What the response contains
Try Spirited Away, Tolkien, and Akira and use the returned fields to identify the right record.
Fields worth checking
- Book
- Author
- First publication year
- Editions
Open Library Search
Book · Author · First publication year · Editions
Live lookup
Type a real query, scan the cards and confirm the key details before opening the full source.
Quick examples
Search finds works; an edition is a separate layer
Each result can include key, title, author_name, first_publish_year, and edition_count. key normally identifies the work, while an edition has its own record. This matters when a search returns similar titles, translations, or reprints: check author and year before deciding that a result is the book you need. author_name can also contain more than one name.
- Use key as the work reference when saving or comparing results.
- Read title, author_name, and first_publish_year together when titles are alike.
- Do not use one cover or one language alone to identify a displayed edition.
Edition count does not state availability
edition_count indicates how many editions are associated with a result, not how many copies can be read, borrowed, or bought. Fields such as cover_i and cover_edition_key help locate an image or related record; language can list languages found across the set. They are catalogue clues, not a promise about format, access, or stock.
- Open the work or edition page for access details.
- Treat cover_i as an image identifier, not confirmation of a particular cover.
- Use language to guide research without assuming a translation or local availability.
Keep the query in the context of its response
The response provides q, numFound, start, and docs. q records the processed search; numFound gives the total found for it; docs contains the current result page. Parameters such as page, limit, and fields let you move through results, reduce the response, and select fields. When building a list, retain the query and page used, because a different term or filter changes the returned set.
- Use limit to control how many results arrive on a page.
- Use page to move through a search without mixing separate pages.
- Use fields when you need only named values such as title, author_name, and key.
