Bulk ISBN Lookup: Book Title, Author, Covers & Metadata

Look up thousands of ISBN-10/13 at once via the Open Library API, with no login, no browser and no code. Export to JSON, CSV or Excel, or use the API.

Look up thousands of ISBN-10/13 at once via the Open Library API: title, subtitle, authors, publishers, publish date, pages, subjects, cover images, LCCN/OCLC/Goodreads IDs, Dewey and LC class. Validates and converts ISBN-10 to 13, optional work description and format, plus keyword/title/author search that returns ISBNs and ratings.

Use cases

• Enrich a used-book inventory for eBay or Amazon listings
• Clean library or bookstore catalogs
• Find ISBNs and editions by title/author

Input

Field	Type	Notes
isbns	array	ISBN-10 or ISBN-13, hyphens OK.
searchQueries	array	Optional title/author/keyword searches.
maxPerQuery	integer
includeWorkDetails	boolean	One extra request per book.

Example input

{
 "isbns": [
  "9780140328721",
  "0-7432-7356-7",
  "9780000000000",
  "0439708184"
 ],
 "searchQueries": [
  "atomic habits"
 ],
 "maxPerQuery": 3,
 "includeWorkDetails": true
}

Output

One dataset item per result. Main columns: input, isbn13, isbn10, found, title, authors, publishers, publishDate, pages, subjects, coverLarge, openLibraryUrl, error. A RUN_SUMMARY record is saved to the default key-value store. See the sample output in the Output tab.

Example output

{
  "input": "9780140328721",
  "isbn13": "9780140328721",
  "isbn10": "0140328726",
  "found": true,
  "title": "Fantastic Mr. Fox",
  "subtitle": null,
  "authors": [
    "Roald Dahl"
  ],
  "publishers": [
    "Puffin"
  ],
  "publishDate": "October 1, 1988",
  "pages": 96,
  "weight": null,
  "subjects": [
    "Animals",
    "Hunger",
    "Open Library Staff Picks"
  ],
  "coverLarge": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/15152634-L.jpg",
  "coverMedium": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/15152634-M.jpg",
  "lccn": null,
  "oclc": null,
  "goodreadsId": "1507552",
  "librarythingId": "6446"
}

Pricing

Pay per result, with no monthly rental or subscription:

• Book record: $0.001

Example: 1,000 results cost about $1.00 in fees. Apify's free plan includes $5 of monthly credit, which is enough to test this Actor.

FAQ

Do I need an account, cookies or a login for the source site? No. Bulk ISBN Lookup uses public data sources only, so there is nothing to connect and no account to risk.

How much will a run cost? You pay only for results delivered (see Pricing above), plus Apify platform usage, which the free plan's monthly credit easily covers for test runs. Start with a small limit to see the exact cost per run.

Can I export to CSV, Excel or Google Sheets? Yes. Every run's dataset can be downloaded as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML, or pushed to Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, n8n, Slack or a webhook through Apify integrations.

Can I run it on a schedule or from my own code? Yes. Add an Apify Schedule (hourly, daily, weekly) or call it through the Apify API / Python & JavaScript clients. It also works with AI agents through the Apify MCP server.

What happens if an input is invalid or a source is down? The run keeps going. The bad input gets a row with an error field so you can see what failed, and you are not charged for results that were not delivered.

Is this legal to use? It collects publicly available data. You are responsible for using the output in line with the source's terms and privacy laws such as GDPR/CCPA; don't use it for spam.

Something missing or broken? Open an issue on the Issues tab. Feature requests are usually added within a few days.

Scheduling / monitoring

Create a Schedule (daily/weekly) and connect a webhook or Slack/email integration.

Fair use

Official public APIs only, no login. Do not use output for spam or harassment. Respect the data sources' rate limits and terms.

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Pipeline recipe: barcode-lookup + isbn-book-lookup: enrich a mixed reseller inventory (groceries, goods and books) from scanned codes.