Brown University

aid: brown
name: Brown University
description: 'Brown University is a private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, ranked #57 in the
  QS World University Rankings 2025. Its public developer and API footprint is centered on the Brown University Library, which
  operates the Brown Digital Repository (BDR) with a documented public REST/search API and a IIIF (International Image Interoperability
  Framework) image and presentation service. Brown also runs an InCommon-federated Shibboleth/SAML single sign-on identity
  service and maintains an active "Brown University Library" GitHub organization with hundreds of open-source repositories.
  Most institutional systems (SIS, course catalog, internal services) are gated behind Brown authentication and are not publicly
  documented APIs.'
type: Index
position: Consumer
access: 3rd-Party
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/brown/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
tags:
- Education
- Higher Education
- University
- Research
- Library
- Digital Repository
- IIIF
- United States
created: '2026-06-03'
modified: '2026-06-03'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: brown:bdr-api
  name: Brown Digital Repository (BDR) API
  description: Public REST/search API for the Brown Digital Repository, the library's platform for gathering, indexing, storing,
    preserving, and making available digital assets from scholarly, instructional, research, and administrative activity at
    Brown. The search endpoint returns JSON and is publicly reachable.
  humanURL: https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/api-docs/
  baseURL: https://repository.library.brown.edu/api/search/
  tags:
  - Digital Repository
  - Library
  - Search
  - Research Data
  - JSON
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/api-docs/
  - type: GitHub
    url: https://github.com/Brown-University-Library
- aid: brown:iiif
  name: Brown Digital Repository IIIF Service
  description: IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework) image and presentation service exposing IIIF manifests
    for objects in the Brown Digital Repository. Brown is listed as a IIIF repository case study by the IIIF community.
  humanURL: https://iiif.io/guides/guides/repository.library.brown.edu/
  baseURL: https://repository.library.brown.edu/iiif/
  tags:
  - IIIF
  - Images
  - Library
  - Digital Repository
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://iiif.io/guides/guides/repository.library.brown.edu/
- aid: brown:sso
  name: Brown Shibboleth Single Sign-On (SAML)
  description: Brown's InCommon-federated Shibboleth identity provider implementing the OASIS SAML 2.0 standard for web single
    sign-on across Brown web services. Used for authentication/attribute release rather than as an open public API.
  humanURL: https://ithelp.brown.edu/kb/shibboleth-single-sign-on
  baseURL: https://sso.brown.edu/idp/shibboleth
  tags:
  - Authentication
  - SSO
  - SAML
  - Shibboleth
  - Identity
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://ithelp.brown.edu/kb/shibboleth-single-sign-on
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://sso.brown.edu/idp/shibboleth
common:
- type: Website
  url: https://www.brown.edu
- type: GitHub
  url: https://github.com/Brown-University-Library
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/school/brown-university/
- type: DeveloperPortal
  url: https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/api-docs/
- type: Authentication
  url: https://sso.brown.edu/idp/shibboleth
- type: Plans
  url: plans/brown-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/brown-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/brown-finops.yml
- type: Review
  url: review.yml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com