# OpenLibrary Scraper (`lulzasaur/openlibrary-scraper`) Actor

Scrape OpenLibrary.org — open book database with 40M+ records. Search by title/author, ISBN lookup, or browse by subject. Get metadata, covers, editions, and more via free JSON API.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/openlibrary-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 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 web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Book & Author Search

Search millions of books and authors on Open Library. Get titles, ISBNs, publishers, page counts, subjects, ratings, and cover images from the world's largest open book database.

### Features

- **Book search**: Find books by title, author, or keyword
- **Author search**: Look up authors with their works and biography
- **Rich metadata**: ISBNs, publishers, page counts, editions, languages, subjects
- **Cover images**: High-resolution book cover URLs
- **Ratings**: Average ratings and review counts
- **Always available**: Free API, no authentication needed, millions of records

### Output Fields (Books)

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `title` | Book title |
| `author` | Author name(s) |
| `firstPublishYear` | Year first published |
| `isbn` | Primary ISBN |
| `publisher` | Primary publisher |
| `pageCount` | Median page count |
| `editionCount` | Number of editions |
| `subjects` | Subject tags (up to 10) |
| `coverUrl` | High-res cover image URL |
| `ratingsAverage` | Average rating |
| `scrapedAt` | ISO timestamp |

### Output Fields (Authors)

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `name` | Author name |
| `birthDate` | Date of birth |
| `topWork` | Most well-known work |
| `workCount` | Total works count |
| `topSubjects` | Common subjects |
| `scrapedAt` | ISO timestamp |

### Input Options

- **Search Query**: What to search for (e.g. "Lord of the Rings", "Stephen King")
- **Search Type**: Books or Authors
- **Max Results**: Number of results to return (1-100)

### Use Cases

- **Book databases**: Build comprehensive book catalogs with ISBNs and metadata
- **Reading lists**: Search and curate themed book collections
- **Author research**: Find all works by an author with publication dates
- **Library systems**: Enrich library records with Open Library data
- **E-commerce**: Get book metadata for online bookstores

### Example Output

```json
{
  "title": "The Lord of the Rings",
  "author": "J.R.R. Tolkien",
  "firstPublishYear": 1954,
  "isbn": "9780618640157",
  "publisher": "Houghton Mifflin",
  "pageCount": 1178,
  "editionCount": 264,
  "subjects": ["Fantasy fiction", "Middle Earth", "Quests"],
  "coverUrl": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/8743774-L.jpg",
  "ratingsAverage": 4.5,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-04-26T12:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Data Source

- [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/) - Free, open-source library catalog with 20M+ records

***

### Run on Apify

This scraper runs on the [Apify platform](https://apify.com/?fpr=lulzasaur) - a full-stack web scraping and automation cloud. Sign up for a free account to get started with 30-day trial of all features.

[Try Apify free ->](https://apify.com/?fpr=lulzasaur)

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Search for books or authors by name (e.g. 'Lord of the Rings', 'Stephen King').

## `searchType` (type: `string`):

Whether to search for books or authors.

## `limit` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of results to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "Lord of the Rings",
  "searchType": "books",
  "limit": 20
}
```

# 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 = {
    "searchQuery": "Lord of the Rings"
};

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

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchQuery": "Lord of the Rings" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/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 '{
  "searchQuery": "Lord of the Rings"
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/openlibrary-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lulzasaur/openlibrary-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/GbdbcqFB191uMNUCB/builds/EEPs5AWtZA3LwAV2B/openapi.json