hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup

SERVERApibase SOURCEapibase-mcp-client

Low RISK CLASS

Category Read

Parameters 22 required

Recommended Allowedsee the rule below

Registry record Grade F, identity unverified Pull the record →

This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup.md

WHAT IT DOES

What hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup does on Apibase

AI agents call hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup to retrieve information from Apibase without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`id_type`	string	Yes	Identifier type: "oclc" (WorldCat number), "isbn", "issn", "lccn" (Library of Congress Control Number), "htid" (HathiTrust volume ID, e.g. "pur1.32754075735872"
`id_value`	string	Yes	The identifier value to look up (e.g. "8727632" for an oclc id_type)

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

RISK

Why hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup is rated Low

Tool retrieves bibliographic metadata and access information from a public digital library without modifying data.

From the tool's definition Look up book/serial in digital library, returns catalog record and holdings data.

Risk signalsBulk/mass operation — affects multiple targets

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

RECOMMENDED RULE

The rule that runs hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup safely

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Apibase, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup, this is the rule to start with:

hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup Allowed

hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup": {}
  }
}

ALLOW ONLY THIS TOOL → Instant setup, no code required.

The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Apibase, apply this rule, and every hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup call is checked against it from then on.

FAQ

Questions about hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup

What does the hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup tool do? +

Look up a book/serial in the HathiTrust shared digital library (18M+ volumes from 60+ research libraries) by one identifier: oclc (WorldCat number), isbn, issn, lccn, htid (HathiTrust volume ID), or recordnumber. Returns matching catalog record(s) — title, ISBNs/ISSNs/OCLC/LCCN, publish dates — plus every digitized item holding that record, with its contributing library, item URL, and access rights (e.g. "Full view", "Limited (search-only)"). Call hathitrust-digital.get_full_record for authors/publisher/subjects. Data: HathiTrust Bibliographic API, no auth required. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Apibase MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

What parameters does hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup accept? +

hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup accepts 2 parameters: id_type, id_value. Required: id_type, id_value. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.

How do I enforce a policy on hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup? +

Register the Apibase MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Apibase. Nothing to install.

What risk level is hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup? +

hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup? +

hathitrust-digital.catalog.lookup is provided by the Apibase MCP server (apibase-mcp-client). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

KEEP EXPLORING

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