/help/faq/using
Type: /type/page
body: value: <ul>
<li><a href="#ownership">Who owns the Open Library catalog?</a></li>
<li><a href="#api">Does Open Library have an API?</a></li>
<li><a href="#download">Can I download Open Library?</a></li>
<li><a href="#small-library">Can I download a small piece of Open Library? Say, just three records?</a></li>
<li><a href="#biblio-export">Can I export a bibliography?</a></li>
<li><a href="#share-records">I have a bunch of book records to share with Open Library. How do I do that?</a></li>
<li><a href="#csv-upload">I'm a publisher. I have a CSV file of all our publications. Can I share that on Open Library?</a></li>
<li><a href="#biz-dev">I work on a book-related website and would like to share information with Open Library. Who should I talk to?</a></li>
<br />
<li><a href="https://openlibrary.org/help/faq/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openlibrary.org/help/faq">Back to main FAQ page</a></li>
</ul>

<h3 class="Question" id="ownership">Who owns the Open Library catalog?</h3>

You do! Our catalog was created by the generous donations of <a href="https://openlibrary.org/dev/docs/data">libraries who dedicated their data into the public domain</a>. Our data are available for <a href="https://openlibrary.org/dev/docs/jsondump">bulk download</a> in original form through the Internet Archive.

We ask that any and all contributions you make to Open Library be given under the following Creative Commons license: [CC0 1.0 Universal license][1]. 

<a href="#top">Top</a>
<h3 class="Question" id="api">Does Open Library have an API?</h3>

Yes. Please see [the API subsection][2] of our Developers section for more information and examples.

<a href="#top">Top</a>

<h3 class="Question" id="download">Can I download Open Library?</h3>

Yes. There are a few different ways you can make use of Open Library.

A quick trip to the <a href="https://openlibrary.org/developers">Developers</a> section of the site will reveal that you can: a) install your own instance of Open Library, b) access Open Library data via a variety of APIs, or download the entire catalog.

<a href="#top">Top</a>

<h3 class="Question" id="small-library">Can I download a small piece of Open Library? Say, just three records?</h3>

The best way to download small sets of records is to make a <a href="https://openlibrary.org/lists">List</a> on Open Library, and then export it. You'll see the export options available on the List's main page.

We plan to explore partnerships or integrations with other open source [Integrated Library Systems][3] (ILS), with a view to providing easy access to small sets of free catalog records within in existing tools. It seems that it might be useful for a librarian to collect records around a particular topic using Open Library, and then use their existing ILS to access Open Library source records. 

<a href="#top">Top</a>

<h3 class="Question" id="biblio-export">Can I export a bibliography?</h3>

Yes. Any <a href="https://openlibrary.org/lists">List</a> you create on Open Library can be exported in either HTML, JSON or BibTex.

<a href="#top">Top</a>

<h3 class="Question" id="share-records">I have a bunch of book records to share with Open Library. How do I do that?</h3>

Please see the instructions on <a href="https://openlibrary.org/data">Bulk Uploading</a>. 

This process is clunky at the moment, but it's a start and something we're looking to improve upon. The goal is eventually enable a library of any size, whether personal or institutional, to upload its catalog or a part of its catalog to Open Library. 

<a href="#top">Top</a>

<h3 class="Question" id="csv-upload">I'm a publisher. I have a CSV file of all our publications. May I share that on Open Library?</h3>

We would ***love*** that. It's not possible yet, though. We're working on ways to make the addition of records to Open Library much, much easier. For us to be able to accept a CSV file from anywhere, we'll need to be sure that it contains the minimum fields we require to: a) check to make sure we wouldn't create a duplicate record; or b) create a new record. 

<a href="#top">Top</a>

<h3 class="Question" id="biz-dev">I work on a book-related website and would like share information with Open Library. Who should I talk to?</h3>

Yay! Please email info@archive.org and tell us about your website or organization and what you'd like to do.


  [1]: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
  [2]: https://openlibrary.org/developers/api
  [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_library_system
title: Using Open Library Data
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