The implementation of world wide data networks for interchange of and access to biological collection infor- mation was hindered by the diversity of collection management systems using a variety of different operating systems, database management systems, and underlying data models. Several initiatives have tackled this problem by defining data standards and Internet protocols as well as by providing software modules enabling collection database holders to link their collec- tions to international networks without having to modify the implementation of their systems. In the course of the BioCASE project such standards and software have been developed focusing on rich collection data. Both provider software packages and portal implementation tools are available, and several portal implementations have proven their stability, including the Global Biodi- versity Information Facility (GBIF). Background