# Book Search API - ISBN Lookup, Authors & Subjects (`pushbuild/open-library-books`) Actor

Search millions of books by keyword, title, author, subject or ISBN, plus author lookup. Returns title, authors, first publish year, editions, ISBNs, publishers, languages, subjects, page count, ratings, reading counts, Goodreads and Amazon IDs and cover image. Open Library data.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/pushbuild/open-library-books.md
- **Developed by:** [Pushbuild Data](https://apify.com/pushbuild) (community)
- **Categories:** Other, E-commerce, Automation
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.30 / 1,000 books

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Book Search API - ISBN Lookup, Authors & Subjects

Open Library data covering millions of works. Open data.

### Search

Keywords, exact titles, books by author, subjects, bulk ISBN lookup (ISBN-10 or 13), and author records. Filter by language and first-publish year; sort by relevance, newest, oldest, rating or edition count.

### Returns

Title, subtitle, authors, first publish year, edition count, ISBNs, publishers, languages, subjects, median page count, rating, want-to-read and already-read counts, ebook availability, Goodreads, Amazon, OCLC and LCCN IDs, and a cover image URL.

### Uses

Bookstore and library catalogues, reading apps, ISBN enrichment, publishing research. Pay per record.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Any words: title, author, topic.

## `isbns` (type: `array`):

ISBN-10 or ISBN-13, with or without dashes.

## `titles` (type: `array`):

Exact-phrase title searches.

## `authors` (type: `array`):

Author names; returns their books.

## `subjects` (type: `array`):

e.g. science fiction, cooking, World War II.

## `authorSearch` (type: `array`):

Returns author records (dates, work count, top subjects) instead of books.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Three-letter code, e.g. eng, spa, fre, ger.

## `yearFrom` (type: `integer`):

Earliest first-publish year.

## `yearTo` (type: `integer`):

Latest first-publish year.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Order of search results.

## `maxResultsPerQuery` (type: `integer`):

Per search.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum records to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "dune"
  ],
  "sort": "relevance",
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 50,
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "dune"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("pushbuild/open-library-books").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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchQueries": ["dune"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("pushbuild/open-library-books").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "dune"
  ]
}' |
apify call pushbuild/open-library-books --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,pushbuild/open-library-books"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/GVcOGkVmZJU6UhDY6/builds/b41BsEfEi0wfZ9PmG/openapi.json