使用说明
sru-mcp
An MCP server that searches library catalogs worldwide using the SRU (Search/Retrieve via URL) protocol. No API keys required — SRU is an open standard supported by national libraries, university catalogs, and consortia.
Features
- 5 tools for LLM-driven bibliographic search
- 7 pre-configured servers including Library of Congress, BnF, DNB, and more
- Parses MARCXML and Dublin Core record formats
- Supports any SRU-compliant server — pass a URL or use a built-in server ID
- Raw CQL queries or high-level field-based search (title, author, ISBN, subject, etc.)
Quick Start
Install
pip install mcp[cli] httpx xmltodict
Run
python server.py
Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"sru": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["/path/to/sru-mcp/server.py"]
}
}
}
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
sru_list_servers |
List all pre-configured library catalog servers |
sru_explain |
Get a server's capabilities, supported schemas, and indexes |
sru_list_indexes |
List available search indexes on a server |
sru_search |
Execute a raw CQL query |
sru_search_books |
Search by title, author, ISBN, subject, publisher, year, or keyword |
Example Usage
Search the Library of Congress for books by Melville:
sru_search_books(server="loc", author="Melville", title="Moby Dick")
Search the French national library with a raw CQL query:
sru_search(server="bnf", cql_query='dc.title = "Les Misérables"')
Pre-configured Servers
| ID | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
loc |
Library of Congress | US national catalog |
loc-names |
LC Name Authority | Personal and corporate names |
loc-subjects |
LC Subject Authority | Subject headings and genre terms |
bnf |
Bibliothèque nationale de France | French national library |
dnb |
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek | German national library |
kb |
Koninklijke Bibliotheek | Netherlands national library |
bibsys |
BIBSYS | Norwegian academic libraries |
To add a server, edit servers.json.
Development
# Install dev dependencies
pip install pytest pytest-asyncio respx
# Run tests
python3 -m pytest test_sru.py test_server.py -v
# Test with MCP Inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector python server.py
Project Structure
server.py FastMCP server — tool definitions
sru.py SRU protocol client — HTTP, parsing, formatting
servers.json Server registry
test_sru.py Tests for sru.py (92 tests total)
test_server.py Tests for server.py
License
MIT
