The Library of Biological, Technical, and Cultural Knowl- edge - Why Do We Need an Integrated Collection Infra- structure?

Germany holds some 150 million objects in natural history, technical, and cultural research collections, and manifold collections of microorganisms in biological resource centers. The consortium OSIRIS (Open Science Information and Research Infrastructure) aims at developing and integrating the high potential of these collections for research and application to better understand and foster societal transformation and to create a new knowledge economy. The article discusses the benefits of such an integrated library of bio-techno-cultural knowledge.