Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison
MCP Open Library vs Open Museum MCP
In-depth architectural comparison of the MCP Open Library and Open Museum MCP MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
MCP Open Library
Art & Culture · Local stdio
Quality: 69/100 (Great) | Auth: No auth required
Open Museum MCP
Art & Culture · Local stdio
Quality: 59/100 (Good) | Auth: API Key required
Verdict Summary: Choose MCP Open Library if you need specialized Art & Culture tools running via a local process. Choose Open Museum MCP if your workspace requires Art & Culture integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's
mcpServers manifest.Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
Choose MCP Open Library when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Art & Culture domain.
- You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
- Primary tools included: search_books, get_book_by_title, get_book_by_id.
Choose Open Museum MCP when:
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Art & Culture domain.
- You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
- Your security boundary fits: API Key required (Free / Open Source).
- Primary tools included: Federated museum and cultural-collection search, Strict default-deny rights verification, Normalized artwork metadata.
Feature & Specification Comparison
Tools & Capabilities Breakdown
MCP Open Library Tools (7)
search_books
Search Open Library across titles, authors, subjects, places, people, publishers and ISBNs. Provide at least one search criterion: q, title, author, subject, place, person, publisher, isbn; combining several narrows the search. Returns at most `limit` results (default 10) together with `num_found`, the total number of matches; page through them with `offset`. Each result carries `best_edition` — one edition of the work, with its `isbn_13`/`isbn_10` where Open Library has them, and its `edition_key`, which can be passed to `get_book_by_id` as `{ idType: "olid" }` for that edition's full record.
get_book_by_title
Search for a book by its title on Open Library. Returns at most `limit` results (default 10) together with `num_found`, the total number of matches; page through them with `offset`. Each result carries `best_edition` — one edition of the work, with its `isbn_13`/`isbn_10` where Open Library has them, and its `edition_key`, which can be passed to `get_book_by_id` as `{ idType: "olid" }` for that edition's full record.
get_book_by_id
Get detailed information about a book using its identifier (ISBN, LCCN, OCLC, OLID).
get_authors_by_name
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
MCP Open Library Configuration
Open Museum MCP Configuration