🔔 Open Library Book Data — ISBN Lookup & Edition Records

Open Library edition records by ISBN lookup: give ISBNs (or OLIDs, or a language and year range) and get each edition's title, authors, ISBNs, publishers, publish date, pages, format and language.

One structured bibliographic_record per Open Library edition — OLID, title/subtitle, author keys, ISBNs, publishers, publish date/year, pagination, physical format, language and work keys, LCCN/OCLC, and the Open Library source link. Built from Open Library's official monthly data dump, filter-scoped by contract, keyed and deduplicated on OLID.

Differentiation: most Open Library tooling hits the API or search routes — both of which Open Library's robots disallows. This master reads only the official /data dump (which robots permits), streams and incrementally gunzips the ~12.5 GB file so it is never materialized, requires a filter (exact OLIDs / ISBNs or a bounded language+year filter), caps results, and bounds the scan so every run is finite. It emits bibliographic metadata + the source link only — never cover images, never book text.

Output is one openlibrary_edition row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one bibliographic record (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.02 per bibliographic record). Source: openlibrary.org.

No login, no API key and no CAPTCHA solving are involved: the source is read logged-out with an identified contact User-Agent.

Who buys this

• Booksellers and library-tech teams doing ISBN lookup against Open Library at volume.
• Publishers and data teams filling catalogue gaps with Open Library edition metadata.
• Researchers pulling edition records by language and publication year.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run yDvK5uvH9I3YnEHNa on build 0.1.5 (2026-09-19), the same input as the Quick start below — every value is as the source published it (emails masked, long text shortened):

olid	title	isbn_10	publishers	language_keys	work_keys
OL1000236M	Literacy, technology, and society	["0132275880"]	["Prentice Hall"]	["/languages/eng"]	["/works/OL17659385W"]
OL10003386M	Discussion Paper on Land Registration	["0108881784"]	["Stationery Office"]	["/languages/eng"]	["/works/OL28240493W"]
OL1001188M	The art of persuasive communication	["0566078198"]	["Gower"]	["/languages/eng"]	["/works/OL3338357W"]
OL1001903M	Piety and fanaticism	["1568219768"]	["Jason Aronson"]	["/languages/eng"]	["/works/OL3339557W"]
OL10019485M	The Retricted Byways Application And Consequential Amendment of Provis	["0110745299"]	["Stationery Office"]	["/languages/eng"]	["/works/OL28262049W"]
OL1002339M	Let's talk about needing glasses	["0823950425"]	["PowerKids Press", "Rosen Publishing Group"]	["/languages/eng"]	["/works/OL2617492W"]
OL10023479M	Science (Building Bulletin)	["0112708730"]	["Stationery Office Books"]	["/languages/eng"]	["/works/OL7928400W"]
OL1002396M	Marduk the Mighty and other stories of creation	["0761302042"]	["Millbrook Press"]	["/languages/eng"]	["/works/OL3340405W"]

The run finished with the status message: NORMAL: 50 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed). billable=50

✅ What you get

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_type (string/null) — e.g. openlibrary_edition
• olid (string/null) — e.g. OL1000236M
• title (string/null) — e.g. Literacy, technology, and society
• subtitle (string/null) — e.g. confronting the issues
• by_statement (string/null) — e.g. editors, Gail E. Hawisher, Cynthia L. Selfe.
• author_keys (string/null) — e.g. []
• isbn_10 (string/null) — e.g. ["0132275880"]
• isbn_13 (string/null) — e.g. []
• publishers (string/null) — e.g. ["Prentice Hall"]
• publish_date (string/null) — e.g. 1997
• publish_year (string/null) — e.g. 1997
• publish_places (string/null) — e.g. ["Upper Saddle River, NJ"]
• number_of_pages (integer/null) — e.g. 604
• pagination (string/null) — e.g. x, 604 p. :
• physical_format (string/null) — e.g. Paperback
• language_keys (string/null) — e.g. ["/languages/eng"]
• work_keys (string/null) — e.g. ["/works/OL17659385W"]
• lccn (string/null) — e.g. ["96039125"]
• oclc_numbers (string/null) — e.g. ["35688093"]
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://openlibrary.org/data/ol_dump_editions_latest.txt.gz
• source (string/null) — e.g. openlibrary-book-edition-master
• release_date (string/null) — null in every sample row
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-19T00:35:12Z
• license (string/null) — e.g. Open Library data dumps — the dumps add no new rights over the underlying record
• attribution (string/null) — e.g. Open Library / Internet Archive (https://openlibrary.org/developers/dumps)
• terminal (string/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/null) — null in every sample row

✅ What you get

• record_type (string/null) — e.g. openlibrary_edition
• olid (string/null) — e.g. OL1000236M
• title (string/null) — e.g. Literacy, technology, and society
• subtitle (string/null) — e.g. confronting the issues
• by_statement (string/null) — e.g. editors, Gail E. Hawisher, Cynthia L. Selfe.
• author_keys (string/null) — e.g. []
• isbn_10 (string/null) — e.g. ["0132275880"]
• isbn_13 (string/null) — e.g. []
• publishers (string/null) — e.g. ["Prentice Hall"]
• publish_date (string/null) — e.g. 1997
• publish_year (string/null) — e.g. 1997
• publish_places (string/null) — e.g. ["Upper Saddle River, NJ"]
• number_of_pages (integer/null) — e.g. 604
• pagination (string/null) — e.g. x, 604 p. :
• physical_format (string/null) — e.g. Paperback
• language_keys (string/null) — e.g. ["/languages/eng"]
• work_keys (string/null) — e.g. ["/works/OL17659385W"]
• lccn (string/null) — e.g. ["96039125"]
• oclc_numbers (string/null) — e.g. ["35688093"]
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://openlibrary.org/data/ol_dump_editions_latest.txt.gz
• source (string/null) — e.g. openlibrary-book-edition-master
• release_date (string/null) — null in every sample row
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-18T23:30:22Z
• license (string/null) — e.g. Open Library data dumps — the dumps add no new rights over the underlying record
• attribution (string/null) — e.g. Open Library / Internet Archive (https://openlibrary.org/developers/dumps)
• terminal (string/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/null) — null in every sample row

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "language": "eng",
  "publishYearMin": 1990,
  "maxRecords": 10,
  "maxScanLines": 60000
}

The sample run charged exactly: 1 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 50 × $0.02 bibliographic_record = $1.02 on the Free tier — every delivered row was billed. If you leave maxRecords out, the run delivers at most 50 rows (the schema default); pass a number up to 2500 for a bigger export. An explicit value is always honoured up to that maximum.

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "language": "eng",
  "publishYearMin": 1990,
  "maxRecords": 5,
  "maxScanLines": 60000
}

Caps the run at 5 rows — about $0.12 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 5 × $0.02). language narrows what the source is asked for.

3. A full-size run

{
  "language": "eng",
  "publishYearMin": 1990,
  "maxRecords": 2500,
  "maxScanLines": 60000
}

Up to 2500 rows — about $50.02 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 2500 × $0.02) if the source has that many.

4. A filtered run

{
  "language": "eng",
  "publishYearMin": 1990,
  "maxRecords": 10,
  "maxScanLines": 60000,
  "fieldMatch": {
    "title": "Literacy, technology, and society"
  }
}

Keeps only rows whose title contains Literacy, technology, and society (a value from the sample run above), matched case-insensitively after the source is read and before the maxRecords cap, so the cap counts matches and only delivered matches are billed. searchText does the same across every column. Zero matches end the run as EMPTY_SELECTION with no row charged — if the source has moved on since that sample run, pick a value you see in your own first run. The source is still read in full — this narrows what you receive and pay for, not what the source serves.

🧾 JSON sample record

One real record from run yDvK5uvH9I3YnEHNa, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "record_type": "openlibrary_edition",
  "olid": "OL1000236M",
  "title": "Literacy, technology, and society",
  "subtitle": "confronting the issues",
  "by_statement": "editors, Gail E. Hawisher, Cynthia L. Selfe.",
  "author_keys": "[]",
  "isbn_10": "[\"0132275880\"]",
  "isbn_13": "[]",
  "publishers": "[\"Prentice Hall\"]",
  "publish_date": "1997",
  "publish_year": "1997",
  "publish_places": "[\"Upper Saddle River, NJ\"]",
  "number_of_pages": 604,
  "pagination": "x, 604 p. :",
  "physical_format": null,
  "language_keys": "[\"/languages/eng\"]",
  "work_keys": "[\"/works/OL17659385W\"]",
  "lccn": "[\"96039125\"]",
  "oclc_numbers": "[\"35688093\"]",
  "source_url": "https://openlibrary.org/data/ol_dump_editions_latest.txt.gz",
  "source": "openlibrary-book-edition-master",
  "release_date": null,
  "observed_at": "2026-09-19T00:35:12Z",
  "license": "Open Library data dumps — the dumps add no new rights over the underlying records (CC0 where applicable); individual contributions may carry their own terms.",
  "attribution": "Open Library / Internet Archive (https://openlibrary.org/developers/dumps)"
}

🔧 How it works

Source. The actor reads openlibrary.org — endpoints: https://openlibrary.org/data/ol_dump_editions_latest.txt.gz, https://openlibrary.org/developers/dumps. Public pages and feeds only; nothing behind a login.

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. robots.txt is read first and a disallowed path is never fetched. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent. Pacing: CRAWL_DELAY=0.0.

Terminal states. A run ends NORMAL, CAPPED (your cap was reached), PARTIAL (something was withheld and the message says what), GENUINE_EMPTY (the source was read and truly had nothing in scope) or BLOCKED (the source refused or changed shape — the run FAILS loud and bills nothing). A zero-row run is never reported as a silent success.

Charging. Each bibliographic record is charged at the moment it is pushed (bibliographic_record); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count.

🔧 How it works

Source & robots

The official monthly dump https://openlibrary.org/data/ol_dump_editions_latest.txt.gz. Open Library's robots.txt disallows /api, /search, /advancedsearch and similar routes — this actor never touches them; it reads only /data, which robots permits.

Licence & rights

Open Library's data dumps add no new rights over the underlying records (CC0 where applicable). Individual contributions may carry their own terms — this actor reproduces the bibliographic metadata as published in the dump and does not assert any additional rights. Every record carries license and attribution (Open Library / Internet Archive).

What this does NOT emit

Never cover images (cover ids/URLs) and never book text (description / first_sentence / notes / table of contents) — bibliographic metadata and the source link only.

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
Bibliographic Record (bibliographic_record)	$0.02	$0.018	$0.016	$0.0134

Worked at the live Free-tier price:

• 8 bibliographic records: $0.02 start + 8 × $0.02 = $0.18
• 25 bibliographic records: $0.02 start + 25 × $0.02 = $0.52
• 50 bibliographic records: $0.02 start + 50 × $0.02 = $1.02

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee only. A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 4096 MB.

Yield on the sample run: NORMAL: 50 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed). billable=50. maxRecords is a hard ceiling on what is delivered and billed, never a target.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public, logged-out pages and feeds published by openlibrary.org. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, keeps to the source's robots rules (checked on every run), identifies itself with a contact User-Agent, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. The source (openlibrary.org) is read logged-out; the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows?
A: Read the run's status message. GENUINE_EMPTY means the source was read and had nothing in scope for your input; BLOCKED means the source refused and the run failed without billing a value event — retry later or narrow the input. A zero-row run bills the start fee only.

Q: How many rows can one run return?
A: Up to maxRecords (default 50). Raise the cap for a bigger run; you pay per delivered row.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run reads the source live at run time; nothing is cached between runs. Put it on a schedule for a continuous feed.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other NexGen Watch actors actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers openlibrary.org. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

Q: Are there rate limits?
A: The actor paces itself against the source (CRAWL_DELAY=0.0) and honours its robots rules; there is no per-buyer limit beyond your Apify plan's concurrency.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Status says CAPPED → your cap (maxRecords) was reached → raise it for a bigger run.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.

🔗 Related Actors

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• OpenAlex Scholarly Source / Journal Master — One scholarly_source_record per source in the OpenAlex snapshot — journals, repositories, conferences, book series and ebook platforms — with ISSN /…
• OpenAlex Topic Taxonomy — The full OpenAlex research-topic taxonomy — one research_topic_record per topic — read directly from the official anonymous OpenAlex data snapshot
• Oregon Active Businesses Master — One record per Oregon active-business associated-name row (registry number, business name, entity type, the role-typed associated name — registered a…
• PDF Operations Toolkit — Runs split / merge / reorder / compress / rasterize on supplied PDFs and returns, per operation, a manifest that RECONCILES every input page to an ou…
• Philadelphia L&I Business Licenses — One record per Philadelphia L&I business licence (licence number, type, status, business + legal name, issue/expiration/inactive dates, address, and…
• 🏢 About NexGen Watch — NexGen Watch is a catalog of more than 300 public data actors built on official sources, pay-per-result. Browse the catalog at apify.com/nexgenwatch.

⭐ Found this useful?

If this actor saved you a manual check, a quick review on the Apify Store helps other teams find it. Feature request or a source that changed? Open it from the Issues tab — every one is read.