aspen-catalog-mcp

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for searching Aspen Discovery library catalogs. Use it with Claude, or any MCP-compatible AI client, to check if your local library carries a book before recommending it.

What it does

• search_catalog — Search the library catalog by keyword, title, author, subject, or ISBN
• check_availability — Check a list of book titles against the catalog, so AI recommendations can be filtered to books your library actually has

Setup

1. Get API access from your library

Aspen Discovery supports two access methods:

• IP allow-listing (recommended) — Ask your library to add your server's IP to the Aspen Discovery API allow-list. No credentials needed.
• API token pair — Some libraries may issue API key pairs used by the Aspen LiDA mobile app.

Your library also needs to allow your IP through any CDN/firewall (e.g. Cloudflare) in front of the catalog.

2. Install

npm install -g aspen-catalog-mcp

Or clone and build from source:

git clone https://github.com/ecmulli/aspen-catalog-mcp.git
cd aspen-catalog-mcp
npm install
npm run build

3. Configure

Set the required environment variable:

export ASPEN_BASE_URL="https://catalog.faylib.org"  # your library's Aspen catalog URL

If using token auth, also set:

export ASPEN_API_KEY1="your-key-1"
export ASPEN_API_KEY2="your-key-2"

4. Add to Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "library-catalog": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "aspen-catalog-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ASPEN_BASE_URL": "https://catalog.faylib.org"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or if running from source:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "library-catalog": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/aspen-catalog-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "ASPEN_BASE_URL": "https://catalog.faylib.org"
      }
    }
  }
}

Finding your library's Aspen catalog URL

Many public libraries use Aspen Discovery. The catalog URL is typically:

• https://catalog.yourlibrary.org
• https://yourlibrary.aspendiscovery.org

You can check if your library uses Aspen Discovery by looking for "Powered by Aspen Discovery" in the footer of their online catalog.

How it works

This server talks to the Aspen Discovery SearchAPI, specifically the searchLite method, which returns catalog records matching a search query.

License

MIT