Open Library

Book search, book details and author works

Open Library returns book search results, catalog details, and author works; availability reflects listed editions, not current loan availability, and catalog details may be missing.

Get book

Get a book’s catalog details from 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.

Your information

ISBNOptional

An ISBN to identify the book instead of its title, for example 9780140328721.

Title

The title of the book, for example Pride and Prejudice.

More options

AuthorOptional

The author to distinguish books with the same title, for example Jane Austen.

1 credit per completed run

The same inputs also work from your code or an AI assistant. See For developers.

Example results

Fantastic Mr Fox

Roald Dahl

borrow4(121)

First published1,970

Typical length96pages

Known editions161

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. Finally tired of being constantly outwitted by Mr. Fox, the farmers attempt to capture and kill him. The foxes escape in time by burrowing deep into the ground. The farmers decide to wait outside the hole for the foxes to emerge. Unable to leave the hole and steal food, Mr. Fox and his family begin to starve. Mr. Fox devises a plan to steal food from the farmers by tunneling into the ground and borrowing into the farmer's houses. Aided by a friendly Badger, the animals bring the stolen food back and Mrs. Fox prepares a great celebratory banquet attended by the other starving animals and their families. Mr. Fox invites all the animals to live with him underground and says that he will provide food for them daily thanks to his underground passages. All the animals live happily and safely, while the farmers remain waiting outside in vain for Mr. Fox to show up.

View on Open Library

Subjects

Animals
Hunger
Open Library Staff Picks
Juvenile fiction
Children's stories, English
Foxes
Fiction
Zorros
Ficción juvenil
Tunnels
Interviews
Farmers
Children's stories
Rats
Welsh Authors
English Authors
Thieves
Tricksters
Badgers
Children's fiction

About the Open Library tool

Open Library searches books by words, with optional author, subject, and publication-age sorting; it requires search words.

Get book returns catalog details using a title, with optional author or ISBN to identify the right book.

List author books returns an author profile and ordered works; it requires an author name, Open Library link, or author key.

Built from openlibrary.org. Last checked Sep 29, 2026.

Actions

Get book

1 credit

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
ISBN`isbn`	Text	Optional	An ISBN to identify the book instead of its title, for example 9780140328721.Example: 9780140328721
Title`title`	Text	Required	The title of the book, for example Pride and Prejudice.Example: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Author`author`	Text	Optional	The author to distinguish books with the same title, for example Jane Austen.Example: Jane Austen

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Title`title`	Text	Book title.Example: Fantastic Mr Fox
Authors`authors`	List	Authors of the book.
Subjects`subjects`	List	Up to 20 catalog subjects.
Subtitle`subtitle`	Text	Book subtitle, if listed.
Work Key`work_key`	Text	Open Library work key.Example: /works/OL45804W
Description`description`	Text	Plain-text book description.
Ratings Count`ratings_count`	Number	Number of reader ratings, when available.Example: 121
Average Rating`average_rating`	Number	Average reader rating from 1 to 5, when available.Example: 3.9504132
Cover Image Link`cover_image_link`	Text	Link to the cover image.Example: https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/6498519-L.jpg
Open Library Link`open_library_link`	Text	Link to the book on Open Library.Example: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL45804W
Number of Editions`number_of_editions`	Number	Number of known editions.Example: 161
First Published Year`first_published_year`	Number	Year the book was first published.Example: 1970
Reading Availability`reading_availability`	Text	How the book can be read online.Example: Borrow
Typical Number of Pages`typical_number_of_pages`	Number	Typical page count among editions.Example: 96

Example result

For ISBN: 9780140328721, Title: Fantastic Mr. Fox

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 c…",
  "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
}

List author books

1 credit

Find an Open Library author and list their works with publication years, edition counts, covers, and an author profile. Dates retain Open Library’s wording; missing details are null. Popular uses Open Library’s default relevance order.

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
Sort`sort`	Text	Optional	Order of books, for example newest. Popular is the default.Example: Newest
Author`author`	Text	Required	Author name, Open Library author link, or author key, for example Toni Morrison.Example: Toni Morrison
Max Results`max_results`	Number	Optional	Maximum number of books to return, for example 50 (up to 200).Example: 5

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Books`books`	List	Books by this author in the requested order.
Title`books[].title`	Text	Example: Beloved
Edition Count`books[].edition_count`	Number	Example: 111
Cover Image Link`books[].cover_image_link`	Text	Example: https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/8261367-L.jpg
Open Library Link`books[].open_library_link`	Text	Example: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL50548W
First Published Year`books[].first_published_year`	Number	Example: 1987
Biography`biography`	Text	Short plain-text author biography.Example: Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American author…
Author Key`author_key`	Text	Open Library author key.Example: OL31120A
Birth Date`birth_date`	Text	Birth date as listed by Open Library, which may be a partial date.Example: 18 February 1931
Death Date`death_date`	Text	Death date as listed by Open Library, which may be a partial date.Example: 5 August 2019
Photo Link`photo_link`	Text	Author portrait image link.Example: https://covers.openlibrary.org/a/id/6388126-L.jpg
Author Link`author_link`	Text	Open Library author page.Example: https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL31120A
Author Name`author_name`	Text	Author name on Open Library.Example: Toni Morrison
Total Works`total_works`	Number	Number of works attributed to this author.Example: 95

Example result

For Author: Toni Morrison

JSON

{
  "books": [
    {
      "title": "Beloved",
      "edition_count": 111,
      "cover_image_link": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/8261367-L.jpg",
      "open_library_link": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL50548W",
      "first_published_year": 1987
    },
    {
      "title": "The Bluest Eye",
      "edition_count": 63,
      "cover_image_link": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/15152696-L.jpg",
      "open_library_link": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL50565W",
      "first_published_year": 1970
    },
    {
      "title": "Sula",
      "edition_count": 55,
      "cover_image_link": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/8384008-L.jpg",
      "open_library_link": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL50567W",
      "first_published_year": 1973
    }
  ],
  "biography": "Toni Morrison is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed black characters. Amon…",
  "author_key": "OL31120A",
  "birth_date": "18 February 1931",
  "death_date": "5 August 2019",
  "photo_link": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/a/id/6388126-L.jpg",
  "author_link": "https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL31120A",
  "author_name": "Toni Morrison",
  "total_works": 95
}

Search books

1 credit

Find Open Library books by search words, optionally narrowing by author and subject and sorting by publication age. Returns work-level results; online availability indicates that at least one edition is marked public or borrowable, not that a loan is currently available.

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
Sort`sort`	Text	Optional	Order results by relevance or publication age, for example newest.Example: Newest
Query`query`	Text	Required	Words to search for, for example Dune.Example: Dune
Author`author`	Text	Optional	Narrow results to an author, for example Frank Herbert.Example: Frank Herbert
Subject`subject`	Text	Optional	Narrow results to a subject, for example gardening.Example: Gardening
Max Results`max_results`	Number	Optional	Maximum number of books to return, for example 10.Example: 10

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Books`books`	List	Matching books.
Isbns`books[].isbns`	List	Up to five ISBNs for editions of the work.
Title`books[].title`	Text	Book title.Example: Dune
Authors`books[].authors`	List	Authors of the work.
Work Key`books[].work_key`	Text	Open Library work key.Example: /works/OL893414W
Languages`books[].languages`	List	Languages of the work as names.
Free Online`books[].free_online`	Yes or no	Whether any edition is marked public or borrowable for online reading.Example: Yes
Edition Count`books[].edition_count`	Number	Number of editions indexed for the work.Example: 155
Cover Image URL`books[].cover_image_url`	Text	Cover image link, if available.Example: https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/11481354-L.jpg
Open Library URL`books[].open_library_url`	Text	Open Library work page.Example: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL893414W
First Published Year`books[].first_published_year`	Number	First year of publication, if known.Example: 1965

Example result

For Query: Dune, Author: Frank Herbert, Max Results: 3

JSON

{
  "books": [
    {
      "isbns": [
        "9780441013593",
        "9780340839935",
        "044100590X"
      ],
      "title": "Dune",
      "authors": [
        "Frank Herbert"
      ],
      "work_key": "/works/OL893414W",
      "languages": [
        "French",
        "Spanish",
        "Ukrainian"
      ],
      "free_online": true,
      "edition_count": 155,
      "cover_image_url": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/11481354-L.jpg",
      "open_library_url": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL893414W",
      "first_published_year": 1965
    },
    {
      "isbns": [
        "8418037679",
        "9788466372015",
        "8373017259"
      ],
      "title": "Dune Messiah",
      "authors": [
        "Frank Herbert"
      ],
      "work_key": "/works/OL893461W",
      "languages": [
        "Spanish",
        "Polish",
        "Dutch"
      ],
      "free_online": true,
      "edition_count": 101,
      "cover_image_url": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/980253-L.jpg",
      "open_library_url": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL893461W",
      "first_published_year": 1969
    },
    {
      "isbns": [
        "1427202915",
        "9789759971342",
        "9780425071793"
      ],
      "title": "Children of Dune",
      "authors": [
        "Frank Herbert"
      ],
      "work_key": "/works/OL893516W",
      "languages": [
        "Dutch",
        "Chinese",
        "Portuguese"
      ],
      "free_online": true,
      "edition_count": 77,
      "cover_image_url": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/6976407-L.jpg",
      "open_library_url": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL893516W",
      "first_published_year": 1976
    }
  ]
}

For developers

Call it from your code with one request. Change the values in input to run it on new data. To get an API key, open Developers at the bottom of Studio, turn on Developer mode and go to API keys.

cURL

curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@open-library",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "get_book",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "isbn": "9780140328721",
    "title": "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'

What you can do with it

Find books by title, author, or subject.
Check book details, subjects, ratings, and listed reading availability.
Compare publication years and edition counts across matching books.
Review an author's works, biography, and profile details.

Questions about Open Library

Can I run it with my own inputs?

Yes. Change the inputs in Studio and press Run, or send new inputs from your code, or ask a connected AI assistant.

Can I call this Open Library tool as an API?

Yes. Send a POST request to /v1/query with your Fous API key and the inputs, and get JSON back.

How much does it cost?

Each completed run costs 1 credit. Failed runs without a completed receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted. With pay as you go, a credit costs 1¢. Monthly plans cost less per credit.

Do I need a Open Library account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from openlibrary.org when you run it. Some results are reused for up to 24 hours, and results that use your account or key are never reused. It was last verified on Sep 29, 2026.