We were thrilled to attend the European Botanical & Horticultural Libraries (EBHL) Group annual meeting held at Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh in April of 2016. Many Global Plants partners attended the EBHL meeting: Botanic Garden Meise, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Cambridge University, Chicago Botanic Garden, Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques de la Ville de Geneve, Harvard University, Linnean Society of London, Missouri Botanical Garden, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, The New York Botanical Garden, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Real Jardín Botánico, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and Royal Horticultural Society.

Simon Milne, Regius Keeper RGBE, welcomed the attendees to Edinburgh and introduced us to the many wonderful items held including 3 million specimens, over 70,000 books and archives going back to the very start of the garden. Debbie Lane, Deborah Hodgson (both RHS) and Fiona Ainsworth (Kew) reviewed a very interesting survey of EBHL members about their needs and challenges.

We also presented an update on new Global Plants developments and introduced a new project, called Plants & Society to the group. Plants & Society will be a multi-content center that focuses on the complex history and relationships of plants to nature, society, and humanity. Working with a global network of partners, we will draw together materials from a   wide range of disciplines across the sciences, humanities, and social sciences, including Anthropology, Art & Architecture, Botany & Plant Sciences, Ecology, Economics, Garden History & Design, History of Science, Horticulture, and Landscape Architecture. In doing this, it will work to create pathways of study between the sciences and humanities.