Abstract: Biological resources are essential tools in modern biomedical research. It is therefore essential that information on quality biological resources are well known in the scientific community. Web sites distributing this information are more and more widely available, but access and retrieval of the information through a unique system is highly desirable. The CABRI (Common Access to Biological Resources and Information) project was funded by the European Union (EU) from 1996 to 1999. It aimed at the setting up of a “one-stop-shop” for biological materials and related information. This project led to the setting up of the CABRI web site (http://www.cabri.org/), where catalogues of participating cultures collections could be queried, either individually or collectively, and the Guidelines for the Collection Quality Management that were adopted by partners, could be examined. It includes information on more than 120.000 items from 28 collections including bacteria, filamentous fungi and yeasts strains, human and animal cell lines, plasmids, phages, DNA probes, plant cells and plant viruses from nine centers (BCCM, CABI, CBS, CIP, DSMZ, ECACC, ICLC, NCCB, NCIMB). This wealth of information has been made searchable through an implementation of SRS (Sequence Retrieval Software). In 2001, a new project was launched, the European Biological Resource Centers Network (EBRCN). This project has been funded by the EU for the period 2001 - 2004. Among its objectives is the extension of the CABRI on-line services, with special emphasis on the achievement of a better integration with molecular biology and literature databanks (see http://www.ebrcn.org/).