Open Library APIs (Internet Archive)
Open Library APIs (Internet Archive)
Open Library, run by the Internet Archive, offers keyless JSON APIs for book search, works, editions, authors, subjects, ISBN lookup and cover images, plus monthly bulk data dumps of the whole catalogue.
Required Attribution:
No attribution requirement stated on the licensing page.
Coverage
Global book metadata (works, editions, authors, ISBNs, subjects, covers). The API page says: "Open Library provides APIs in JSON, YAML and RDF/XML formats to support public-good, open, human-centered book discovery and lookup services." A test search for "signal processing" returned 7,572 matching works.
Verdict
Use it to resolve an ISBN or title to editions, authors and subjects, or to enrich reading lists and citation records with book metadata. The API page says the APIs "are not intended to serve as a data backend for third-party services", so use the monthly dumps for bulk work and send a User-Agent with contact details. Licence: Custom: the licensing page says "The Internet Archive does not assert any new copyright or other proprietary rights over any of the material in the Open Library database." Rate limits: "Default (non-identified requests): 1 request per second Identified requests (with User-Agent and email): 3 requests per second". Signal Lab links only.
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