# Open Library API: Get book details > Gets a book's catalog details from Open Library by its title, with an optional author or ISBN to identify the right book. Reading availability reflects listed editions; details may be missing when the catalog has none. Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Open Library. - Page: https://fous.com/methods/openlibrary.org/get-book - Method: `openlibrary.org/get_book`, version 1 - Website: openlibrary.org - Returns: title, subtitle, authors, first published year, description, subjects, pages, editions, rating, reading availability, cover, link - Effect: read (it gets data and changes nothing) - Sign-in: none needed - Cost: 1 credit per completed run (1¢ with pay as you go); failed runs are free - Verified: Nov 2, 2026 ## Inputs | Field | Type | Required | In the run below | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | `isbn` | string | no | `"9780140328721"` | An ISBN to identify the book instead of its title, for example 9780140328721. Default "". | | `title` | string | yes | `"Fantastic Mr. Fox"` | The title of the book, for example Pride and Prejudice. | | `author` | string | no | | The author to distinguish books with the same title, for example Jane Austen. Default "". | ## Output From a run on Oct 31, 2026, shortened. Its input: ```json { "isbn": "9780140328721", "title": "Fantastic Mr. Fox" } ``` Its output: ```json { "title": "Fantastic Mr Fox", "authors": [ "Roald Dahl" ], "subjects": [ "Animals", "Hunger", "Open Library Staff Picks" ], "subtitle": null, "work_key": "/works/OL45804W", "description": "The main character of Fantastic Mr. Fox is an extremely clever anthropomorphized fox named Mr. Fox. He lives with his wife and four little foxes. In order to feed his family, he steals food from the cruel, brutish farmers named Boggis, Bunce, and Bean every night.\r\n\r\nFinally tired of being constantl…", "ratings_count": 121, "average_rating": 3.9504132, "cover_image_link": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/6498519-L.jpg", "open_library_link": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL45804W", "number_of_editions": 161, "first_published_year": 1970, "reading_availability": "borrow", "typical_number_of_pages": 96 } ``` ## Run it From code, with a Fous API key in `FOUS_API_KEY`; the answer's `data` holds the output: ```bash curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"method":"openlibrary.org/get_book","input":{"isbn":"9780140328721","title":"Fantastic Mr. Fox"}}' ``` From an AI agent connected to the Fous MCP server: its `run` with the same method and input. To connect one, give it `set up https://fous.com/SKILL.md`. ## Ask your agent - Look up Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen on Open Library — I need the first publication year, page count, and a short description. - What subjects and reader rating does 'The Left Hand of Darkness' by Ursula K. Le Guin have, and is it available to borrow or read online? - Find catalog info for ISBN 9780140328721: title, author, cover image, and how many editions exist. - Get me details on 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' by Daniel Kahneman from openlibrary.org, including subtitle and link to the record. - I'm trying to identify the right 'Dune' — the Frank Herbert one. Pull up its description, subjects, and whether any edition can be read for free. ## Input schema ```json { "type": "object", "required": [ "title" ], "properties": { "isbn": { "type": "string", "default": "", "description": "An ISBN to identify the book instead of its title, for example 9780140328721." }, "title": { "type": "string", "description": "The title of the book, for example Pride and Prejudice." }, "author": { "type": "string", "default": "", "description": "The author to distinguish books with the same title, for example Jane Austen." } } } ``` ## Output schema ```json { "type": "object", "required": [ "title", "subtitle", "authors", "first_published_year", "description", "subjects", "typical_number_of_pages", "number_of_editions", "average_rating", "ratings_count", "reading_availability", "cover_image_link", "open_library_link", "work_key" ], "properties": { "title": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Book title." }, "authors": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Authors of the book." }, "subjects": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Up to 20 catalog subjects." }, "subtitle": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Book subtitle, if listed." }, "work_key": { "type": "string", "description": "Open Library work key." }, "description": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Plain-text book description." }, "ratings_count": { "type": [ "integer", "null" ], "description": "Number of reader ratings, when available." }, "average_rating": { "type": [ "number", "null" ], "description": "Average reader rating from 1 to 5, when available." }, "cover_image_link": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Link to the cover image." }, "open_library_link": { "type": "string", "description": "Link to the book on Open Library." }, "number_of_editions": { "type": [ "integer", "null" ], "description": "Number of known editions." }, "first_published_year": { "type": [ "integer", "null" ], "description": "Year the book was first published." }, "reading_availability": { "enum": [ "read free online", "borrow", "not available" ], "type": "string", "description": "How the book can be read online." }, "typical_number_of_pages": { "type": [ "integer", "null" ], "description": "Typical page count among editions." } }, "additionalProperties": false } ``` ## See more - [Open Library API: Search books](https://fous.com/methods/openlibrary.org/search-books.md): Finds Open Library books by search words, optionally narrowed by author and subject, sorted by relevance or publication age. Returns work-level results; free_online means at least one edition is marked public or borrowable, not that a loan is available now. - [Open Library API: List books by author](https://fous.com/methods/openlibrary.org/list-author-books.md): Finds an Open Library author by name, link or key and lists their works with first publication year, edition count, cover and an author profile. - [Goodreads API: Get book](https://fous.com/methods/goodreads.com/get-book.md): Gets one Goodreads book's details, reader ratings and edition information. The book can be a title, an ISBN or a book link; a title uses the best search match. - [OverDrive API: Check library availability](https://fous.com/methods/overdrive.com/check-library-availability.md): Finds ebook and audiobook editions a public library owns on OverDrive, with copies, holds and estimated wait when unavailable. - [Audible API: Get audiobook details](https://fous.com/methods/audible.com/get-audiobook.md): Looks up an audiobook in an Audible store by title (optionally narrowed by author) or by Audible book link, and returns its details, narrators, length, rating, visitor price, series, publisher summary and whether that store's Plus Catalog includes it. - [Google API: Get book](https://fous.com/methods/books.google.com/get-book.md): Looks up a Google Books book by title or ISBN. Returns its details, reader ratings and the Google Play ebook offer in a chosen country. - [Project Gutenberg API: Get book text](https://fous.com/methods/gutenberg.org/get-book-text.md): Gets the plain text of a public-domain Project Gutenberg book by title, optionally matching its author and language. Chooses the most downloaded matching edition with a plain-text file, removes the Gutenberg header and license, and can cut the text after a chosen number of words. - [Google API: Search Google Books](https://fous.com/methods/books.google.com/search-books.md): Searches Google Books by words, author, subject or ISBN, with language, free-ebook and newest-first options. Ratings counts are not shown by the public book feed; newest sorts the available matches by publication date. - [All Open Library methods](https://fous.com/methods/openlibrary.org.md)