LibraryThing APIs
From WikiThing
What's an API?
APIs are ways for one computer to talk to another, simple ways of getting and giving data without having to share programming code. See Wikipedia.
For tab-delimited and CSV exports of your library see the Tools tab. For our RSS feeds see here.
The Developer Key
A few of the LibraryThing APIs require a LibraryThing Developer Key. See each API for details. If you need a key, go ahead and get one. The LibraryThing Developer Key has its own Terms and Conditions.
Easy Linking
You can link to a work page on LibraryThing just by throwing the ISBN into the URL.
You can also link to a book by putting the book's title in the URL. Spaces can be represented by underscores, + signs, or even simply as spaces (more here).
- http://www.librarything.com/title/voyage_of_the_dawn_treader
- http://www.librarything.com/title/the+educated+imagination
- http://www.librarything.com/title/tender violence
You can add books to your account as follows. If you aren't logged in, it will go to the work page.
- http://www.librarything.com/addbook/0441172717
- http://www.librarything.com/addbook/the+educated+imagination
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)
1. JSON Books API
See LibraryThing JSON Books API
- License: Must be run as Javascript on user's browser, not fetched by a server; cannot be stored, except for browser caching. Commercial use requires a hard (non-JS) link to LibraryThing on every page that returns results.
- Developer key: Not needed.
2. JSON Works API
See http://www.librarything.com/thingology/2008/03/first-cut-works-json-api.php
- License: Must be run as Javascript on user's browser, not fetched by a server; cannot be stored, except for browser caching. Commercial use requires a hard (non-JS) link to LibraryThing on every page that returns results.
- Developer key: Not needed.
3. ThingISBN
ThingISBN takes an ISBN and returns a list of "related" ISBNs—ISBNs from the same "work" (i.e. other editions and translations).
- Format is identical to OCLC's xISBN.
- Sample URL: http://www.librarything.com/api/thingISBN/0441172717
- Read the announcement and a follow-up
- License: Non-commercial use (see below)
- Developer key: Not needed.
- See also Projects currently using ThingISBN
4. What Work?
"What work?" takes an ISBN and/or a title-author and returns the LibraryThing work number.
- See the blog post
- License: Free to all with attribution (see below)
5. ThingLang
ThingLang takes an ISBN and returns the language of the book.
- ThingLang uses language codes from MARC records and from the Group Identifiers embedded at the start of the ISBN format.
- Results are in the form of a three letter MARC language code
- Read the announcement, with examples and details.
- License: Unrestricted (see below); hit it no more than 1/second
- Developer key: Not needed.
6. ISBN Check
Takes an ISBN; validates it and returns the ISBN10 and ISBN13 form.
- Under no conditions may you call this "ThingISBNCheck"
- See announcement
- License: Unrestricted (see below); hit it no more than 10/second
- Developer key: Not needed.
7. ThingTitle
ThingTitle takes a title and returns a list ISBNs from the most likely LibraryThing "work," the LibraryThing title and a link to the LibraryThing work page.
- Announcement, with examples
- License: Non-commercial use (see below)
- Developer key: Not needed.
Data feeds
Feeds are available here: http://www.librarything.com/feeds/
1. ThingISBN
- A feed version of the above API.
- License: Non-commercial use (see below)
2. AllLibraryThingISBNs
- A simple list of all ISBNs in LibraryThing.
- License: Non-commercial use (see below)
3. WikipediaCitations
- A list of ISBNs to Wikipedia articles (described on the blog).
- License: Non-commercial use (see below)
Terms of Use
- By using any of LibraryThing's APIs you agree to these terms of use.
- "Non-commercial" restricts the data to non-commercial use only; commercial use requires our written permission.
- "Unrestricted" data can be used for both non-commercial and commercial use.
- "Free to all with attribution" means anyone can use the API, but must provide attribution and a link, either to the work in question or to LibraryThing.com.
- Except for ISBN Check, you can make only one request per second on an API; if you're going to hit it more than 1,000 times/day, you must notify LibraryThing
- APIs are provided "as is," without any promises or guarantees of any sort. You're on your own!
- We reserve the right to change these terms and generally make things up as we go along.