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Over two decades the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) has digitised more than 64 million pages of scientific literature, making them freely accessible to researchers, educators and the public.The Library’s 20‑Year Journey to 64 Million PagesAccording to David Iggulden, chair of the BHL executive committee and head of data at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the library is an “absolutely essential” resource for scientists in the field and for anyone fascinated by natural history.Scale of Contributions and Content Types680+ museums, universities and libraries from 20+ countries have contributed.Materials include journals, books, letters, illustrations, climate records, field diaries and manuscripts.Highlights: the 1190 Circa instans pharmacopeia (digitised by the New York Botanical Garden), an 1892 walking‑stick catalogue, and Sir Joseph Hooker’s illustrated Antarctic journal.Impact on Research, Conservation and Public EngagementScientists use BHL for taxonomic research, climate studies and biodiversity monitoring; during the pandemic historic field diaries helped reassess threatened orchid species after Australia’s “black summer” fires.Educators and citizen scientists cite the library as an “absolutely essential” resource for exploring natural‑history collections.Future Directions for Open Scientific ArchivesRBG Kew’s recent report stresses digitisation as a key tool against climate and biodiversity crises, and BHL’s ongoing expansion aims to integrate AI‑driven search and analysis to accelerate discovery.