The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) is a protocol used in libraries and archives for the automated delivery of structured bibliographic metadata. You can use this option to retrieve metadata in MARC21 or unqualified Dublin Core formats in XML structure. The OAI feed allows you to access new and updated records and (for the full set of records) discover if any have been deleted. For best practices related to OAI, and a list of potential harvesters, see https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/50369.
Notes for working with the HathiTrust OAI feed:
- The MARC version of the feed does not provide complete MARC records. View the list of fields that are included in the HathiTrust MARC OAI feed at http://bit.ly/2E0Jp8S.
NOTE: The base urls for the HathiTrust OAI feed have changed. Please adjust any automatic processes accordingly (2/7/23)
Retrieve all HathiTrust records
All HathiTrust records can be harvested through the following URLs. The set provides you with access to all of the HathiTrust records, including search-only material.
- MARC records: https://oai.hathitrust.org/?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=marc21
- Dublin Core records:
https://oai.hathitrust.org/?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=oai_dc
This set is the most comprehensive and includes information about deleted records, but is not generally well-suited for libraries who wish to incorporate links only to material that can be viewed.
Retrieve HathiTrust records for items viewable in the United States
To retrieve records for all materials that are viewable to users located inside the United States, use “set=hathitrust:pdus". The set provides you with access to all of the HathiTrust full-view records, including materials that are only available to users located in the United States and works that are opened with Creative Commons licenses.
- MARC records: https://oai.hathitrust.org/?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=marc21&set=hathitrust:pdus
- Dublin Core records:
https://oai.hathitrust.org/?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&set=hathitrust:pdus
This set is best for libraries and organizations that are located within the United States and wish to incorporate records for all content that their users can access.
Retrieve HathiTrust records for items viewable outside the United States
To retrieve records for all materials that are viewable to users located outside the United States, use “set=hathitrust:pd". This set includes materials that are opened to users worldwide, including those opened with a Creative Commons license, but excludes materials that are only viewable to users located in the United States.
- MARC records: https://oai.hathitrust.org/?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=marc21&set=hathitrust:pd
- Dublin Core records: https://oai.hathitrust.org/?verb=ListRecords&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&set=hathitrust:pd
This set is best for libraries and organizations that are located outside the United States. It excludes records for content that is available only to users located within the United States.
Retrieve individual records
To retrieve a small number of individual records, as opposed to the sets above, use the GetRecord verb:
MARC: https://oai.hathitrust.org/?verb=GetRecord&metadata_prefix=marc21&identi...
Dublin Core: https://oai.hathitrust.org/?verb=GetRecord&metadata_prefix=oai_dc&identi...
For example:
Dublin Core: https://oai.hathitrust.org/?verb=GetRecord&metadata_prefix=oai_dc&identifier=oai:hathitrust.org:000521946
The Bibliographic API is another alternative which can be used to retrieve full MARC records instead of the limited set of MARC fields provided through OAI. It does not provide Dublin Core-formatted metadata.