UBC Library Open Collections API
Public REST/JSON API over UBC Library's Open Collections — the university's digitized historical, archival and research holdings. Operated by UBC Library on UBC's own infrastructure; the search resource is backed by an ElasticSearch index and versioned by the query syntax it accepts. Reads need no credential at 10 requests per minute per IP; an email-registered key raises that to 200. Verified live 2026-08-19: /collections returned 362 collections and /search/8.5?q=salmon returned real hits. CORRECTION: the previously catalogued endpoint /search/8.5/ (trailing slash) does not route — it answers HTTP 200 with "Missed Route" and was a soft-404 credited as a working API.
UBC Library Open Collections API is one of 7 APIs that University of British Columbia publishes on the APIs.io network, described by a machine-readable OpenAPI specification.
Tagged areas include Library, Digital Collections, Search, Open Data, and Elasticsearch. The published artifact set on APIs.io includes an OpenAPI specification, API documentation, an API reference, authentication docs, and rate-limit docs.
This API exposes 5 operations across 5 paths, organized into 2 resource areas, and defines 10 schemas. It is described by OpenAPI 3.0.3, at version 1.
Requests are made against a single base URL, https://oc-index.library.ubc.ca.
Metadata
The identity and technical contract details declared by the specification.
Authentication & Security 1
UBC Library Open Collections API declares
1 security scheme
for authenticating requests.
An API key is passed in the query as apiKey (apiKeyQuery).
By default, every request must be authenticated, though some operations may also be called without credentials.
apiKeyQuery— Open Collections reads are available without a key at the shared public rate of 10 requests per minute per IP. UBC Library issues a per-user key on email regis…
Paths & Operations 5
Across 5 paths, the API surfaces 5 operations — 5 GET. They span 2 resource areas: Collections, Search. Each is listed below with its method, path, parameters, and response codes.
Collection-level metadata and item traversal.
ElasticSearch-backed search across all indexed Open Collections items.
Schemas 10
The contract defines 10 schemas that model the data the API accepts and returns. The most detailed are Envelope (6 properties), MetadataField (5 properties), SearchResult (4 properties), SearchHit (4 properties). Each schema is shown below with its type and property counts.
Specification
The full machine-readable OpenAPI contract behind this narrative.
Source
More from University of British Columbia 6
Other APIs University of British Columbia publishes across the network.
This is an independent, third-party profile of UBC Library Open Collections API, published by API Evangelist. We do not operate, host, resell, or support these APIs, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by the company unless stated above. Everything here is built from publicly available information — the company's own site, developer portal, documentation, public repositories, and the specifications it publishes for public use. Nothing is obtained by breaching a system, defeating an access control, or using credentials.
The Kin Score and Agent Readiness rating are independently calculated assessments of a company's public API artifacts, scored against a published rubric. They are not certifications, endorsements, security assessments, or audits.
Corrections, re-scores, and removal are free — no partnership or purchase required, and you do not need to justify the request. A removed company is recorded as unrated, never scored zero for having asked. Acknowledgement within one business day; removal within two.
info@apievangelist.com
·
Read the full data-sourcing policy →
On a security or compliance team? Put security in the subject line and
you will get a person, not a form — we will tell you exactly which public URLs this profile was built from.