SOS.city public record

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search_library

Read-only

Find public-records sources (datasets, portals, registers, reports) by question or keywords. Use place to include everything covering a place, from the city up to federal and global sources. Returns the publisher, how to get the data (API endpoint or page), update rate, last update, licence and whether we verified it. Not for finding, profiling or screening people.

Tool call template

Replace each placeholder with a value matching the input schema. Only required parameters are included; add optional parameters as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {
      "query": "<query>"
    },
    "name": "search_library"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`limit`	No
`place`	No	Place id, e.g. 'us-ca-los-angeles', 'us-ca', 'us', 'germany'. Use list_places to find ids.
`query`	Yes	What you're looking for, e.g. 'open code enforcement cases' or 'boil water notices'.
`department`	No	Shelf id: water, power, safety, housing, laws, funding, services, transport, environment, health, people, consumer, education, jobs, portals.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

First observedNov 8, 2026

TDQS

A4.3/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

With annotations covering only read-only and open-world status, the description carries real additional weight: it enumerates the returned fields (publisher, access method/API endpoint, update rate, last update, licence, verification status) and explains the geographic expansion semantics of `place`. That is exactly the kind of behavior an agent needs and that no annotation or output schema supplies here.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Four short sentences lead with purpose, then scoping behavior, then return contents, then the exclusion. No sentence is redundant and the most decision-relevant information comes first.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a four-parameter read-only search with no output schema, the definition covers purpose, result shape, geographic scope, and a negative boundary. It stops short of explaining the `department` shelf ids or `limit` behavior, which an agent must discover from the schema alone.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 75%, and the description meaningfully enriches the `place` parameter beyond the schema's format hint by explaining that it broadens results across every level of government up to global sources. `limit` and `department` remain undocumented in both schema and description, which leaves a modest gap.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose4/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description gives a concrete verb and resource — "Find public-records sources (datasets, portals, registers, reports)" — and clarifies that results are sources rather than individual records, which implicitly separates it from the sibling search_records. It does not name that sibling, so the agent must infer the distinction from context.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It supplies a clear use condition for the `place` parameter ("include everything covering a place, from the city up to federal and global sources") and an explicit exclusion: "Not for finding, profiling or screening people." What is missing is a direct pointer to the alternative tool for record-level lookups, which the sibling search_records clearly occupies.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All SOS.city public record tools Inspect

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