Swiss MCP Server

swisscovery, e-rara, e-periodica, e-manuscripta via SRU/OAI-PMH

Remote serverstreamable-httpPython

What is the Swiss MCP Server?

swisscovery, e-rara, e-periodica, e-manuscripta via SRU/OAI-PMH

What it actually does

All data sources use open, authentication-free protocols (SRU/MARC21, OAI-PMH/Dublin Core). The server supports both local use via Claude Desktop (stdio transport) and cloud deployment (Streamable HTTP).

  • 16 tools — across 4 catalogue sources + 3 open-access legal-literature sources + 2 international metadata sources — all read-only, no API key required
  • swisscovery search — with full CQL syntax: full-text, title, author, subject, ISBN/ISSN
  • OAI-PMH harvesting — with date range and collection filters plus pagination via resumption tokens
  • MARC21 parser — extracting 20+ fields (title, creator, publication info, subjects, abstract, URLs)
  • Dublin Core parser — for all three digitalisation portals
  • Dual transport — stdio for Claude Desktop · Streamable HTTP for cloud/self-hosted deployments

Configuration

  • Python 3.11 or higher - uv / uvx (recommended) or pip - Internet access (all APIs are publicly available) ---

More MCP options

Compare MCP servers by category, or browse hosted MCP servers if you prefer an endpoint over a local process.

Maintainer setup documentation.

Recorded tools

Check the linked publisher documentation and your connected client's tool list. Names and availability can vary with the server version and account permissions.

ToolWhat it does
library_info—
swisscovery_searchswisscovery
swisscovery_get_recordswisscovery
erara_list_recordse-rara
erara_get_recorde-rara
erara_list_collectionse-rara
eperiodica_list_recordse-periodica
eperiodica_get_recorde-periodica
emanuscripta_list_recordse-manuscripta
emanuscripta_get_recorde-manuscripta
emanuscripta_list_collectionse-manuscripta
oa_law_searchOA legal (all 3)
oa_law_getOA legal (all 3)
resolve_doiCrossref

How to install the Swiss MCP Server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "swiss-academic-libraries": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["swiss-academic-libraries-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

  • Python 3.11 or higher - uv / uvx (recommended) or pip - Internet access (all APIs are publicly available) ---
VariableDescriptionRequired
OA_LAW_REPOSITORIUM_ANON_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • “Use Swiss to library info.”
  • “Use Swiss to swisscovery search.”
  • “Use Swiss to swisscovery get record.”

Frequently asked questions

swisscovery, e-rara, e-periodica, e-manuscripta via SRU/OAI-PMH Confirm the tools offered by your installed version in the connected client. Tool availability and permissions depend on the server and account configuration.