# library.forgemesh.io — HV Shelf

> library.forgemesh.io — HV Shelf is a paid API for AI agents from library.forgemesh.io, paid per call via x402, $0.003/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-13).

Returns a ranked list of up to 50 public-domain books from the HV subject category (social pathology, criminology, penology) with drill-down routes for full-text retrieval

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://library.forgemesh.io/hv
- Price: $0.003/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-13
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/library-forgemesh-io-hv-shelf-b1befc71
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_kBd3EJ2we4_WEGdctTO7g

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability library-forgemesh-io-hv-shelf-b1befc71 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Show me up to 30 public-domain books from the HV shelf — that's the criminology and social pathology section — including titles like Celebrated Crimes and Bidwell's Travels.

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need a curated, ranked list of public-domain books specifically in the HV Library of Congress subject area (social pathology, criminology, penology, prisons). Prefer it over full-text search when you want to browse or enumerate available titles rather than query for specific passages, and when you need drill-down routes to access full texts of classic crime and prison literature.

## Known failure modes

- Limit exceeds 50 — request capped or rejected
- Payment not included or insufficient — x402 payment required error
- No books match internal filter — empty list returned
- Service temporarily unavailable — 5xx error

## How this service works

Curated shelf: HV — 383 public-domain books including Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude, Celebrated Crimes (Complete). Returns a ranked list with drill-down routes for full-text retrieval. No license, no API key required.

## Output

A ranked list of public-domain books from the HV (social pathology, criminology, penology) category, including titles, authors, and drill-down routes that can be used to retrieve full text. Up to 50 books returned per call (default 20).

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "limit": {
   "type": "integer",
   "description": "Max books to return (default 20, max 50)"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "books": [
   {
    "year": null,
    "title": "Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude",
    "author": "Bidwell, Austin",
    "book_id": 24739,
    "subjects": [],
    "download_count": 60600
   }
  ],
  "count": 5,
  "shelf": "HV",
  "coverage": {
   "target": 61015,
   "indexed": 61015
  },
  "drill_down": [
   "/book-metadata",
   "/book-chapter",
   "/book-quotes",
   "/literature-search"
  ]
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/library-forgemesh-io-hv-shelf-b1befc71/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from library.forgemesh.io](https://www.zero.xyz/host/library.forgemesh.io/llms.txt)