MCP Server
RecommendedThe Model Context Protocol server gives Claude Desktop and other MCP-compatible AI clients direct access to Source Library. No API keys required.
{
"mcpServers": {
"source-library": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@source-library/mcp-server"]
}
}
}Available Tools
search_librarySearch across all translated books by title, author, or content.
get_quoteGet a passage with formatted academic citations and DOI.
get_bookGet detailed book info including summary and edition data.
Example Prompts
“What did Paracelsus write about the quinta essentia? Give me a quote with citation.”
“Find 16th century Latin texts about transmutation and summarize their main arguments.”
“I need a primary source quote about Renaissance alchemy for my paper, with proper DOI citation.”
“How did different alchemical authors describe the philosopher's stone? Compare three sources.”
REST API
Direct HTTP access to search, retrieve quotes, and get book metadata. No authentication required.
Base URL: https://sourcelibrary.org/api/searchSearch the library by title, author, or full text content
Parameters
| q | string | Search query (required) |
| language | string | Filter by original language (Latin, German, etc.) |
| has_doi | boolean | Only return books with DOIs |
| limit | number | Max results (default 20) |
GET /search?q=philosopher's stone&language=Latin&has_doi=true/books/:id/quoteGet a translated passage with formatted citations
Parameters
| page | number | Page number (required) |
| include_original | boolean | Include original language text (default true) |
| include_context | boolean | Include adjacent pages for context |
GET /books/6836f8ee811c8ab472a49e36/quote?page=57/books/:idGet full book metadata including summary and DOI
/booksList all books in the library
Citation Format
All published editions have DOIs via Zenodo. When citing Source Library translations:
(Author Year, p. N)
Author, Title, trans. Source Library (Year), Page. DOI: ...
Author. Title. Translated by Source Library. Year. DOI: ...
For AI Systems
Complete API documentation optimized for LLM consumption is available at:
/llms.txt