sundews, and Pitchers: Discovering the Carnivorous Plants of BHL]]> Wed, 08 Dec 2021 17:55:06 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/%E2%80%9Cbhl-is-a-game-changer-for-scholars%E2%80%9D-bhl-empowers-research-on-landscape-gardening-history.101713/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/%E2%80%9Cbhl-is-a-game-changer-for-scholars%E2%80%9D-bhl-empowers-research-on-landscape-gardening-history.101713/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​The large-leaved kōwhai (Sophora tetraptera) is native to the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand, where it is widespread and common. While it grows naturally only in Aotearoa, it has been cultivated extensively outside of this range, including as one of a number of New Zealand plants historically introduced into English gardens. Natural history literature provides a...

“BHL is a Game Changer for Scholars”: BHL Empowers Research on Landscape Gardening History]]> Wed, 08 Dec 2021 17:55:06 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/plant-trade-and-medicinal-plants-in-asia.101712/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/plant-trade-and-medicinal-plants-in-asia.101712/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​Plant species worldwide face an increasing barrage of threats to their survival. The deliberate collection of rare plants poses a far greater threat to wild plant species. In Wild Plants in Trade (1992), the reasons and effects of wild collection on plants for cultivation and international trade can be found. The trade of orchids,...

Plant Trade and Medicinal Plants in Asia]]> Wed, 08 Dec 2021 17:55:06 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/farewell-to-brood-x-2021-%E2%80%94-see-you-in-2038.101711/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/farewell-to-brood-x-2021-%E2%80%94-see-you-in-2038.101711/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader ​By the time this post publishes, the vast majority of Brood X (2021) will have completed their above ground lifecycle. The vast numbers of adult Magicicada who first emerged in late April and early May will have disappeared, leaving behind their adult bodies as well as still massive numbers of exuviae (cast-off outer skins) from when they emerged as nymphs....

Farewell to Brood X (2021) — See You in 2038!]]> Thu, 06 Aug 2015 13:40:22 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/i-spy-something-fowl%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%C2%A6.86969/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/i-spy-something-fowl%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%C2%A6.86969/ invalid@example.com (UBC BG RSS Feedreader) UBC BG RSS Feedreader
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