The Catalog API can be used to perform realtime searches for specific products by providing an "identifier" in the the API request. The "identifier" will be searched across all numerical identifiers (ISBN, Print ISBN, SKU, etc...) for all product records available to the VitalSource Catalog. This method of calling the Catalog API will not return the full VitalSource Catalog (over a million items), only matches of the "identifier" sent in the request.
The API will return the product records that match the provided "identifier" along with current pricing, metadata and URLs to the VitalSource Store Website for that particular product. If multiple products match the "identifier" (rental durations of the same item) each product duration will be returned in the API response as a separate item.
Supported Roles and Authentication Protocols
Type | Supported Values |
Authentication Protocols | API Key |
Valid for Roles | System to System |
API Request
HTTP Verbs and URLs
/v3/catalogRequest Headers
X-VitalSource-API-Key: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
- Replace Alphabet characters with your API key.
Request Body
Request
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <catalog> <page>0</page> <per-page>1000</per-page> <condition type="identifier">ABCDEFGH</condition> </catalog>
Element Descriptions
Element | Description | Valid Values | Required |
page | Page number for the catalog request; default pagination is 100 per page. Depending on the number of items in your request, you will call multiple pages of data. Paging starts at Page 0. | integer | Yes |
per-page | Valid values between 100 and 1,000. | integer: 100-1000 | Yes |
condition | Used to search for a specific product, this allows for a search via SKU, or ISBN. Available condition types are limited to "identifier" which will search all numeric values within the catalog. | string | Yes |
Response Body
HTTP Code: 200 <catalog items="2" total-pages="1" page="0" per-page="100"> <item>
<sku>9780080548166</sku>
<vbid>1259221652</vbid>
<created>Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:35:25 +0000</created>
<updated>Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:43:46 +0000</updated>
<off-sale-date>23 Sep 2017</off-sale-date>
<type>Single</type>
<downloadable-duration>180 Days</downloadable-duration>
<online-duration>Perpetual</online-duration>
<book-format>pbk</book-format>
<kind>book</kind>
<build-status>In Inventory</build-status>
<url>http://vitalsource.com/search?term=9780080548166&duration=180</url>
<description>The finding by Emil Fischer that glucose ...</description>
<publication-date>09/2011</publication-date>
<discount-code>091254</discount-code>
<author>Hari Garg</author>
<title>Carbohydrate Chemistry, Biology and Medical Applications</title>
<sort-title>Carbohydrate Chemistry, Biology and Medical Applications</sort-title>
<edition>0</edition>
<icon-url>http://covers.vitalbook.com/vbid/9780080548166/width/120</icon-url>
<sampleable>false</sampleable>
<page-count>414</page-count>
<parent-isbn/>
<copyright-date></copyright-date>
<copyright-year></copyright-year>
<distributable>true</distributable>
<print-drm-text></print-drm-text>
<copy-drm-text></copy-drm-text>
<subjects>
<subject schema="bisac" code="BUS025000">Entrepreneurship</subject>
<subject schema="coursesmart" code="cs.bus_ecn.mgmt.entre">Entrepreneurship</subject>
</subjects>
<pricelist>
<publisher-list-price currency="USD">125.0</publisher-list-price>
<agency-price currency="USD">125.0</agency-price>
<digital-list-price currency="USD">125.0</digital-list-price>
<sell-price currency="USD">125.0</sell-price>
</pricelist>
<publisher>
<publisher-name>Elsevier Science</publisher-name>
<imprint-name>Elsevier Science</imprint-name>
</publisher>
<aliases>
<eisbn-canonical>9780080558141</eisbn-canonical>
<isbn-canonical>9780080548166</isbn-canonical>
<print-isbn-canonical>9780080548166</print-isbn-canonical>
<fpid></fpid>
<fpid-equivalent></fpid-equivalent>
<vbid-equivalent></vpid-equivalent>
<isbn13>9780080548166</isbn13>
<isbn10>0-08-054816-4</isbn10>
<additional-isbns>
<isbn type="saleable-print-isbn-10">12345667</isbn>
<isbn type="saleable-print-isbn-13">123456787</isbn>
</additional-isbns>
</aliases>
<owner>
<company>
<id>219</id>
<name>Elsevier S & T</name>
</company>
</owner>
<distributor>
<company>
<id>326</id>
<name>Fordham University Bookstore</name>
</company>
</distributor>
</item>
<item>
<sku>9780080548166R180</sku>
<vbid>1259221652</vbid>
<created>Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:35:25 +0000</created>
<updated>Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:43:46 +0000</updated>
<off-sale-date>23 Sep 2017</off-sale-date>
<type>Rental</type>
<downloadable-duration>180 Days</downloadable-duration>
<online-duration>180</online-duration>
<book-format>pbk</book-format>
<kind>book</kind>
<build-status>In Inventory</build-status>
<url>http://vitalsource.com/search?term=9780080548166&duration=180</url>
<description>The finding by Emil Fischer that glucose ...</description>
<publication-date>09/2011</publication-date>
<discount-code>091254</discount-code>
<author>Hari Garg</author>
<title>Carbohydrate Chemistry, Biology and Medical Applications</title>
<sort-title>Carbohydrate Chemistry, Biology and Medical Applications</sort-title>
<edition>0</edition>
<icon-url>http://covers.vitalbook.com/vbid/9780080548166/width/120</icon-url>
<sampleable>false</sampleable>
<page-count>414</page-count>
<parent-isbn/>
<copyright-date></copyright-date>
<copyright-year></copyright-year>
<distributable>true</distributable>
<print-drm-text></print-drm-text>
<copy-drm-text></copy-drm-text>
<subjects>
<subject schema="bisac" code="BUS025000">Entrepreneurship</subject>
<subject schema="coursesmart" code="cs.bus_ecn.mgmt.entre">Entrepreneurship</subject>
</subjects>
<pricelist>
<publisher-list-price currency="USD">125.0</publisher-list-price>
<agency-price currency="USD">125.0</agency-price>
<digital-list-price currency="USD">75.0</digital-list-price>
<sell-price currency="USD">75.0</sell-price>
</pricelist>
<publisher>
<publisher-name>Elsevier Science</publisher-name>
<imprint-name>Elsevier Science</imprint-name>
</publisher>
<aliases>
<eisbn-canonical>9780080558141</eisbn-canonical>
<isbn-canonical>9780080548166</isbn-canonical>
<print-isbn-canonical>9780080548166</print-isbn-canonical>
<fpid></fpid>
<fpid-equivalent></fpid-equivalent>
<vbid-equivalent></vpid-equivalent>
<isbn13>9780080548166</isbn13>
<isbn10>0-08-054816-4</isbn10>
<additional-isbns>
<isbn type="saleable-print-isbn-10">12345667</isbn>
<isbn type="saleable-print-isbn-13">123456787</isbn>
</additional-isbns>
</aliases>
<owner>
<company>
<id>219</id>
<name>Elsevier S & T</name>
</company>
</owner>
<distributor>
<company>
<id>326</id>
<name>Fordham University Bookstore</name>
</company>
</distributor>
</item> </catalog>
Element Descriptions
Element/field | Description |
items | Returns the count of total items based on the request made |
total-pages | Total number of pages available; when building an entire catalog, you will need to use this number to call the proper amount of pages to ingest your entire catalog. |
page | Current page |
per-page | Records being returned per page based on your initial request |
item | Main element; will return multiple <item /> elements when retrieving an entire list, one for each item returned. |
sku | Unique product SKU; this will be used to make additional calls to create codes |
created | Date the product was created |
updated | Date the product was last updated |
off-sale-date | Date the product will be removed from distribution |
type | Rental, Single, Package, or Demo will be returned |
downloadable-duration | Duration of license options for the downloadable version of the book, all values are returned in days |
online-duration | Duration of license options for the online version of book, all values are returned in days |
book-format | Format of the book; dashML, pbk, pdf, ePub are valid returns. If book is available in multiple formats, it will return multiple elements for each as each has a unique SKU |
kind | The type of the asset/product including book, chapter, eresource, title |
discount code | The discount code returned from publishers, typically from an ONIX feed. Alpha numeric value |
url | Store URL for book |
description | Author/publisher description of book, returned as plain text |
publication-date | MM/YYYY of publication date |
author | Author name |
title | Book title |
sort-title | |
edition | Asset edition |
icon-url | URL to thumbnail icon |
sampleable | Boolean value to identify whether the book is available for faculty sampling |
page-count | Number of pages in the book |
copyright-date | Full copyright date |
copyright-year | Copyright year |
print-drm-text | Display text for printing rules |
copy-drm-text | Display text for copying rules |
subjects | Element will return two sets of subject schemas, if available (bisac and coursemart) |
parent-isbn | For content types of chapters this will be populated tp group chapters back to titles |
subject schema=biscac | Returns both the BISAC code and the display text for the subject |
subject schema=coursesmart | Returns both the CouseSmart code and the display text for the subject |
pricelist | Element that displays the pricing details for the specific SKU/product |
publisher-list-price | Publisher set price, generally for the print version of the item |
agency-price | |
digital-list-price | VitalSource price for the item |
sell-price | |
publisher | Returns publisher details |
publisher-name | Name of publisher |
imprint-name | Imprint |
distributable | Returns a true or false; this is used to determine if an item returned is available for sale within the caller's catalog. A false return means it has either been removed from distribution or there were problems with the build. |
aliases | Element that returns the other ISBNs and identifiers related to the specific SKU/product |
eisbn-canonical | eISBN of product returned |
isbn-canonical | ISBN of product returned |
print-isbn-canonical | PrintISBN of product returned |
additional-isbns | An array of <isbn> elements that will return. These are ISBNs that relate to the product <item>. There can be 0 to many of these returned per product and should be used as a way to discover additional content. |
fpid | CourseSmartID of product returned if it exists (this can be empty) |
fpid-equivalent | Additional CourseSmart specific values for products where there is now a newer VitalSource equivalent |
vpid-equivalent | VitalSource specific equivalent where an older title was retired and now linked to a new title |
isbn13 | ISBN13 of product returned; will contain dashes |
isbn10 | ISBN10 of product returned; will contain dashes |
owner | Element that returns the owner of the product returned |
company | Element that displays the company information; if more than one company (child companies) owns the product, it will return each in separate company elements |
id | Company ID |
name | Company Name |
distributor | Element that returns the distributors of the product returned |
company | Element that displays the company information; if more than one company (child companies) has distribution rights to the product, it will return each in separate company elements. |
id | Company ID |
name | Company Name |
Failure (example)
See full list of error codes and messages.
HTTP Code: 400
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <error-response> <error-code></error-code> <error-text></error-text> </error-response>
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