Librarian Resources

Free and open research and discovery tools for libraries

Help your scholars overcome information overload. Learn about the free AI-driven services we provide to the global research community.

Illustration: A librarian with books

Why Semantic Scholar?

Free And Open, Always

Semantic Scholar is and always will be free and open for all to use. We’re a product of the Allen Institute for AI, a non-profit, philanthropic institution founded by Paul G. Allen in 2014 to contribute to humanity through high-impact AI research and engineering. The Semantic Scholar Academic Graph (S2AG) is available as a RESTful API and a downloadable dataset, and we share the code and data behind several of our features.

“Cut through the clutter” with AI-powered Features

In contrast to indexes and search engines that primarily base results on keyword frequency, Semantic Scholar uses natural language and machine learning techniques to “cut through the clutter” and find more relevant results.

Multidisciplinary scope

Semantic Scholar covers all STM and SSH disciplines including biology, medicine, computer science, geography, business, history, and economics. More than 200 million papers are sourced from partners such as PubMed, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis, SAGE, Wiley, ACM, IEEE, arXiv, and Unpaywall.

Institutional login

Your researchers have a privacy-centric way to create accounts and access content on and off campus through our institutional login powered by OpenAthens, and our support for eduGain, InCommon, and other identity federations. We are integrated with GetFTR and LibKey, and continue to invest in supporting streamlined access to full-text research.

Dedicated Customer Support

Unlike some search engines, our customer support team responds to every request. Librarians can reach out to us directly at feedback@semanticscholar.org.

“infoDOCKET has been posting about, using, and demonstrating Semantic Scholar since day one...This academic research search tool is a 100% impressive and useful research resource.”

Library Journal, October 23, 2019

Information for Library Guides

Semantic Scholar is a relevant resource for your A-Z list, subject guides, and anywhere you mention comprehensive search engines and indexes such as Google Scholar, Scopus, or Web of Science.

A-Z List Description

Semantic Scholar is a free, AI-powered academic search engine with more than 200 million papers covering all disciplines.

Access Notes

Access is free at semanticscholar.org. No login is required. To save papers to your library and receive custom alerts, sign in with your institutional login, a username and password, or with your Google, Twitter, or Facebook accounts.

Use Cases
Help and Training
  • Get answers to common questions in the FAQ.
  • Ask for help using the Contact Us form in the lower right corner of every page.
  • Watch bite-sized videos on how to use Semantic Scholar on the Tutorials page.

Experience a smarter way to search and discover scholarly research.

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Latest News & Updates

Case Study: Iterative Design for Skimming Support

Case Study: Iterative Design for Skimming Support

How might we help researchers quickly assess the relevance of scientific literature? Take a closer look at Skimming, Semantic Reader’s latest AI feature, and the collaborative design process behind it.

Behind the Scenes of Semantic Scholar’s New Author Influence Design

Behind the Scenes of Semantic Scholar’s New Author Influence Design

We released a new version of Author Influence interface to help scholars better discover other scholars in their fields. Here's how we identified user insights and made those design choices.

Artificial-intelligence search engines wrangle academic literature

Artificial-intelligence search engines wrangle academic literature

Nature had a chat with Dan Weld, Chief Scientist at Semantic Scholar, to discuss how search engines are helping scientists explore and innovate by making it easier to draw connections from a massive collection of scientific literature.