search

Search the National Library's catalog - books, newspapers, journals, photos, maps, music, manuscripts, radio/TV and more, both physical and digitized. Digitized text (OCR) is matched too by default, so a query can surface newspaper or book pages that mention a term even when it's not in the title.

Signature: search(q: string, required; media_type: string, optional, default None; language: string, optional, default None; county: string, optional, default None; year_from: integer, optional, default None; year_to: integer, optional, default None; digital_only: yes/no, optional, default False; sort: string, optional, default None; page: integer, optional, default 0; size: integer, optional, default 10; limit: integer, items, optional, default 25; offset: integer, items, optional, default 0)

Direct GET

For navigating agents: open the HTML page with parameters in the URL. The result is fetched and displayed without screenshots or form filling.

Open this validated HTML GET URL

https://allemannsdata.com/wiki/kilder/nasjonalbiblioteket/search/?q={q}&media_type={media_type}&language={language}&county={county}&year_from={year_from}&year_to={year_to}&digital_only=false&sort={sort}&page=0&size=10&limit=25&offset=0

Replace {q}, {media_type}, {language}, {county}, {year_from}, {year_to}, {digital_only}, {sort}, {page}, {size} with values. Remove unused optional parameters from the URL.

For software and dashboards: Read the operation descriptor. The JSON GET template is https://allemannsdata.com/wiki/api/v1/kilder/nasjonalbiblioteket/search?q={q}&media_type={media_type}&language={language}&county={county}&year_from={year_from}&year_to={year_to}&digital_only=false&sort={sort}&page=0&size=10&limit=25&offset=0. Open this exact request as JSON.

ParameterRequirementJSON typeDescription
qrequiredstringFree-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
media_typeoptionalunionRestrict to one type, e.g. aviser (newspapers), bøker (books), tidsskrift (journals), bilder (photos), musikk, kart (maps), film, plakater (posters), noter (sheet music), radio, fjernsyn. See get_aggregations(q="*", group_by="mediatype") for the full list with counts.
languageoptionalunionLanguage filter - values are inconsistent in the catalog (mixes codes like "nob" and labels like "Norsk bokmål"); check get_aggregations(q=q, group_by="languages") first if unsure.
countyoptionalunionNorwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
year_fromoptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
year_tooptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
digital_onlyoptionalbooleanOnly items that have been digitized.
sortoptionalunionOne of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
pageoptionalintegerZero-based page index.
sizeoptionalintegerResults per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).
limitoptionalintegerGateway page size; default 25, maximum 100.
offsetoptionalintegerNumber of list items to skip; default 0.
Generated JavaScript, Python and response structure

Use JSON when the user requests code, machine-readable data, value extraction or further computation. Use the HTML GET page to identify the correct source and verify parameters.

Example for generated JavaScript and Python

https://allemannsdata.com/wiki/api/v1/kilder/nasjonalbiblioteket/search?q={q}&media_type={media_type}&language={language}&county={county}&year_from={year_from}&year_to={year_to}&digital_only=false&sort={sort}&page=0&size=10&limit=25&offset=0

Replace URL placeholders and remove unused optional parameters.

JavaScript in a dashboard

const url = "https://allemannsdata.com/wiki/api/v1/kilder/nasjonalbiblioteket/search?q={q}&media_type={media_type}&language={language}&county={county}&year_from={year_from}&year_to={year_to}&digital_only=false&sort={sort}&page=0&size=10&limit=25&offset=0";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) {
  const failure = await response.json();
  throw new Error(`${failure.error.code}: ${failure.error.message} ${failure.suggestion}`);
}
const result = await response.json();
const data = result.data;

Python without additional packages

import json
from urllib.request import urlopen

url = "https://allemannsdata.com/wiki/api/v1/kilder/nasjonalbiblioteket/search?q={q}&media_type={media_type}&language={language}&county={county}&year_from={year_from}&year_to={year_to}&digital_only=false&sort={sort}&page=0&size=10&limit=25&offset=0"
with urlopen(url) as response:
    result = json.load(response)
data = result["data"]

Response structure

{
  "source": "nasjonalbiblioteket",
  "operation": "search",
  "parameters": {},
  "data": {},
  "entities": [],
  "_meta": {"retrieved_at": "...", "sources": [], "cache": {}},
  "_links": {"self": "...", "source": "...", "wiki": "...", "feedback": "..."}
}
Form for manual use

The form is a fallback for people and browser agents that cannot open the GET URL directly.

Type: string. Free-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
Type: string. Restrict to one type, e.g. aviser (newspapers), bøker (books), tidsskrift (journals), bilder (photos), musikk, kart (maps), film, plakater (posters), noter (sheet music), radio, fjernsyn. See get_aggregations(q="*", group_by="mediatype") for the full list with counts.
Type: string. Language filter - values are inconsistent in the catalog (mixes codes like "nob" and labels like "Norsk bokmål"); check get_aggregations(q=q, group_by="languages") first if unsure.
Type: string. Norwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: yes/no. Only items that have been digitized.
Type: string. One of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
Type: integer. Zero-based page index.
Type: integer. Results per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).

Result

Source: National Library of Norway. Retrieved 2026-09-24T10:15:17Z in 0.210 seconds.

total:
13008
page:
0
size:
10
items:

10 results

  1. id:
    a0d8be2b28c43b94743f86b7c08733d4
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2024110648101
    title:
    Alpha Crucis : contemporary African art
    creators:

    5 results

    1. Magnin, André
    2. Astrup Fearnley museet
    3. Alpha Crucis - contemporary African art (utstilling) Oslo 2020
    4. Haugen, Halvor
    5. Kvaran, Gunnar B.
    year:
    2020
    publisher:
    Astrup Fearnley museet
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    3 results

    1. eng
    2. nob
    3. mul
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NB
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2024110648101_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/a0d8be2b28c43b94743f86b7c08733d4
  2. id:
    6571e37d02c02926171f05c2306e0447
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040480011_001
    title:
    People & projects : a DNO magazine. 2010
    creators:

    1 results

    1. DNO International
    year:
    2010
    publisher:
    DNO International
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. tidsskrift
    languages:

    1 results

    1. eng
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NB
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040480011_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/6571e37d02c02926171f05c2306e0447
  3. id:
    4d8b9644201aa6458fba753667c0c452
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011091606005
    title:
    Med livbåt i hundre : en fortelling om Norsafe AS, tidligere Jørgensen & Vik AS : 1903-2003
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Eikeland, Olav
    2. Norsafe AS
    year:
    2003
    publisher:
    [Norsafe]
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    3 results

    1. eng
    2. nob
    3. mul
    county:
    Agder
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    bokhylla
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NORWAY
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011091606005_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/4d8b9644201aa6458fba753667c0c452
  4. id:
    a1895e503c990436c156fa3474768db3
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2025082906094
    title:
    Global collaborative research projects : exploring scenario development
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Fossum, Knut Robert
    year:
    2020
    publisher:
    Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    1 results

    1. eng
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NB
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2025082906094_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/a1895e503c990436c156fa3474768db3
  5. id:
    9c7b2793c33dc210fdad783126c62692
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2025082706082
    title:
    Lyman-Alpha observables of the high redshift Universe
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Grönke, Max
    year:
    2017
    publisher:
    University of Oslo, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    1 results

    1. eng
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NB
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2025082706082_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/9c7b2793c33dc210fdad783126c62692
  6. id:
    b722e270e08265cfa4949258d4d0961c
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009100604129
    title:
    Projects : textbook : modul 2 : engelsk studieretningsfag AØA
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Andersen, Kjell Richard
    year:
    1995
    publisher:
    Cappelen
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    4 results

    1. nno
    2. eng
    3. nob
    4. mul
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    bokhylla
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NORWAY
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009100604129_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/b722e270e08265cfa4949258d4d0961c
  7. id:
    e982cd6e09fecc6fc57b1d6770f8f045
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009121600108
    title:
    Papers presented at the international conference: Considering the Researcher as Human Being
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Considering the Researcher as Human Being (konferanse)
    2. Kvernbekk, Tone
    year:
    1996
    publisher:
    Universitetet i Oslo, Pedagogisk Forskningsinstitutt
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    1 results

    1. eng
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    bokhylla
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NORWAY
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009121600108_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/e982cd6e09fecc6fc57b1d6770f8f045
  8. id:
    97d6d82220533951d11dfe0ab0e20f89
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2024051048046
    title:
    Prioritisation of security in agile software development projects
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Tøndel, Inger Anne
    2. Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet
    3. Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet Institutt for datateknologi og informatikk
    year:
    2022
    publisher:
    Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, Department of Computer Science
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    1 results

    1. eng
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NB
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2024051048046_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/97d6d82220533951d11dfe0ab0e20f89
  9. id:
    764b6d55dcf58b5a741a254f5a8e81e9
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021062448688
    title:
    Human alpha-fetoprotein : a review of recent methodological and clinical studies
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Nørgaard-Pedersen, Bent
    year:
    1976
    publisher:
    Universitetsforl.
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    3 results

    1. eng
    2. nob
    3. mul
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    bokhylla
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NORWAY
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021062448688_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/764b6d55dcf58b5a741a254f5a8e81e9
  10. id:
    ce17dd0b4253e77248d3db66058a629b
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000045759
    title:
    Consciousness as urgrund and fragment : introduction as insight
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Schantz, Dag von
    year:
    2024
    publisher:
    Atum editions
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    1 results

    1. eng
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    NB
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000045759_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/ce17dd0b4253e77248d3db66058a629b
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
10
has_more_results:
yes
truncated:
yes
next_offset:
10
Will you use the result in generated code?

Open the same result as JSON

Is data missing or incorrect? Send feedback about this result.

Continue exploring

How an AI agent should use this page

Ground rule: Navigate with HTML GET links to keep explanations and relationships. Use the page's JSON alternative only when concrete values must be extracted, compared or computed.

How to use the search lookup

  1. Replace the placeholders in the HTML GET template; remove optional parameters you do not need.
  2. Check types, units, limits and ID formats in the parameter table.
  3. Follow linked results to canonical pages before combining sources.

Misreading to avoid: An empty list means "no results for this lookup". An error message or unavailable source does not mean the data does not exist.

Source-specific next step

Go to the source page for other operations. Use the JSON template only after the HTML result shows that the parameters and source are correct.