# dpla.archives.search

Search 50M+ digitized items from US libraries, archives, and museums via the Digital Public Library of America. Filter by media type (image, text, sound, moving image), date range, US state, or contributing institution. Results include title, creator, date, type, subject tags, rights, and direct links to the original item and thumbnail. Sources include the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, NYPL, state digitization programs, and 2,000+ contributing institutions. Returns facets for top subjects, providers, and types within the result set.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `dpla.archives.search`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/dpla.archives.search

## Facts

- Tool: `dpla.archives.search`
- Server: Apibase (`apibase-mcp-client`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase.md
- Install: `npx -y apibase-mcp-client`
- Homepage: https://github.com/whiteknightonhorse/APIbase
- Risk category: Write (Medium risk)
- Registry record: grade F, identity unverified
- Server auth posture: open
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 8
- Recommended policy verdict: Rate-limited

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `q` | string | no | Full-text search query across title, description, creator, and subject fields (e.g. "civil war photographs", "Thomas Jefferson") |
| `page` | integer | no | Page number for pagination, starting at 1 (default: 1) |
| `type` | string | no | Filter by media type: image (photographs, drawings), text (books, manuscripts), sound (audio recordings), moving image (film/video), physical object |
| `state` | string | no | Filter by US state name where the item originated or is about (e.g. "Massachusetts", "California") |
| `date_end` | string | no | Filter items created on or before this year (e.g. "1900"). Use with date_begin for a range. |
| `provider` | string | no | Filter by contributing institution name (e.g. "Smithsonian Institution", "The New York Public Library") |
| `page_size` | integer | no | Number of items per page, 1–50 (default: 10) |
| `date_begin` | string | no | Filter items created on or after this year (e.g. "1850"). Use with date_end for a range. |

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "dpla.archives.search",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}
```

## Why dpla.archives.search is rated Medium

An AI agent can call dpla.archives.search faster than any human can review: one bad instruction and it creates or modifies resources in Apibase by the hundred, each call as confident as the last.

## Use case

AI agents use dpla.archives.search to create or update resources in Apibase, usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Apibase environment.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Rate-limited**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Apibase:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "dpla.archives.search": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "dpla.archives.search_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 30,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

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## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase