The Open Library MCP server integrates with Open Library, a free, open-source book and author catalog run by the Internet Archive. It provides read-only tools for discovering books and authors, retrieving details, and fetching cover images — all without authentication.

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When should you use this server

Use the Open Library MCP server when you want an agent to:
  • Search for books by title
  • Search for authors by name
  • Fetch detailed author information
  • Retrieve author photos
  • Get book cover images by ISBN or other identifiers

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Key features

  • No authentication required — uses Open Library’s public API
  • Simple, read-only operations for book and author discovery
  • Cover image retrieval for books and authors
  • ISBN lookup and bibliographic information
  • Ideal for demos, prototypes, and educational use

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Authentication

  • None required — this server uses Open Library’s public API

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Tools provided

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get_book_by_title

Search for books using their title. Arguments:
  • title (string, required) — the book title to search for.
Returns:
  • List of matching books with metadata.
Example usage:
  • “Find books with ‘Lord of the Rings’ in the title.”
  • “Search for science textbooks about quantum physics.”

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get_authors_by_name

Search for authors using their name. Arguments:
  • name (string, required) — the author name to search for.
Returns:
  • List of matching authors with basic information.
Example usage:
  • “Find authors named Margaret Atwood.”
  • “Search for writers with ‘Smith’ in their name.”

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get_author_info

Retrieve detailed information for a specific author using their Open Library key. Arguments:
  • author_key (string, required) — Open Library author key (OLID).
Returns:
  • Detailed author information including birth/death dates, biography, and works.
Example usage:
  • “Get detailed information about author OL26320A.”
  • “Tell me more about this author.”

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get_author_photo

Get the URL for an author’s photo using their Open Library ID (OLID). Arguments:
  • olid (string, required) — Open Library author ID.
  • size (string, optional) — image size (S, M, L), defaults to L.
Returns:
  • URL to the author’s photo.
Example usage:
  • “Get the photo of author OL26320A.”
  • “Show me what this author looks like.”

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get_book_cover

Get the URL for a book’s cover image using identifiers such as ISBN, OCLC, LCCN, OLID, or internal ID. Arguments:
  • key (string, required) — identifier type (ISBN, OCLC, LCCN, OLID, ID).
  • value (string, required) — identifier value.
  • size (string, optional) — image size (S, M, L), defaults to L.
Returns:
  • URL to the book’s cover image.
Example usage:
  • “Get the cover image for ISBN 9780547928227.”
  • “Show me the book cover for The Hobbit.”

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Rate limits

  • Controlled by Open Library’s public API rate limits (sufficient for typical usage)
  • Avoid bulk or automated scraping

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Notes

  • All tools are read-only
  • Records may be incomplete or inconsistent, since data is community-maintained
  • Great for lightweight demos and testing MCP connectivity, since it requires no credentials