cinii-mcp

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cinii_search_books

Read-onlyIdempotent

Search CiNii Research for books and monographs by keyword, title, author, ISBN, or NCID; then use the NCID to find library holdings.

Instructions

Search CiNii Research for books and monographs (NACSIS-CAT, NDL Search). Returns the unified envelope.

A book can be looked up by ncid or isbn without a query. To find which libraries hold it, pass its NCID to cinii_get_holdings.

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": {
      "params": "<params>"
    },
    "name": "cinii_search_books"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`params`	Yes

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`result`	Yes

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed18 schema fields changedv3.3.0Nov 1, 2026

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / category

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maxLength": 2000,
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Classification, comma-separated (e.g. an NDC number such as 379). Sent as category.",
+  "title": "Category"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / data_source

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maxLength": 2000,
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Data source(s), comma-separated, e.g. 'JALC', 'IRDB', 'CROSSREF', 'NDL_SEARCH', 'NACSIS_CAT', 'KAKEN', 'CIA', 'CIB', 'DATACITE', 'JDCAT'. Sent as dataSourceType. Unknown values are refused here, because CiNii answers them with zero records.",
+  "title": "Data Source"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / exact_title

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "type": "boolean"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "true: match `title` exactly. Sent as isFullTitle.",
+  "title": "Exact Title"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / has_fulltext

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "type": "boolean"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "true: only records CiNii links to full text; false: only records it does not. Sent as hasLinkToFullText.",
+  "title": "Has Fulltext"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / language

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maxLength": 2000,
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Language(s) of the records, as ISO 639-1 codes, comma-separated: 'ja', 'en', 'zh', 'ko', or 'ja,en'. Sent as languageType. Filters by the language catalogued for the record, not the language of the query.",
+  "title": "Language"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / ncid

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maxLength": 2000,
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "NACSIS-CAT record ID(s), comma-separated (e.g. BC08431161).",
+  "title": "Ncid"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / query / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "maxLength": 2000,
+    "minLength": 1,
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "null"
+  }
+]

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / query / default
```
Added value: +null
```

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / query / description

Added value: +"Free-text search terms (Japanese or English). Optional when another criterion (an identifier, a title, a filter) is given."

removedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / query / maxLength
```
Removed value: -2000
```
removedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / query / minLength
```
Removed value: -1
```
removedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / query / type
```
Removed value: -"string"
```

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / researcher_id

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maxLength": 2000,
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Researcher identifier(s), comma-separated: a KAKEN researcher number, an NRID, a CiNii author ID (DA…) or a researcher CRID. Sent as researcherId.",
+  "title": "Researcher Id"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / resource_type

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "maxLength": 2000,
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Resource type(s), comma-separated, as CiNii names them: e.g. 'journal article', 'departmental bulletin paper', 'conference paper', 'review article', 'book', 'Dataset'. Sent as resourceType.",
+  "title": "Resource Type"
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / sort

Added value: +{
+  "$ref": "#/$defs/SortOrder",
+  "default": "4",
+  "description": "Sort order. NEWEST/OLDEST = by year (publication, degree award or project start); RELEVANCE (default); CITATIONS_DESC = citation count, articles only; CRID_ASC = by CRID, cross search only; NAME_ASC/NAME_DESC, PROJECTS_DESC/PROJECTS_ASC and PRODUCTS_DESC/PRODUCTS_ASC = researcher name, number of related projects and number of related research products, researcher search only (which does not accept OLDEST)."
+}

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / start / maximum
```
Added value: +10000
```
removedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / required
```
Removed value: -[
-  "query"
-]
```

addedInput schema / $defs / SortOrder

Added value: +{
+  "description": "CiNii Research OpenSearch v2 `sortorder` codes.\n\nNot every code is valid for every search type, and CiNii does not refuse\none that is not: sortorder=5 on articles is silently ignored and the\nresults come back in relevance order, a page that says it is sorted when\nit is not. Each input model therefore checks its sort against _SORT_SCOPE.",
+  "enum": [
+    "0",
+    "1",
+    "4",
+    "5",
+    "6",
+    "10",
+    "20",
+    "21",
+    "30",
+    "31",
+    "40"
+  ],
+  "title": "SortOrder",
+  "type": "string"
+}

Changed5 schema fields changedv3.2.0Oct 25, 2026

changedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / author / anyOf

Previous value: -[
-  {
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  {
-    "type": "null"
-  }
-]New value: +[
+  {
+    "maxLength": 2000,
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "null"
+  }
+]

changedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / isbn / anyOf

Previous value: -[
-  {
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  {
-    "type": "null"
-  }
-]New value: +[
+  {
+    "maxLength": 2000,
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "null"
+  }
+]

changedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / publisher / anyOf

Previous value: -[
-  {
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  {
-    "type": "null"
-  }
-]New value: +[
+  {
+    "maxLength": 2000,
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "null"
+  }
+]

addedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / query / maxLength
```
Added value: +2000
```

changedInput schema / $defs / BookSearchInput / properties / title / anyOf

Previous value: -[
-  {
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  {
-    "type": "null"
-  }
-]New value: +[
+  {
+    "maxLength": 2000,
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "null"
+  }
+]

First observedv3.0.0Aug 27, 2026

TDQS

A3.6/5.0

Behavior3/5

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

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, idempotentHint and openWorldHint, so safety is covered. The description adds that the call returns "the unified envelope" and that identifier-only lookups are permitted, which is genuinely useful. It does not mention the sortorder codes that CiNii silently ignores, which is the main behavioral trap for this tool.

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

Conciseness4/5

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

Four short sentences, front-loaded with the verb and resource, then the identifier shortcut and the follow-up routing. Tight overall; "Returns the unified envelope" is the only phrase that is a bit opaque without prior context.

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?

An output schema exists, so the description needn't explain return values, and it correctly focuses on entry paths and the holdings hand-off. What it omits (pagination limits, sort-code pitfalls) is documented in the schema, so an agent can still call it correctly.

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

Parameters3/5

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

Reported schema description coverage is 0%, but the description only clarifies two inputs (ncid, isbn) and says a query is optional alongside them. The other filters (sort, data_source, resource_type, from_year/to_year, has_fulltext) get no mention in the description, relying entirely on the schema.

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?

States a specific verb and resource ("Search CiNii Research for books and monographs") and names the underlying collections (NACSIS-CAT, NDL Search). It distinguishes itself from search siblings by resource type, though it never explicitly contrasts with cinii_search_articles or cinii_search_all.

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?

Gives a concrete alternate entry path ("A book can be looked up by `ncid` or `isbn` without a query") and explicit routing for the natural follow-up ("To find which libraries hold it, pass its NCID to cinii_get_holdings"). No exclusion rules are given against the other search_* tools, so it stops short of a full when/when-not statement.

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

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