HathiTrust Rights API

Note: This API has been deprecated and will be phased out in summer 2010. Please use the Bib API [1] instead.

HathiTrust partners (and other interested parties) need a way to get information unique to HathiTrust (handle data, rights information) into their own systems. This documents begins to describe an HTTP interface that aims to provide:

• data about a small number of records at once (other avenues will be available for larger queries)
• data unique to HathiTrust, with enough unique identifiers to be queried in a variety of ways
• an interface amenable for use within a browser environment

The initial target of the design will be a typical “Full Record” page in a web-based OPAC; other uses may reveal themselves and influence the design along the way. Support for serials is forthcoming.

Why not use SRU, OpenURL, or another option?

These technologies are heavier than what we need initially, and the browser-embedded javascript required would introduce complexities we prefer to avoid at this time.

Phased Development

Development will be segmented into phases, with increasing functionality.

• Phase 0 [2] (FINISHED) will focus on getting a single non-serial record by passing in an OCLC number and providing a javascript library to make it easy to work with the returned data in a browser.
• Phase 1 [3] (FINISHED) will add to phase 0 the ability to pass multiple possible identifiers (e.g., an lccn and oclc number) and will provide server-side rank-ordering of any multiple results.
• Phase 2 will provide a second interface designed to allow multiple simultaneous queries. This will still be focused on a small number (n < 20ish) of records at once.