The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) has spent the past 20 years doing something genuinely useful: digitizing over 64 million pages of historic scientific texts about species both living and extinct. It's the kind of resource that lets you read about Victorian walking-stick wood, gawk at illustrations of Tasmanian tigers, or scroll through the Antarctic field diary of a botanist who probably didn't pack enough warm socks. More than 680 museums, universities, and scientific institutions from China to Canada have contributed to this digital treasure trove. The oldest item? A manuscript on parchment from about 1190, because nothing says "pre-modern medicine" like a book that predates the printing press.
Naturally, given that it's a well-funded, widely-used public good, its future is now in doubt. Because of course it is. The BHL, which has made all this material freely available to anyone with an internet connection, is facing an uncertain financial horizon. Fans of the natural world (and fans of not paying for academic journal access) are advised to browse while the browsing is good.