# University of York Digital Collections Search API

**Canonical:** https://apis.io/apis/university-of-york/digital-collections-search/  
**Provider:** University of York — https://apis.io/providers/university-of-york/  
**Base URL:** https://discover.york.ac.uk  
**Documentation:** https://discover.york.ac.uk/

University of York Digital Collections Search API is one of 8 APIs that [University of York](https://apis.io/providers/university-of-york/) publishes on the [APIs.io](https://apis.io/) network, described by a machine-readable OpenAPI specification. Tagged areas include Digital Collections, Search, Archives, Cultural Heritage, and Open Access. The published artifact set on APIs.io includes an OpenAPI specification and API documentation.

The keyless JSON search interface behind discover.york.ac.uk, the University of York's Digital Collections. Two live endpoints — /api/search-simple, which the public search page calls, and /api/search, which returns a different aggregation set — query an Elasticsearch index of 415,165 records drawn from the University Library, the Borthwick Institute for Archives and cultural-heritage partners. Faceted by creator, type, work type, collection and by collection-specific families for the York Cause Papers and archival records. No key, no registration, CORS open to any origin. York publishes no documentation for it; this contract was written from live probes and from the request construction in the site's own JavaScript.

## Operations (2)

| Method | Path | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| GET | `/api/search-simple` | Search the digital collections index |
| GET | `/api/search` | Search the digital collections index (extended aggregations) |

## Machine-readable artifacts (8)

- **OpenAPI** — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/university-of-york/refs/heads/main/openapi/university-of-york-digital-collections-search-openapi.yml
- **Documentation** — https://discover.york.ac.uk/about/
- **x-json-schema** — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/university-of-york/refs/heads/main/json-schema/university-of-york-digital-collections-item-schema.json
- **x-example** — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/university-of-york/refs/heads/main/examples/university-of-york-digital-collections-search-example.json
- **x-authentication** — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/university-of-york/refs/heads/main/authentication/university-of-york-authentication.yml
- **x-errors** — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/university-of-york/refs/heads/main/errors/university-of-york-errors.yml
- **x-lifecycle** — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/university-of-york/refs/heads/main/lifecycle/university-of-york-lifecycle.yml
- **APIsJSON** — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/university-of-york/refs/heads/main/apis.yml

## Other University of York APIs (7)

- [University of York Digital Collections IIIF APIs](https://apis.io/apis/university-of-york/digital-collections-iiif/)
- [University of York Research Portal OAI-PMH](https://apis.io/apis/university-of-york/research-portal-oai-pmh/)
- [University of York Shibboleth Identity Provider](https://apis.io/apis/university-of-york/shibboleth-idp/)
- [Elsevier Pure Web Services (University of York tenant)](https://apis.io/apis/university-of-york/pure-web-services/)
- [YorSearch Library Discovery (Ex Libris Primo / Alma)](https://apis.io/apis/university-of-york/yorsearch-primo/)
- [White Rose Research Online OAI-PMH (consortium)](https://apis.io/apis/university-of-york/wrro-oai/)
- [White Rose eTheses Online OAI-PMH (consortium)](https://apis.io/apis/university-of-york/wreo-oai/)

## Tags

Digital Collections, Search, Archives, Cultural Heritage, Open Access

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Profiled by [API Evangelist](https://apievangelist.com) and published on [APIs.io](https://apis.io/apis/university-of-york/digital-collections-search/). The API's provider profile, Kin Score and agent-readiness rating are at https://apis.io/providers/university-of-york/.