Trove API keys

[Tim Sherratt]

Hi all,

If you're a Trove API user who has received an email asking you to agree to their updated terms of use you might be wondering what is going on. The main change is that the NLA now insists that accessing the 'content' of resources, rather than just the descriptive metadata, is a breach of the API terms of use. This includes the full text of digitised newspaper and journal articles that are included in API responses. If you want to download full-text using the API you have to contact Trove and negotiate an 'exemption agreement'.

I found out about all this because the NLA cancelled my API keys without warning some weeks back. So after 5 years it seems they've started enforcing these changes. Be warned.

Needless to say, I'm very concerned about these changes and their impact on innovative digital research. I've pulled together some details in this blog post: https://updates.timsherratt.org/2025/04/11/update-on-trove-data-access.html

I don't know where this leaves me personally. For the moment I've been forced to stop work on the Trove sections of the GLAM Workbench and related resources. Some applications, such as the Trove API Console, have stopped working completely.

Cheers, Tim

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Tim Sherratt (t...@timsherratt.org)

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