`lookup_by_identifier`

Pack: hathitrust · Connect: https://pipeworx.io/mcp (see Connect below for a single-pack URL)

No MCP client? Call it directly: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/lookup_by_identifier for the schema, then POST the same URL with its arguments for the data.

Look up HathiTrust’s digitized-book holdings by a standard identifier (OCLC, LCCN, ISSN, ISBN, HathiTrust item id, or catalog record number). Returns the bibliographic record(s) plus every scanned copy, each flagged full-view (readable online) or limited (search-only) based on its rights code. Keyless — covers 18M+ volumes. Requires a free Pipeworx account (https://pipeworx.io/signup); anonymous and X-API-Key-only calls are refused.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`id_type`	string	yes	Identifier type. One of: oclc, lccn, issn, isbn, htid, recordnumber.
`id`	string	yes	The identifier value, e.g. “424023” for an OCLC number, “9780030110405” for an ISBN.

Example call

Arguments

{
  "id_type": "isbn",
  "id": "9780030110405"
}

curl

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/hathitrust/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"lookup_by_identifier","arguments":{"id_type":"isbn","id":"9780030110405"}}}'

TypeScript (@pipeworx/sdk)

import { Pipeworx } from '@pipeworx/sdk';
const pipeworx = new Pipeworx();

const result = await pipeworx.call('lookup_by_identifier', {
  "id_type": "isbn",
  "id": "9780030110405"
});

More examples

{
  "id_type": "oclc",
  "id": "424023"
}

Connect

Add this to your MCP client config — every tool in the catalog, including this one — or use one-click install buttons:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Connect to just the hathitrust pack

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hathitrust": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/hathitrust/mcp"
    }
  }
}

See Getting Started for client-specific install steps.

lookup_by_identifier