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This Vast Library of Life Puts Nature Online | The Washington Post

Plate 5 from "The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle ... during the years 1832-1836 (Pt. 3 Birds)" by Charles Darwin, one of thousands of books scanned for Biodiversity Heritage Library by the WHOI Library. Courtesy Biodiversity Heritage Library

Note: Former WHOI Library Director was instrumental in creating the a consortium that digitizes biodiversity literature and makes it freely accessible to the world. A pioneer of open access, Norton was founding vice-chair and later chair and deputy director of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Flowers. Climate change. Animals. Ecosystems. If you’re a nature lover, you probably have burning questions — and niche interests — about many aspects of life on our vast planet.

But you don’t have to go to the ends of the Earth to learn more. With the , you don’t even have to leave your computer.

The massive, open-access digital library offers users hundreds of thousands of books, archival holdings, images and more — about 60 million pages in all.

Best of all, it’s free.

Below: Plate 34, labeled Tanagra Darwini, from " (Part 3: Birds)" by Charles Darwin, one of thousands of books scanned for the Biodiversity Heritage Library by the WHOI Library. Courtesy Biodiversity Heritage Library

Plate 3 from The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle ... during the years 1832-1836" by Charles Darwin. Courtesy Biodiversity Heritage Library