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Developer Center | Open Library
Developer Center | Open Library
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Last edited by
raybb
March 31, 2026 |
History
Edit
Developer Center
Developer Center (Home)
Web API
Client Library
Data Dumps
Source Code
Report an Issue
Licensing
Welcome to the developer hub of Open Library. This page links you to all of the information and external resources that will help you get started accessing data from, integrating with, or contributing to the Open Library platform.
Accessing Data
Open Library offers free, public, low-volume
Web APIs
and
bulk
Monthly Data Dumps
for accessing book and author catalog data. Here are
examples
of partners making use of our data in the wild. Our Web APIs are ideal for book services which need to make infrequent, real-time searches for specific books, their authors, and their availability. For projects which require importing books, authors, or covers in bulk, please kindly download our free data dumps.
Client Libraries
We maintain an
Official (Python) Client Library
for accessing data and
writing bots
. The are also unofficial client libraries written in
Ruby
and
Elixir
Contributing
OpenLibrary.org is an open source project. If you'd like to contribute as an Open Library developer, please visit our
CONTRIBUTING guide
on
GitHub
and explore our
volunteer page
. Aside from the documentation here, you may also find
Open Library's Docs site
useful for getting started.
Technologies
Open Library is written in Python and uses the (now arcane)
Infogami
web framework, which itself is built on top of
web.py
Partners
Are you a library, publisher, or book vendor trying to integrate your catalog with Open Library previews, lending, data, or book covers? Check out our
partner resources
History
Created October 21, 2009
79 revisions
March 31, 2026
Edited by
raybb
link to docs site
January 10, 2025
Edited by
raybb
fix typos
July 5, 2023
Edited by
Mek
updating technologies
July 23, 2021
Edited by
raybb
all links https
October 21, 2009
Created by
George
New page.