diff --git a/.github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml b/.github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0056d36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+name: "CodeQL"
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [ main, develop ]
+  pull_request:
+    # The branches below must be a subset of the branches above
+    branches: [ main, develop ]
+  schedule:
+    - cron: '34 21 * * 1'
+
+jobs:
+  analyze:
+    name: Analyze
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        language: [ 'python' ]
+        # CodeQL supports [ 'cpp', 'csharp', 'go', 'java', 'javascript', 'python' ]
+        # Learn more:
+        # https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/github/finding-security-vulnerabilities-and-errors-in-your-code/configuring-code-scanning#changing-the-languages-that-are-analyzed
+
+    steps:
+    - name: Checkout repository
+      uses: actions/checkout@v2
+
+    # Initializes the CodeQL tools for scanning.
+    - name: Initialize CodeQL
+      uses: github/codeql-action/init@v1
+      with:
+        languages: ${{ matrix.language }}
+        # If you wish to specify custom queries, you can do so here or in a config file.
+        # By default, queries listed here will override any specified in a config file.
+        # Prefix the list here with "+" to use these queries and those in the config file.
+        # queries: ./path/to/local/query, your-org/your-repo/queries@main
+
+    # Autobuild attempts to build any compiled languages  (C/C++, C#, or Java).
+    # If this step fails, then you should remove it and run the build manually (see below)
+    - name: Autobuild
+      uses: github/codeql-action/autobuild@v1
+
+    # ℹ️ Command-line programs to run using the OS shell.
+    # 📚 https://git.io/JvXDl
+
+    # ✏️ If the Autobuild fails above, remove it and uncomment the following three lines
+    #    and modify them (or add more) to build your code if your project
+    #    uses a compiled language
+
+    #- run: |
+    #   make bootstrap
+    #   make release
+
+    - name: Perform CodeQL Analysis
+      uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@v1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/python-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/python-publish.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..620005d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/python-publish.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+# This workflow will upload a Python Package  when a release is created
+# For more information see: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/automating-builds-and-tests/building-and-testing-python#publishing-to-package-registries
+
+# This workflow uses actions that are not certified by GitHub.
+# They are provided by a third-party and are governed by
+# separate terms of service, privacy policy, and support
+# documentation.
+
+name: Upload Python Package
+
+on:
+  # normal behavior: run when a new release is created
+  release:
+    types: [published]
+  # allow running manually on main
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    branches: [main]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  pypi-publish:
+    name: Upload release to PyPI
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    environment:
+      name: pypi
+      url: https://pypi.org/project/viapy/
+    permissions:
+      id-token: write  # IMPORTANT: this permission is mandatory for trusted publishing
+
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    - name: Set up Python
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+      with:
+        python-version: '3.11'
+    - name: Install dependencies
+      run: |
+        python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+        pip install build
+    - name: Build package
+      run: python -m build
+    - name: Publish package
+      uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d9ab20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+name: unit tests
+
+on:
+  push: # run on every push or PR to any branch
+  pull_request:
+  schedule: # run automatically on main branch each Tuesday at 11am
+    - cron: "0 16 * * 2"
+
+jobs:
+  python-unit:
+    name: Python unit tests
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        python: ["3.9", "3.10", "3.11", "3.12"]
+        django: [0, "3.2", "4.0", "4.1", "4.2", "5.0"]
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+      - name: Setup Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ matrix.python }}
+
+      # Base python cache on the hash of pyproject.toml with requirements
+      # if the file changes, the cache is invalidated.
+      - name: Cache pip
+        uses: actions/cache@v3
+        with:
+          path: ~/.cache/pip
+          key: pip-${{ hashFiles('pyproject.toml') }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            pip-${{ hashFiles('pyproject.toml') }}
+            pip-
+
+      - name: Install package with dependencies
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ matrix.django }}" -gt "0"]; then pip install -q Django==${{ matrix.django }} '.[django_test]'; fi
+          pip install .
+          pip install '.[test]'
+          pip install codecov
+
+      - name: Setup test settings
+        run: |
+          cp ci/testsettings.py testsettings.py
+          python -c "import uuid; print('SECRET_KEY = \'%s\'' % uuid.uuid4())" >> testsettings.py
+
+      - name: Run pytest
+        env:
+          SOLR_VERSION: "${{ matrix.solr }}"
+        run: py.test --cov=viapy --cov-report=xml
+
+      - name: Upload test coverage to Codecov
+        uses: codecov/codecov-action@v3
diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 1a1494d..0000000
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-language: python
-python:
-- 3.5
-- 3.6
-env:
-- DJANGO=""
-- DJANGO=1.11
-- DJANGO=2.0
-- DJANGO=2.1
-- DJANGO=2.2
-- DJANGO=3.0
-jobs:
-  exclude:
-  - python: 3.5
-    env: DJANGO=3.0
-install:
-- pip install -e .
-- pip install -e '.[test]'
-- if [ ! -z $DJANGO ]; then pip install -q Django==$DJANGO; fi
-- if [ $DJANGO != '' ]; then pip install django-autocomplete-light pytest-django;
-  fi
-- pip install codecov
-- cp ci/testsettings.py testsettings.py
-- python -c "import uuid; print('SECRET_KEY = \'%s\'' % uuid.uuid4())" >> testsettings.py
-script:
-- py.test --cov=viapy
-after_success:
-- codecov
-notifications:
-  slack:
-    secure: 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
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index 3944472..f202872 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -3,6 +3,14 @@
 CHANGELOG
 =========
 
+0.3
+---
+
+* Handle negative years when parsing birth and death dates
+* Now tested on python 3.9 through 3.12
+* Now tested against Django 3.2 through 5.0
+* Migrate continous integration to GitHub Actions
+
 0.2
 ---
 
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 1b89ff2..23c2342 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ Authority File) data and APIs.
 **viapy** provides optional Django integration; this currently includes a
 django-autocomplete-light lookup view and a VIAF url widget.
 
-.. image:: https://travis-ci.org/Princeton-CDH/viapy.svg
-    :target: https://travis-ci.org/Princeton-CDH/viapy
+.. image:: https://github.com/Princeton-CDH/viapy/actions/workflows/unit_tests.yml/badge.svg
+    :target: https://github.com/Princeton-CDH/viapy/actions/workflows/unit_tests.yml
     :alt: Build status
 
 .. image:: https://codecov.io/gh/Princeton-CDH/viapy/branch/master/graph/badge.svg
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ Include the viapy urls at the desired base url with the namespace::
 
     urlpatterns = [
         ...
-        url(r'^viaf/', include('viapy.urls', namespace='viaf')),
+        path(r'viaf/', include('viapy.urls', namespace='viaf')),
         ...
     ]
 
@@ -79,15 +79,14 @@ This git repository uses `git flow`_ branching conventions.
 
 Initial setup and installation:
 
-- Recommended: create and activate a python 3.5 virtualenv::
+- Recommended: create and activate a python 3.11 virtualenv::
 
-    virtualenv viapy -p python3.5
+    python3 -m venv viapy
     source viapy/bin/activate
 
-- pip install the package with its python dependencies::
+- pip install the package with all development and test dependencies::
 
-    pip install -e .
-    pip install -e ".[django]""
+    pip install -e ".[dev]""
 
 
 Unit Testing
@@ -115,7 +114,7 @@ Documentation
 Documentation is generated using `sphinx <http://www.sphinx-doc.org/>`_.
 To generate documentation, first install development requirements::
 
-    pip install -e ".[docs]"
+    pip install -e ".[dev]"
 
 Then build the documentation using the customized make file in the `docs`
 directory::
@@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ License
 
 **viapy** is distributed under the Apache 2.0 License.
 
-©2017 Trustees of Princeton University.  Permission granted via
+©2024 Trustees of Princeton University.  Permission granted via
 Princeton Docket #18-3449-1 for distribution online under a standard Open Source
 license.  Ownership rights transferred to Rebecca Koeser provided software
 is distributed online via open source.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..02c4397
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+[build-system]
+requires = ["hatchling"]
+build-backend = "hatchling.build"
+
+[project]
+name = "viapy"
+description = "Python module for interacting with VIAF data & APIs"
+authors = [
+  {name = "Center for Digital Humanities at Princeton", email = "cdh@princeton.edu"},
+]
+requires-python = ">=3.9"
+readme = "README.rst"
+license = {text = "Apache-2"}
+classifiers = [
+    "Environment :: Web Environment",
+    "Framework :: Django",
+    "Framework :: Django :: 3.2",
+    "Framework :: Django :: 4.0",
+    "Framework :: Django :: 4.1",
+    "Framework :: Django :: 4.2",
+    "Framework :: Django :: 5.0",
+    "Intended Audience :: Developers",
+    "License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License",
+    "Operating System :: OS Independent",
+    "Programming Language :: Python",
+    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
+    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
+    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
+    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
+    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
+    "Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP",
+    "Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules",
+]
+dynamic = ["version"]
+dependencies = [
+  "requests", "rdflib", "cached_property", "attrdict3"
+]
+
+[project.urls]
+#Documentation = "https://readthedocs.org"
+Repository = "https://github.com/Princeton-CDH/viapy"
+Changelog = "https://github.com/Princeton-CDH/viapy/blob/main/CHANGELOG.rst"
+
+[tool.hatch.version]
+path = "viapy/__init__.py"
+
+[project.optional-dependencies]
+test = [
+  "pytest",
+  "pytest-cov"
+]
+django = ["django>=3.2", "django-autocomplete-light"]
+django_test = ["pytest-django", "viapy[django]"]
+docs = ["sphinx"]
+test_all = ["viapy[test]", "viapy[django_test]"]
+dev = ["pre-commit", "viapy[django]", "viapy[test_all]", "viapy[docs]"]
+
+[tool.pytest.ini_options]
+DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE = "testsettings"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pytest.ini b/pytest.ini
deleted file mode 100644
index 3b8b73f..0000000
--- a/pytest.ini
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-[pytest]
-DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=testsettings
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 9b2bc50..0000000
--- a/setup.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,56 +0,0 @@
-import os
-from setuptools import find_packages, setup
-
-from viapy import __version__
-
-with open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'README.rst')) as readme:
-    README = readme.read()
-
-# allow setup.py to be run from any path
-os.chdir(os.path.normpath(os.path.join(os.path.abspath(__file__), os.pardir)))
-
-REQUIREMENTS = ['requests', 'rdflib', 'cached_property', 'attrdict']
-TEST_REQUIREMENTS = ['pytest', 'pytest-cov']
-DJANGO_REQS = ['django>=1.11,<3.1', 'django-autocomplete-light']
-DJANGO_TEST_REQS = ['pytest-django']
-
-
-setup(
-    name='viapy',
-    version=__version__,
-    packages=find_packages(),
-    include_package_data=True,
-    license='Apache License, Version 2.0',
-    description='Python module for interacting with VIAF data & APIs',
-    long_description=README,
-    url='https://github.com/Princeton-CDH/viapy',
-    install_requires=REQUIREMENTS,
-    setup_requires=['pytest-runner'],
-    tests_require=TEST_REQUIREMENTS,
-    extras_require={
-        'django': DJANGO_REQS,
-        'test': TEST_REQUIREMENTS,
-        'test_all': TEST_REQUIREMENTS + DJANGO_REQS + DJANGO_TEST_REQS,
-        'docs': ['sphinx']
-    },
-    author='CDH @ Princeton',
-    author_email='digitalhumanities@princeton.edu',
-    classifiers=[
-        'Environment :: Web Environment',
-        'Framework :: Django',
-        'Framework :: Django :: 1.11',
-        'Framework :: Django :: 2.0',
-        'Framework :: Django :: 2.1',
-        'Framework :: Django :: 2.2',
-        'Framework :: Django :: 3.0',
-        'Intended Audience :: Developers',
-        'License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License',
-        'Operating System :: OS Independent',
-        'Programming Language :: Python',
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3',
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5',
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6',
-        'Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP',
-        'Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules',
-    ],
-)
diff --git a/sphinx-docs/conf.py b/sphinx-docs/conf.py
index de4b33b..05de731 100644
--- a/sphinx-docs/conf.py
+++ b/sphinx-docs/conf.py
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@
 import sys
 import django
 
-sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('.'))
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath("."))
 
-os.environ['DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE'] = 'docsettings'
+os.environ["DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE"] = "docsettings"
 django.setup()
 
 from viapy import __version__
@@ -43,29 +43,29 @@
 # extensions coming with Sphinx (named 'sphinx.ext.*') or your custom
 # ones.
 extensions = [
-    'sphinx.ext.autodoc',
-    'sphinx.ext.intersphinx',
-    'sphinx.ext.coverage',
-    'sphinx.ext.viewcode',
-    'sphinx.ext.githubpages'
+    "sphinx.ext.autodoc",
+    "sphinx.ext.intersphinx",
+    "sphinx.ext.coverage",
+    "sphinx.ext.viewcode",
+    "sphinx.ext.githubpages",
 ]
 
 # Add any paths that contain templates here, relative to this directory.
-templates_path = ['_templates']
+templates_path = ["_templates"]
 
 # The suffix(es) of source filenames.
 # You can specify multiple suffix as a list of string:
 #
 # source_suffix = ['.rst', '.md']
-source_suffix = '.rst'
+source_suffix = ".rst"
 
 # The master toctree document.
-master_doc = 'index'
+master_doc = "index"
 
 # General information about the project.
-project = 'viapy'
-copyright = '2017, CDH @ Princeton'
-author = 'CDH @ Princeton'
+project = "viapy"
+copyright = "2017, CDH @ Princeton"
+author = "CDH @ Princeton"
 
 # The version info for the project you're documenting, acts as replacement for
 # |version| and |release|, also used in various other places throughout the
@@ -81,15 +81,15 @@
 #
 # This is also used if you do content translation via gettext catalogs.
 # Usually you set "language" from the command line for these cases.
-language = None
+language = "en"
 
 # List of patterns, relative to source directory, that match files and
 # directories to ignore when looking for source files.
 # This patterns also effect to html_static_path and html_extra_path
-exclude_patterns = ['_build', 'Thumbs.db', '.DS_Store']
+exclude_patterns = ["_build", "Thumbs.db", ".DS_Store"]
 
 # The name of the Pygments (syntax highlighting) style to use.
-pygments_style = 'sphinx'
+pygments_style = "sphinx"
 
 # If true, `todo` and `todoList` produce output, else they produce nothing.
 todo_include_todos = False
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@
 # The theme to use for HTML and HTML Help pages.  See the documentation for
 # a list of builtin themes.
 #
-html_theme = 'alabaster'
+html_theme = "alabaster"
 
 # Theme options are theme-specific and customize the look and feel of a theme
 # further.  For a list of options available for each theme, see the
@@ -108,18 +108,19 @@
 #
 # html_theme_options = {}
 html_theme_options = {
-    'description': 'VIAF via Python',
-    'github_user': 'Princeton-CDH',
-    'github_repo': 'viapy',
-    'travis_button': True,
-    'codecov_button': True,
+    "description": "VIAF via Python",
+    "github_user": "Princeton-CDH",
+    "github_repo": "viapy",
+    "travis_button": True,
+    "codecov_button": True,
 }
 
 
 # Add any paths that contain custom static files (such as style sheets) here,
 # relative to this directory. They are copied after the builtin static files,
 # so a file named "default.css" will overwrite the builtin "default.css".
-html_static_path = ['_static']
+# currently unused
+# html_static_path = ["_static"]
 
 # Custom sidebar templates, must be a dictionary that maps document names
 # to template names.
@@ -127,12 +128,12 @@
 # This is required for the alabaster theme
 # refs: http://alabaster.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html#sidebars
 html_sidebars = {
-    '**': [
-        'about.html',
-        'navigation.html',
+    "**": [
+        "about.html",
+        "navigation.html",
         # 'relations.html',  # needs 'show_related': True theme option to display
-        'searchbox.html',
-        'sidebar_footer.html',
+        "searchbox.html",
+        "sidebar_footer.html",
     ]
 }
 
@@ -140,7 +141,7 @@
 # -- Options for HTMLHelp output ------------------------------------------
 
 # Output file base name for HTML help builder.
-htmlhelp_basename = 'viapydoc'
+htmlhelp_basename = "viapydoc"
 
 
 # -- Options for LaTeX output ---------------------------------------------
@@ -149,15 +150,12 @@
     # The paper size ('letterpaper' or 'a4paper').
     #
     # 'papersize': 'letterpaper',
-
     # The font size ('10pt', '11pt' or '12pt').
     #
     # 'pointsize': '10pt',
-
     # Additional stuff for the LaTeX preamble.
     #
     # 'preamble': '',
-
     # Latex figure (float) alignment
     #
     # 'figure_align': 'htbp',
@@ -167,8 +165,7 @@
 # (source start file, target name, title,
 #  author, documentclass [howto, manual, or own class]).
 latex_documents = [
-    (master_doc, 'viapy.tex', 'viapy Documentation',
-     'CDH @ Princeton', 'manual'),
+    (master_doc, "viapy.tex", "viapy Documentation", "CDH @ Princeton", "manual"),
 ]
 
 
@@ -176,10 +173,7 @@
 
 # One entry per manual page. List of tuples
 # (source start file, name, description, authors, manual section).
-man_pages = [
-    (master_doc, 'viapy', 'viapy Documentation',
-     [author], 1)
-]
+man_pages = [(master_doc, "viapy", "viapy Documentation", [author], 1)]
 
 
 # -- Options for Texinfo output -------------------------------------------
@@ -188,11 +182,23 @@
 # (source start file, target name, title, author,
 #  dir menu entry, description, category)
 texinfo_documents = [
-    (master_doc, 'viapy', 'viapy Documentation',
-     author, 'viapy', 'One line description of project.',
-     'Miscellaneous'),
+    (
+        master_doc,
+        "viapy",
+        "viapy Documentation",
+        author,
+        "viapy",
+        "One line description of project.",
+        "Miscellaneous",
+    ),
 ]
 
 
 # Example configuration for intersphinx: refer to the Python standard library.
-intersphinx_mapping = {'https://docs.python.org/': None}
+intersphinx_mapping = {
+    "python": ("https://docs.python.org/3", None),
+    "django": (
+        "http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/",
+        "http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/_objects/",
+    ),
+}
diff --git a/viapy/__init__.py b/viapy/__init__.py
index f255f68..493f741 100644
--- a/viapy/__init__.py
+++ b/viapy/__init__.py
@@ -1,7 +1 @@
-__version_info__ = (0, 2, 0, None)
-
-
-# Dot-connect all but the last. Last is dash-connected if not None.
-__version__ = '.'.join([str(i) for i in __version_info__[:-1]])
-if __version_info__[-1] is not None:
-    __version__ += ('-%s' % (__version_info__[-1],))
+__version__ = "0.3.0"
diff --git a/viapy/api.py b/viapy/api.py
index a871d28..0499084 100644
--- a/viapy/api.py
+++ b/viapy/api.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-SCHEMA_NS = Namespace('http://schema.org/')
+SCHEMA_NS = Namespace("http://schema.org/")
 
 
 class ViafAPI(object):
@@ -33,20 +33,26 @@ def uri_from_id(cls, viaf_id):
         return "%s/%s" % (cls.uri_base, viaf_id)
 
     def suggest(self, term):
-        '''Query autosuggest API.  Returns a list of results, or an
-        empty list if no suggestions are found or if something went wrong'''
+        """Query autosuggest API.  Returns a list of results, or an
+        empty list if no suggestions are found or if something went wrong"""
 
         #  'viaf/AutoSuggest?query=[searchTerms]&callback[optionalCallbackName]
-        autosuggest_url = '%s/AutoSuggest' % self.api_base
-        response = requests.get(autosuggest_url,
-                                params={'query': term},
-                                headers={'accept': 'application/json'})
-        logger.debug('autosuggest \'%s\': %s %s, %0.2f',
-                     term, response.status_code, response.reason,
-                     response.elapsed.total_seconds())
+        autosuggest_url = "%s/AutoSuggest" % self.api_base
+        response = requests.get(
+            autosuggest_url,
+            params={"query": term},
+            headers={"accept": "application/json"},
+        )
+        logger.debug(
+            "autosuggest '%s': %s %s, %0.2f",
+            term,
+            response.status_code,
+            response.reason,
+            response.elapsed.total_seconds(),
+        )
 
         if response.status_code == requests.codes.ok:
-            return response.json().get('result', None) or []
+            return response.json().get("result", None) or []
 
         # if there was an http error, raise it
         response.raise_for_status()
@@ -54,23 +60,27 @@ def suggest(self, term):
         return []
 
     def search(self, query):
-        '''Query VIAF seach interface.  Returns a list of :class:`SRUItem`
+        """Query VIAF seach interface.  Returns a list of :class:`SRUItem`
         :param query: CQL query in viaf syntax (e.g., ``cql.any all "term"``)
-        '''
-        search_url = '%s/search' % self.api_base
+        """
+        search_url = "%s/search" % self.api_base
         params = {
-            'query': query,
-            'httpAccept': 'application/json',
-            'maximumRecords': 50,   # TODO: configurable ?
+            "query": query,
+            "httpAccept": "application/json",
+            "maximumRecords": 50,  # TODO: configurable ?
             # sort by number of holdings (default sort on web search)
             # - so better known names show up first
-            'sortKeys': 'holdingscount'
+            "sortKeys": "holdingscount",
         }
 
         response = requests.get(search_url, params=params)
-        logger.debug('search \'%s\': %s %s, %0.2f',
-                     params['query'], response.status_code, response.reason,
-                     response.elapsed.total_seconds())
+        logger.debug(
+            "search '%s': %s %s, %0.2f",
+            params["query"],
+            response.status_code,
+            response.reason,
+            response.elapsed.total_seconds(),
+        )
         if response.status_code == requests.codes.ok:
             data = SRUResult(response.json())
             if data.total_results:
@@ -83,23 +93,24 @@ def _find_type(self, fltr, value):
         return self.search('%s all "%s"' % (fltr, value))
 
     def find_person(self, name):
-        '''Search VIAF for local.personalNames'''
-        return self._find_type('local.personalNames', name)
+        """Search VIAF for local.personalNames"""
+        return self._find_type("local.personalNames", name)
 
     def find_corporate(self, name):
-        '''Search VIAF for local.corporateNames'''
-        return self._find_type('local.corporateNames', name)
+        """Search VIAF for local.corporateNames"""
+        return self._find_type("local.corporateNames", name)
 
     def find_place(self, name):
-        '''Search VIAF for local.geographicNames'''
-        return self._find_type('local.geographicNames', name)
+        """Search VIAF for local.geographicNames"""
+        return self._find_type("local.geographicNames", name)
 
 
 class ViafEntity(object):
-    '''Object for working with a single VIAF entity.
+    """Object for working with a single VIAF entity.
 
     :param viaf_id: viaf identifier (either integer or uri)
-    '''
+    """
+
     def __init__(self, viaf_id):
         try:
             int(viaf_id)
@@ -111,94 +122,98 @@ def __init__(self, viaf_id):
 
     @property
     def uriref(self):
-        '''VIAF URI reference as instance of :class:`rdflib.URIRef`'''
+        """VIAF URI reference as instance of :class:`rdflib.URIRef`"""
         return rdflib.URIRef(self.uri)
 
     @cached_property
     def rdf(self):
-        '''VIAF data for this entity as :class:`rdflib.Graph`'''
+        """VIAF data for this entity as :class:`rdflib.Graph`"""
         start = time.time()
         graph = rdflib.Graph()
         graph.parse(self.uri)
-        logger.debug('Loaded VIAF RDF %s: %0.2f sec',
-                     self.uri, time.time() - start)
+        logger.debug("Loaded VIAF RDF %s: %0.2f sec", self.uri, time.time() - start)
         return graph
 
     # person-specific properties
 
     @property
     def birthdate(self):
-        '''schema birthdate as :class:`rdflib.Literal`'''
+        """schema birthdate as :class:`rdflib.Literal`"""
         return self.rdf.value(self.uriref, SCHEMA_NS.birthDate)
 
     @property
     def deathdate(self):
-        '''schema deathdate as :class:`rdflib.Literal`'''
+        """schema deathdate as :class:`rdflib.Literal`"""
         return self.rdf.value(self.uriref, SCHEMA_NS.deathDate)
 
     @property
     def birthyear(self):
-        '''birth year'''
+        """birth year"""
         if self.birthdate:
             return self.year_from_isodate(str(self.birthdate))
 
     @property
     def deathyear(self):
-        '''death year'''
+        """death year"""
         if self.deathdate:
             return self.year_from_isodate(str(self.deathdate))
 
     # utility method for date parsing
     @classmethod
     def year_from_isodate(cls, date):
-        '''Return just the year portion of an ISO8601 date.  Expects
-        a string, returns an integer'''
-        return int(date.split('-')[0])
+        """Return just the year portion of an ISO8601 date.  Expects
+        a string, returns an integer. Supports negative dates."""
+        negative = False
+        # if the date starts with a dash, strip off before trying to split
+        if date.startswith("-"):
+            date = date[1:]
+            negative = True
+        value = int(date.split("-")[0])
+        if negative:
+            return -value
+        return value
 
 
 class SRUResult(object):
-    '''SRU search result object, for use with :meth:`ViafAPI.search`.'''
+    """SRU search result object, for use with :meth:`ViafAPI.search`."""
 
     def __init__(self, data):
-        self._data = data.get('searchRetrieveResponse', {})
+        self._data = data.get("searchRetrieveResponse", {})
 
     @cached_property
     def total_results(self):
-        '''number of records matching the query'''
-        return int(self._data.get('numberOfRecords', 0))
+        """number of records matching the query"""
+        return int(self._data.get("numberOfRecords", 0))
 
     @cached_property
     def records(self):
-        '''list of results as :class:`SRUItem`.'''
-        return [SRUItem(d['record']) for d in self._data.get('records', [])]
+        """list of results as :class:`SRUItem`."""
+        return [SRUItem(d["record"]) for d in self._data.get("records", [])]
 
 
 class SRUItem(AttrMap):
-    '''Single item returned by a SRU search, for use with
-    :meth:`ViafAPI.search` and :class:`SRUResult`.'''
+    """Single item returned by a SRU search, for use with
+    :meth:`ViafAPI.search` and :class:`SRUResult`."""
 
     @property
     def uri(self):
-        '''VIAF URI for this result'''
-        return self.recordData.Document['@about']
+        """VIAF URI for this result"""
+        return self.recordData.Document["@about"]
 
     @property
     def viaf_id(self):
-        '''VIAF numeric identifier'''
+        """VIAF numeric identifier"""
         return self.recordData.viafID
 
-
     @property
     def nametype(self):
-        '''type of name (personal, corporate, title, etc)'''
+        """type of name (personal, corporate, title, etc)"""
         return self.recordData.nameType
 
     @property
     def label(self):
-        '''first main heading for this item'''
+        """first main heading for this item"""
         try:
             return self.recordData.mainHeadings.data[0].text
         except KeyError:
             return self.recordData.mainHeadings.data.text
-
-
diff --git a/viapy/test_urls.py b/viapy/test_urls.py
index af0149c..d5a3511 100644
--- a/viapy/test_urls.py
+++ b/viapy/test_urls.py
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 """Test URL configuration for viapy
 """
 try:
-    from django.conf.urls import url, include
+    from django.urls import path, include
 
     from viapy import urls as viapy_urls
 
     urlpatterns = [
-        url(r'^viaf/', include(viapy_urls, namespace='viaf')),
+        path(r"viaf/", include(viapy_urls, namespace="viaf")),
     ]
 
 except ImportError:
diff --git a/viapy/tests/test_api.py b/viapy/tests/test_api.py
index feaaef1..a5dbc47 100644
--- a/viapy/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/viapy/tests/test_api.py
@@ -7,106 +7,109 @@
 
 from viapy.api import ViafAPI, ViafEntity, SRUResult, SRUItem
 
-FIXTURES_PATH = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'fixtures')
+FIXTURES_PATH = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "fixtures")
 
 
 class TestViafAPI(object):
-
     def test_get_uri(self):
-        assert ViafAPI.uri_from_id('1234') == \
-            'http://viaf.org/viaf/1234'
+        assert ViafAPI.uri_from_id("1234") == "http://viaf.org/viaf/1234"
         # numeric id should also work
-        assert ViafAPI.uri_from_id(1234) == \
-            'http://viaf.org/viaf/1234'
+        assert ViafAPI.uri_from_id(1234) == "http://viaf.org/viaf/1234"
 
-    @patch('viapy.api.requests')
+    @patch("viapy.api.requests")
     def test_suggest(self, mockrequests):
         viaf = ViafAPI()
         mockrequests.codes = requests.codes
         # Check that query with no matches still returns an empty list
-        mock_result = {'query': 'notanauthor', 'result': None}
+        mock_result = {"query": "notanauthor", "result": None}
         mockrequests.get.return_value.status_code = requests.codes.ok
         mockrequests.get.return_value.json.return_value = mock_result
-        assert viaf.suggest('notanauthor') == []
+        assert viaf.suggest("notanauthor") == []
         mockrequests.get.assert_called_with(
-            'https://www.viaf.org/viaf/AutoSuggest',
-            headers={'accept': 'application/json'},
-            params={'query': 'notanauthor'})
+            "https://www.viaf.org/viaf/AutoSuggest",
+            headers={"accept": "application/json"},
+            params={"query": "notanauthor"},
+        )
 
         # valid (abbreviated) response
-        mock_result['result'] = [{
-          "term": "Austen, Jane, 1775-1817",
-          "displayForm": "Austen, Jane, 1775-1817",
-          "recordID": "102333412"
-        }]
+        mock_result["result"] = [
+            {
+                "term": "Austen, Jane, 1775-1817",
+                "displayForm": "Austen, Jane, 1775-1817",
+                "recordID": "102333412",
+            }
+        ]
         mockrequests.get.return_value.json.return_value = mock_result
-        assert viaf.suggest('austen') == mock_result['result']
+        assert viaf.suggest("austen") == mock_result["result"]
 
         # bad status code on the response - should still return an empty list
         mockrequests.get.return_value.status_code = requests.codes.forbidden
-        assert viaf.suggest('test') == []
+        assert viaf.suggest("test") == []
 
-
-    @patch('viapy.api.requests')
+    @patch("viapy.api.requests")
     def test_search(self, mockrequests):
         viaf = ViafAPI()
         mockrequests.codes = requests.codes
 
-        sru_fixture = os.path.join(FIXTURES_PATH, 'sru_search.json')
+        sru_fixture = os.path.join(FIXTURES_PATH, "sru_search.json")
         with open(sru_fixture) as srufile:
             mock_result = json.load(srufile)
         mockrequests.get.return_value.status_code = requests.codes.ok
         mockrequests.get.return_value.json.return_value = mock_result
-        results = viaf.search('stephen benet')
+        results = viaf.search("stephen benet")
         assert isinstance(results, list)
         assert isinstance(results[0], SRUItem)
         mockrequests.get.assert_called_with(
-            'https://www.viaf.org/viaf/search',
+            "https://www.viaf.org/viaf/search",
             # headers={'accept': 'application/json'},
-            params={'query': 'stephen benet', 'httpAccept': 'application/json',
-                    'maximumRecords': 50, 'sortKeys': 'holdingscount'})
+            params={
+                "query": "stephen benet",
+                "httpAccept": "application/json",
+                "maximumRecords": 50,
+                "sortKeys": "holdingscount",
+            },
+        )
 
         # sample empty result
         mockrequests.get.return_value.json.return_value = {
-            'searchRetrieveResponse': {
-                'version': "1.1",
-                'numberOfRecords': "0",
-                'resultSetIdleTime': "1"
+            "searchRetrieveResponse": {
+                "version": "1.1",
+                "numberOfRecords": "0",
+                "resultSetIdleTime": "1",
             }
         }
-        results = viaf.search('stephen benet')
+        results = viaf.search("stephen benet")
         assert not results
 
     def test_find_person(self):
         viaf = ViafAPI()
-        term = 'stephen benet'
-        with patch.object(viaf, 'search') as mocksearch:
+        term = "stephen benet"
+        with patch.object(viaf, "search") as mocksearch:
             viaf.find_person(term)
 
         mocksearch.assert_called_with('local.personalNames all "%s"' % term)
 
     def test_find_corporate(self):
         viaf = ViafAPI()
-        term = 'library of congress'
-        with patch.object(viaf, 'search') as mocksearch:
+        term = "library of congress"
+        with patch.object(viaf, "search") as mocksearch:
             viaf.find_corporate(term)
 
         mocksearch.assert_called_with('local.corporateNames all "%s"' % term)
 
     def test_find_place(self):
         viaf = ViafAPI()
-        term = 'princeton'
-        with patch.object(viaf, 'search') as mocksearch:
+        term = "princeton"
+        with patch.object(viaf, "search") as mocksearch:
             viaf.find_place(term)
 
         mocksearch.assert_called_with('local.geographicNames all "%s"' % term)
 
 
 class TestViafEntity(object):
-
     test_id = 102333412
-    test_uri = 'http://viaf.org/viaf/102333412'
-    rdf_fixture = os.path.join(FIXTURES_PATH, '102333412_rdf.xml')
+    test_uri = "http://viaf.org/viaf/102333412"
+    rdf_fixture = os.path.join(FIXTURES_PATH, "102333412_rdf.xml")
 
     def test_init(self):
         # numeric id (either int or string should work)
@@ -122,38 +125,39 @@ def test_uriref(self):
         ent = ViafEntity(self.test_uri)
         assert ent.uriref == rdflib.URIRef(self.test_uri)
 
-    @patch('viapy.api.rdflib')
+    @patch("viapy.api.rdflib")
     def test_rdf(self, mockrdflib):
         ent = ViafEntity(self.test_uri)
         assert ent.rdf == mockrdflib.Graph.return_value
         # should initialize a graph and parse uri data
         mockrdflib.Graph.assert_called_with()
-        mockrdflib.Graph.return_value.parse.assert_called_with(
-            self.test_uri)
+        mockrdflib.Graph.return_value.parse.assert_called_with(self.test_uri)
 
     def test_properties(self):
         # use viaf id matching fixture rdf file
-        ent = ViafEntity('89599270')
+        ent = ViafEntity("89599270")
         # load fixture
         test_rdf = rdflib.Graph()
         test_rdf.parse(self.rdf_fixture)
 
         # patch fixture in to ViafEntity rdf property
-        with patch.object(ViafEntity, 'rdf', new=test_rdf):
-            assert str(ent.birthdate) == '69'
-            assert str(ent.deathdate) == '140'
+        with patch.object(ViafEntity, "rdf", new=test_rdf):
+            assert str(ent.birthdate) == "69"
+            assert str(ent.deathdate) == "140"
             assert ent.birthyear == 69
             assert ent.deathyear == 140
 
     def test_year_from_isodate(self):
-        assert ViafEntity.year_from_isodate('2001') == 2001
-        assert ViafEntity.year_from_isodate('2002-01') == 2002
-        assert ViafEntity.year_from_isodate('2004-03-05') == 2004
+        assert ViafEntity.year_from_isodate("2001") == 2001
+        assert ViafEntity.year_from_isodate("2002-01") == 2002
+        assert ViafEntity.year_from_isodate("2004-03-05") == 2004
+        # negative years, e.g. Aeschylus
+        assert ViafEntity.year_from_isodate("-525") == -525
 
 
 def test_sru_result():
     # test SRUResult class properties
-    sru_fixture = os.path.join(FIXTURES_PATH, 'sru_search.json')
+    sru_fixture = os.path.join(FIXTURES_PATH, "sru_search.json")
     with open(sru_fixture) as srufile:
         sru_data = json.load(srufile)
     sru_res = SRUResult(sru_data)
@@ -165,17 +169,21 @@ def test_sru_result():
 
 def test_sru_item():
     # test SRUItem class
-    sru_fixture = os.path.join(FIXTURES_PATH, 'sru_search.json')
+    sru_fixture = os.path.join(FIXTURES_PATH, "sru_search.json")
     with open(sru_fixture) as srufile:
         sru_data = json.load(srufile)
     sru_item = SRUResult(sru_data).records[0]
     assert sru_item.uri == "http://viaf.org/viaf/888145424579886830405/"
     assert sru_item.viaf_id == "888145424579886830405"
     assert sru_item.nametype == "UniformTitleExpression"
-    assert sru_item.label == "Benét, Stephen Vincent, 1898-1943. | John Brown's Body | Russian 1979"
+    assert (
+        sru_item.label
+        == "Benét, Stephen Vincent, 1898-1943. | John Brown's Body | Russian 1979"
+    )
 
     # label when data is a list
-    sru_item.recordData.mainHeadings.data = [
-        sru_item.recordData.mainHeadings.data
-    ]
-    assert sru_item.label == "Benét, Stephen Vincent, 1898-1943. | John Brown's Body | Russian 1979"
\ No newline at end of file
+    sru_item.recordData.mainHeadings.data = [sru_item.recordData.mainHeadings.data]
+    assert (
+        sru_item.label
+        == "Benét, Stephen Vincent, 1898-1943. | John Brown's Body | Russian 1979"
+    )
diff --git a/viapy/urls.py b/viapy/urls.py
index bc51938..8e35c1f 100644
--- a/viapy/urls.py
+++ b/viapy/urls.py
@@ -1,15 +1,23 @@
-from django.conf.urls import url
+from django.urls import path
 
 from viapy.views import ViafLookup, ViafSearch
 
 
-app_name = 'viapy'
+app_name = "viapy"
 
 urlpatterns = [
-    url(r'^suggest/$', ViafLookup.as_view(), name='suggest'),
-    url(r'^suggest/person/$', ViafLookup.as_view(),
-        {'nametype': 'personal'}, name='person-suggest'),
-    url(r'^search/$', ViafSearch.as_view(), name='search'),
-    url(r'^search/person/$', ViafSearch.as_view(),
-        {'nametype': 'personal'}, name='person-search'),
+    path("suggest/", ViafLookup.as_view(), name="suggest"),
+    path(
+        "suggest/person/",
+        ViafLookup.as_view(),
+        {"nametype": "personal"},
+        name="person-suggest",
+    ),
+    path("search/", ViafSearch.as_view(), name="search"),
+    path(
+        "search/person/",
+        ViafSearch.as_view(),
+        {"nametype": "personal"},
+        name="person-search",
+    ),
 ]
diff --git a/viapy/widgets.py b/viapy/widgets.py
index 3332c92..885c6f3 100644
--- a/viapy/widgets.py
+++ b/viapy/widgets.py
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
 
 
 class ViafWidget(autocomplete.Select2):
-    '''Custom autocomplete select widget that displays VIAF id as a link.
-    Extends :class:`dal.autocomplete.Select2`.'''
+    """Custom autocomplete select widget that displays VIAF id as a link.
+    Extends :class:`dal.autocomplete.Select2`."""
 
     def render(self, name, value, renderer=None, attrs=None):
         # select2 filters based on existing choices (non-existent here),
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ def render(self, name, value, renderer=None, attrs=None):
             self.choices = [(value, value)]
         widget = super(ViafWidget, self).render(name, value, attrs)
         return mark_safe(
-            '%s<p><br /><a id="viaf_uri" target="_blank" href="%s">%s</a></p>' % \
-            (widget, value or '', value or ''))
-
-
+            '%s<p><br /><a id="viaf_uri" target="_blank" href="%s">%s</a></p>'
+            % (widget, value or "", value or "")
+        )