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.

Parameter	Requirement	JSON type	Description
`q`	required	string	Free-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
`media_type`	optional	union	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.
`language`	optional	union	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.
`county`	optional	union	Norwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
`year_from`	optional	union	Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
`year_to`	optional	union	Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
`digital_only`	optional	boolean	Only items that have been digitized.
`sort`	optional	union	One of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
`page`	optional	integer	Zero-based page index.
`size`	optional	integer	Results per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).
`limit`	optional	integer	Gateway page size; default 25, maximum 100.
`offset`	optional	integer	Number 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.

q (required) Type: string. Free-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.

media_type 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.

language 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.

county Type: string. Norwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".

year_from Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).

year_to Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).

digital_only Type: yes/no. Only items that have been digitized.

sort Type: string. One of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).

page Type: integer. Zero-based page index.

size Type: integer. Results per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).

Result

Source: National Library of Norway. Retrieved 2026-09-25T10:57:17Z in 0.177 seconds.

total:

520

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
5a3794625834464ebb18f318aed1a05f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bladet_null_null_20190305_127_27_1
title:
Bladet
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20190305
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
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_digavis_bladet_null_null_20190305_127_27_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5a3794625834464ebb18f318aed1a05f
id:
35e7959ddf51b39fc08119a20d74dbff
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fanaposten_null_null_19841121_7_85_1
title:
Fanaposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19841121
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fanaposten_null_null_19841121_7_85_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/35e7959ddf51b39fc08119a20d74dbff
id:
d38902f83dbe4757ead80f81cd15bff1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_faedrelandsvennen_null_null_20240418_150_90_1
title:
Fædrelandsvennen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20240418
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Agder
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_faedrelandsvennen_null_null_20240418_150_90_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d38902f83dbe4757ead80f81cd15bff1
id:
775456d12c17db4a93062243128e0121
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_faedrelandsvennen_null_null_20250828_151_198_1
title:
Fædrelandsvennen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20250828
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Agder
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_faedrelandsvennen_null_null_20250828_151_198_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/775456d12c17db4a93062243128e0121
id:
65a66d03427a12277cfd19e43c7afcc8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_faedrelandsvennen_null_null_20240620_150_140_1
title:
Fædrelandsvennen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20240620
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Agder
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_faedrelandsvennen_null_null_20240620_150_140_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/65a66d03427a12277cfd19e43c7afcc8
id:
e2a3371231503da38b98753c71b1f351
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bladet_null_null_20200804_128_91_1
title:
Bladet
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20200804
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
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_digavis_bladet_null_null_20200804_128_91_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e2a3371231503da38b98753c71b1f351
id:
cbda7698120d5b0c6772871b3e20df6e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_strilen_null_null_19850829_25_90_1
title:
Strilen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19850829
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_strilen_null_null_19850829_25_90_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/cbda7698120d5b0c6772871b3e20df6e
id:
628debbe7703275960226e8a55b858fe
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_faedrelandsvennen_null_null_20250410_151_85_1
title:
Fædrelandsvennen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20250410
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Agder
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_faedrelandsvennen_null_null_20250410_151_85_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/628debbe7703275960226e8a55b858fe
id:
ae82d338cc98be85beb7d3a134ba3711
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010042207077
title:
Matematikk åtte, ni, ti : Oppgavesamling
creators:
3 results
1. Martinsen, Roy
2. Oldervoll, Tore
3. Pedersen, Jan-Erik
year:
1999
publisher:
Cappelen
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
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_2010042207077_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ae82d338cc98be85beb7d3a134ba3711
id:
58a984cbc8d1ead8896c3a423c74ecf5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_nordlys_null_null_20260505_0_52_1
title:
Nordlys
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20260505
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Troms
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_nordlys_null_null_20260505_0_52_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/58a984cbc8d1ead8896c3a423c74ecf5

limit:

offset:

returned:

has_more_results:

yes

truncated:

yes

next_offset:

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

Replace the placeholders in the HTML GET template; remove optional parameters you do not need.
Check types, units, limits and ID formats in the parameter table.
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.

AI agent? Read the complete navigation and programming guide.