Several international agreements, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, highlight the need for open, shared access to global biodiversity data. To that end, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has been established to facilitate "the compilation, linking, standardization, digitization and global dissemination of the world's biodiversity data." The GBIF homepage provides background information on this initiative, including a history of its development, an invitation to participate in GBIF, and other contextual documents. A collection of related links points users to many of the important players in this collaborative venture.