# Open Library Scraper — Books & ISBN Data (`ponderable_hydrometer/openlibrary-scraper`) Actor Search books from Open Library — title, authors, year, editions, ratings, subjects, ISBN & covers. Look up editions by ISBN. Free keyless API. For catalogs, apps & datasets. - **URL**: https://apify.com/ponderable\_hydrometer/openlibrary-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Ponderable Hydrometer](https://apify.com/ponderable_hydrometer) (community) - **Categories:** E-commerce, Developer tools, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.50 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Open Library Scraper — Books & ISBN Data **Search the full Open Library catalogue for books and look up editions by ISBN — with community ratings, subjects, cover images and cross-IDs.** By query, title, author, subject or ISBN. Free, keyless, no proxies. Google Books blocks keyless requests from datacenter IPs — this actor wins the **no-key book-data niche** with a full search surface plus direct ISBN edition lookup. ### What you get **Works** (from search) — one row per work: - `title`, `authors`, `firstPublishYear`, `editionCount` - **Ratings** — `ratingsAverage`, `ratingsCount` (community reading-log data) - `pagesMedian`, `subjects` (up to 20), `isbns` (up to 5), `publishers`, `languages` - `firstSentence`, `coverUrl` (large cover image), Open Library `url` and `key` **Editions** (from ISBN lookup) — one row per edition: - `isbn`, `title`, `subtitle`, `authors` (refs), `publishers`, `publishDate` - `numberOfPages`, `isbn10`, `isbn13`, `languages`, `subjects`, `coverUrl`, `url`, `key` Every row carries a `type` field (`work` or `edition`) so mixed runs are easy to split. ### Output sample Work (search result): ```json { "type": "work", "key": "/works/OL1917071W", "title": "Clean Code", "authors": ["Robert C. Martin"], "firstPublishYear": 2008, "editionCount": 18, "ratingsAverage": 4.12, "ratingsCount": 176, "pagesMedian": 431, "subjects": ["Computer programming", "Software engineering"], "isbns": ["9780132350884", "0132350882"], "publishers": ["Prentice Hall"], "languages": ["eng"], "firstSentence": "You are reading this book for two reasons.", "coverUrl": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/8479576-L.jpg", "url": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1917071W" } ```` ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |-------|------|---------|-------------| | `query` | string | `clean code` | Free-text search across title, author, etc. | | `title` | string | — | Search within titles | | `author` | string | — | Search by author name | | `subject` | string | — | Browse by subject/genre (e.g. `science_fiction`) | | `language` | string | — | 3-letter language code (`eng`, `fre`, `ger`) | | `sort` | string | — | `rating`, `new`, `old`, `editions`, `readinglog` (empty = relevance) | | `isbns` | array | — | ISBN-10/13 for direct edition lookup | | `maxResults` | integer | `100` | Cap on works returned from search | Provide a search (`query`/`title`/`author`/`subject`) or `isbns`. ### Example input ```json { "subject": "science_fiction", "sort": "rating", "maxResults": 100 } ``` ISBN enrichment: ```json { "isbns": ["9780132350884", "9780201616224"] } ``` ### Why this actor - **Keyless where Google Books isn't** — Open Library's open API, no key, no datacenter-IP blocks. - **Full search surface** — title, author, subject, language and sort in one actor. - **Ratings + covers + ISBNs** — community ratings and large cover URLs, plus ISBN edition lookup for catalog matching. - **Reliable** — auto-retry and pagination up to your `maxResults`. ### Pricing Pay per result — **$1.50 per 1,000 results** (one work or edition = one result). No subscription or platform fees. ### Related actors - **Google Books Scraper** — books, ISBNs and prices via the Google Books API (bring your own key). - **CrossRef Scholarly Works Scraper** — academic works and citations. - **Discogs Scraper** — music releases, vinyl and price data. ### Notes - Data is Open Library's free public API; the actor sets a descriptive User-Agent and retries on 429/5xx. - Field completeness depends on contributors — popular titles are rich; obscure ones may miss ratings or covers. - Edition `authors` and `languages` are Open Library key refs (e.g. `/authors/OL...A`), not plain names. - This actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Internet Archive / Open Library. # Actor input Schema ## `query` (type: `string`): Free-text search across title, author, etc., e.g. "clean code". ## `title` (type: `string`): Search within book titles, e.g. "the pragmatic programmer". ## `author` (type: `string`): Search by author name, e.g. "Isaac Asimov". ## `subject` (type: `string`): Browse by subject/genre, e.g. "science\_fiction", "machine\_learning". ## `language` (type: `string`): Filter by 3-letter language code, e.g. "eng", "fre", "ger". ## `sort` (type: `string`): e.g. rating, new, old, editions, readinglog. Empty = relevance. ## `isbns` (type: `array`): Look up specific editions by ISBN-10 or ISBN-13, e.g. \["9780132350884"]. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Cap on number of works returned from search. ## Actor input object example ```json { "query": "clean code", "maxResults": 100 } ``` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "query": "clean code" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("ponderable_hydrometer/openlibrary-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "query": "clean code" } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("ponderable_hydrometer/openlibrary-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "query": "clean code" }' | apify call ponderable_hydrometer/openlibrary-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=ponderable_hydrometer/openlibrary-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Open Library Scraper — Books & ISBN Data", "description": "Search books from Open Library — title, authors, year, editions, ratings, subjects, ISBN & covers. Look up editions by ISBN. Free keyless API. For catalogs, apps & datasets.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "Rg1eVTMfGLcZ61mB8" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/ponderable_hydrometer~openlibrary-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-ponderable_hydrometer-openlibrary-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/ponderable_hydrometer~openlibrary-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-ponderable_hydrometer-openlibrary-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/ponderable_hydrometer~openlibrary-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-ponderable_hydrometer-openlibrary-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "query": { "title": "Search query (general)", "type": "string", "description": "Free-text search across title, author, etc., e.g. \"clean code\"." }, "title": { "title": "Title", "type": "string", "description": "Search within book titles, e.g. \"the pragmatic programmer\"." }, "author": { "title": "Author", "type": "string", "description": "Search by author name, e.g. \"Isaac Asimov\"." }, "subject": { "title": "Subject", "type": "string", "description": "Browse by subject/genre, e.g. \"science_fiction\", \"machine_learning\"." }, "language": { "title": "Language", "type": "string", "description": "Filter by 3-letter language code, e.g. \"eng\", \"fre\", \"ger\"." }, "sort": { "title": "Sort by", "type": "string", "description": "e.g. rating, new, old, editions, readinglog. Empty = relevance." }, "isbns": { "title": "ISBNs (direct lookup)", "type": "array", "description": "Look up specific editions by ISBN-10 or ISBN-13, e.g. [\"9780132350884\"].", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxResults": { "title": "Max results", "minimum": 1, "type": "integer", "description": "Cap on number of works returned from search.", "default": 100 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```