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API Project Vision

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Mike Caprio edited this page Jun 25, 2017 · 1 revision

A web API (application programming interface) is a simple interface for sending and receiving data via the web. Most online software and web applications today use APIs as a standard means of communicating and delivering data - for example, "Facebook Login" is a common API that allows a user to create an account on any website using their Facebook profile, and user data is transferred between both systems. In 2014, the first AMNH API, the "Star API" using the Digital Universe dataset, was created at the BridgeUp: STEM "Hack The Universe" hackathon but no museum server has yet hosted the Star API or provided it as a service.

When the Research Library participated in the 2016 BridgeUp: STEM "Hack The Stacks" hackathon, one of the Library's primary objectives was to create a unified Library API that would serve the interests of the entire Museum. The Library has been collecting and generating significant amounts of museum historic data. These data are siloed in separate Library computer systems and databases; a user would have to know which database or system to search to find relevant matches, or conduct separate searches across multiple databases in turn to get comprehensive results. Creating a unifying Library API to perform comprehensive searches (as portrayed in the diagram) was a challenge that was successfully solved at Hack The Stacks.

Establishing an API portal that provides data from every corner of the museum is the natural next step for any future-facing institution. Making the Museum's data, digital content, and associated metadata accessible by machine-readable API not only enables data sharing and enhances museum-wide digital infrastructure within AMNH; broadly used APIs can also contribute to:

  • Discovery of new or previously unknown information
  • Improved and faster research
  • Enhancements for existing apps, like instantly adding related content to ​AMNH Explorer
  • Building new Digital services to improve accessibility (like voice-based interface devices)
  • Rapid creation of new learning and exploration tools for Education and Public programs

An API portal will also allow other institutions to leverage AMNH digital assets to enrich their own research and collections and make valuable discoveries and connections with their own related content. As an example: NASA's API portals have significantly increased the availability and subsequent use of their datasets (​http://data.nasa.gov​ and http://api.nasa.gov​).

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