mcp-open-library

Overview

This MCP server implements a comprehensive interface to the Internet Archive's Open Library, enabling AI assistants to search for books by title, find authors by name, and retrieve detailed information including author photos and book covers. It exposes six well-defined tools that return structured data in JSON format, making it easy for AI systems to access bibliographic information. The server is built with TypeScript, includes test coverage, and provides both manual installation and Smithery-based deployment options.

Try asking AI

After installing, here are 6 things you can ask your AI assistant:

• get_book_by_title

  Search for book information by title

  Try:Find books with title 'The Hobbit'Try:Search for science fiction books about time travel
• get_authors_by_name

  Search for author information by name

  Try:Find information about J.R.R. TolkienTry:Search for books by Margaret Atwood
• get_author_info

  Get detailed information for a specific author using their Open Library Author Key

  Try:Get detailed biography of author with key OL26320ATry:Retrieve full information about George Orwell's life and works
• get_author_photo

  Get the URL for an author's photo using their Open Library Author ID (OLID)

  Try:Get photo URL for author OL26320ATry:Retrieve J.K. Rowling's author photo
• get_book_cover

  Get the URL for a book's cover image using various identifiers

  Try:Get cover for ISBN 9780547928227Try:Retrieve cover image for OCLC 794607877
• get_book_by_id

  Get detailed book information using various identifiers

  Try:Get details for ISBN 9780547928227Try:Retrieve information for book with OLID OL25380781M

Comparable tools

Installation

npx -y @smithery/cli install @8enSmith/mcp-open-library --client claude

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/8enSmith/mcp-open-library.git
cd mcp-open-library

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "open-library": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-open-library/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

What data does the get_book_by_title tool return?

It returns book details including title, authors, first publish year, Open Library work key, edition count, and cover URL.

Can I use ISBN numbers to find books?

Yes, both get_book_by_id and get_book_cover tools support ISBN numbers as identifiers.

What Node.js version is required?

The server was tested with Node.js v22.21.1 but likely works with newer versions.

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