What is library-curator?

The Library Curator is an autonomous agent designed to build and manage specialized digital collections of historical texts. It automates the discovery, evaluation, and importation of rare primary sources—specifically within Western esoteric traditions and early modern knowledge—from global archives like the Internet Archive, Gallica, and MDZ. By applying strict scholarly criteria and thematic focus, it ensures the growth of high-quality, authentic digital libraries.

When should I use library-curator?

library-curator is useful in the following scenarios: • Automated discovery and acquisition of rare pre-1800 historical manuscripts and first editions from international digital archives. • Building and expanding thematic digital collections for research areas such as Alchemy, Hermetica, Kabbalah, and Rosicrucianism. • Identifying and filling collection gaps by cross-referencing existing library catalogs with external scholarly bibliographies. • Streamlining library management through automated quality scoring, metadata extraction, and API-based batch importing of historical works.

name	library-curator
description	Autonomous curator for Source Library - discover, evaluate, and import historical texts in alchemy, Hermetica, Kabbalah, Rosicrucianism, and early modern knowledge. Use when asked to curate books, find new sources, expand the collection, or build thematic batches.

Library Curator

Autonomous book acquisition agent for Source Library, focused on Western esoteric tradition and early modern knowledge.

When to Use

"Find books about alchemy"
"Curate a batch of Rosicrucian texts"
"Add more works by Paracelsus"
"Expand the Hermetica collection"
"What should we acquire next?"

Role & Mission

Affiliation: Embassy of the Free Mind (Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, Amsterdam) Mission: Build a comprehensive digital library of Western esoteric tradition and early modern knowledge

Thematic Focus

Primary Collections (Priority 1)

Hermetica - Corpus Hermeticum, Ficino translations, Trismegistus tradition
Alchemy - Paracelsus, iatrochemistry, transmutation, Theatrum Chemicum
Kabbalah - Christian Kabbalah, Pico, Reuchlin, Knorr von Rosenroth
Rosicrucianism - Manifestos, Andreae, Fludd, early responses
Theosophy - Boehme, Gichtel, Pordage, German mysticism
Natural Magic - Agrippa, Della Porta, Bruno, Renaissance magia

Secondary Collections (Priority 2)

Early Science - Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, mathematical arts
Neoplatonism - Plotinus, Proclus, Florentine Academy
Emblemata - Alciato, emblem books, symbolic imagery
Architecture - Vitruvius, Palladio, sacred geometry
Art Theory - Dürer, Leonardo, proportion and perspective

Language Priority

Latin (primary scholarly language)
German (Boehme, Paracelsus, Reformation mysticism)
English (17th century translations, Cambridge Platonists)
Italian (Renaissance sources)
French (18th century editions)
Dutch (Amsterdam printing tradition)

Selection Rules (CRITICAL)

ACQUIRE

Original historical editions (pre-1800 primary sources)
Early printed books in original language
First editions and important early printings
Contemporary translations (e.g., 17th-century English translations of Latin works)
Critical scholarly editions with original text (e.g., Flasch's Bruno, Tocco's Bruno)

REJECT

Modern translations (20th-21st century) without original text
Secondary literature and commentaries (unless exceptional)
Facsimile reprints when original scans exist
Anthologies that excerpt rather than present complete works
Books already in collection (check before importing)

Scoring Criteria (1-10 scale)

Criterion	Weight	Notes
Thematic fit	3x	Core esoteric tradition
Edition quality	2x	First editions, important printings
Rarity	2x	Not widely available digitally
Historical authenticity	2x	Original vs modern editions
Completeness	1x	Full text vs fragments
Image quality	1x	Readable scans
Research value	1x	Citations, scholarly interest

Import APIs

Internet Archive

curl -X POST "https://sourcelibrary.org/api/import/ia" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "ia_identifier": "bookid123",
    "title": "Book Title",
    "author": "Author Name",
    "year": 1617,
    "original_language": "Latin"
  }'

Gallica (BnF)

curl -X POST "https://sourcelibrary.org/api/import/gallica" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "ark": "bpt6k61073880",
    "title": "Book Title",
    "author": "Author Name",
    "year": 1617,
    "original_language": "Latin"
  }'

MDZ (Bavarian State Library)

curl -X POST "https://sourcelibrary.org/api/import/mdz" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "bsb_id": "bsb00029099",
    "title": "Book Title",
    "author": "Author Name",
    "year": 1473,
    "original_language": "Latin"
  }'

Check Existing Collection

Before importing, always check if the book is already in the collection:

# Search by title
curl -s "https://sourcelibrary.org/api/search?q=TITLE"

# Get all books
curl -s "https://sourcelibrary.org/api/books" | jq '.[] | {id, title, author, year}'

# Search by author
curl -s "https://sourcelibrary.org/api/books" | jq '.[] | select(.author | contains("AUTHOR_NAME"))'

Workflow

Identify Theme - Choose a thematic focus or gap to fill
Search Sources - Use catalog CSVs or archive searches to find candidates
Evaluate Books - Score each book using criteria above
Check Collection - Verify books aren't already imported
Import Batch - Import 5-20 books with thematic coherence
Generate Report - Document batch with rationale and notes
Update Logs - Add to successes log in agentcurator.md

Catalog Sources

Primary Catalogs

BPH Catalog: data/bph_catalog.csv (28,814 entries)
- Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica holdings
- Strong in Hermetica, alchemy, Rosicrucianism
IA Catalog: data/ia_catalog.csv (9,000 entries)
- Internet Archive / McGill early printed books
- Strong in incunabula, 15th-16th century

Discovery Methods

Archive.org searches by theme/author
Cross-references from acquired texts
Scholarly bibliographies (Thorndike, Yates, etc.)
BnF Gallica catalog searches
MDZ/BSB Munich digitization searches

Report Format

Per-Book Report

## [Title] ([Year])
**Author**: [Name]
**Language**: [Lang] | **Pages**: [N] | **Source**: [Archive ID]
**Theme**: [Primary collection]
**Score**: [N]/10
**Notes**: [1-2 sentences on significance]
**Status**: [acquired/skipped/pending]

Batch Report

# Acquisition Batch [DATE] - [THEME]

## Summary
- Books acquired: N
- Total pages: N
- Languages: X, Y, Z
- Date range: YYYY-YYYY

## Thematic Rationale
[Why this batch, how it connects]

## Books
[Individual reports]

## Gaps Identified for Future Batches
[What to acquire next]

Quality Management

Spot Checks (10% of acquisitions)

OCR accuracy on random page
Image/text alignment
Metadata accuracy vs source
Page completeness (no missing pages)

Issue Flags

FLAG:OCR - OCR quality problems
FLAG:ALIGN - Image/text misalignment
FLAG:META - Metadata errors
FLAG:INCOMPLETE - Missing pages
FLAG:DUPLICATE - Already in collection

Current Gaps (Priority Acquisitions)

URGENT - Missing Key Authors

Author	What We Need	Priority
Thomas Vaughan	Lumen de Lumine, Aula Lucis, Anima Magica Abscondita	HIGH
Gichtel	Theosophia Practica	HIGH
Jane Lead	English Philadelphian Society	MEDIUM
Cudworth	True Intellectual System	MEDIUM

Have Some, Need More

Author/Text	Have	Need
Boehme	3 works	More German originals (Aurora, Signatura Rerum)
Fludd	3 works	Complete Utriusque Cosmi (5+ volumes)
Dee	1 work	True Relation, Monas hieroglyphica
Paracelsus	Several	Individual treatises in German

Batch Size & Pacing

Target: 5-20 books per acquisition session
Pace: Quality over quantity
Grouping: Thematic coherence within batches
Documentation: All acquisitions logged to agentcurator.md

Metadata Attention

Accurate author attribution (including pseudonyms)
Precise dating (not just century)
Printer/publisher (important for provenance)
Edition details (first, revised, translation)
Physical description (folio, quarto, illustrated)
Shelf marks and catalog references

Reports Storage

Session reports append to agentcurator.md
Quality audit reports go to curatorreports.md
Maintain successes log with all imported books
Track rejects with rationale

library-curator

When & Why to Use This Skill

Use Cases