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 2026-09-24T17:07:17Z in 0.001 seconds.

total:

16000

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
c76dc0bc4e7a7ada8256097751a949fe
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015031708144
title:
Tradisjon for utvikling : Hjellnes COWI AS 1946-1996
creators:
1 results
1. Hjellnes COWI
year:
1996
publisher:
Hjellnes COWI
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_2015031708144_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c76dc0bc4e7a7ada8256097751a949fe
id:
afdba2991d3d986950adb26f11cbfce2
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Oppkvikkere langs veien : rasteplasser Strandlykkja, Løvseth+Partner AS, Cowi AS
creators:
2 results
1. Løvseth, Morten
2. Utne, Amund Siem
year:
2016
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. artikler
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/afdba2991d3d986950adb26f11cbfce2
id:
16f3b3924237bc592d4b0eb0d4196765
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012030706004
title:
Fra Østlandskonsult til COWI : 1959-2005 : -en god historie
creators:
3 results
1. Vigerust, Einar
2. Thorbjørnsen, Bibbi
3. COWI AS (Norge)
year:
2005
publisher:
[COWI]
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_2012030706004_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/16f3b3924237bc592d4b0eb0d4196765
id:
b83e4c1d1fdd7e74621c6ca4812ae925
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000046268
title:
Problemkartlegging av Østensjøvannet
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2024
publisher:
Statsforvalteren i Østfold, Buskerud, Oslo og Akershus
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000046268_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b83e4c1d1fdd7e74621c6ca4812ae925
id:
51cded8b7b0e84aa503a238626cb7dd4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011102605047
title:
Overvåking av rensebasseng for overvann fra E6 Skullerudkrysset i Oslo, 2003-2004
creators:
1 results
1. COWI AS (Norge)
year:
2005
publisher:
Statens vegvesen, Utbyggingsavdelingen, Vegdirektoratet
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_2011102605047_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/51cded8b7b0e84aa503a238626cb7dd4
id:
da46c39a75f230b0de2744c0a8b06cc5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_89fcbd05-dc0d-425c-bad3-20c5d9cc9daf
title:
Deklarasjonssystemet for farlig avfall : årsrapport .... 2020
creators:
2 results
1. COWI AS (Norge)
2. Norge Miljødirektoratet
year:
2020
publisher:
COWI AS
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
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_plikttidsskrift_89fcbd05-dc0d-425c-bad3-20c5d9cc9daf_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/da46c39a75f230b0de2744c0a8b06cc5
id:
49ea0fd47b6b38c23fee2259212781c6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011040806058
title:
EE-avfall blant kasserte originale bildeler : fase 2
creators:
2 results
1. Hjellnes COWI
2. Batteriretur (firma)
year:
2001
publisher:
AS Batteriretur
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_2011040806058_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/49ea0fd47b6b38c23fee2259212781c6
id:
d9d3a5821f95201df9e670a2fea0e7a7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000014133
title:
Jordbruksfaglig utredning OSL Vest
creators:
1 results
1. Gamborg, Marina
year:
2019
publisher:
NIBIO
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000014133_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d9d3a5821f95201df9e670a2fea0e7a7
id:
b63f800902066b8be173872171cda430
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Nytt rensetrinn i Vassum rensebasseng : mulighetsstudie
creators:
2 results
1. Statens vegvesen Region øst
2. COWI AS (Norge)
year:
2012
publisher:
Statens vegvesen. Region øst
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b63f800902066b8be173872171cda430
id:
fc257a0548b0c57ed9c13dffeb89275d
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Evaluation of the Humanitarian Mine Action Activities of Norwegian People's Aid
creators:
2 results
1. Krogh, Elsebeth
2. COWI AS (Norge)
year:
2009
publisher:
Norad
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fc257a0548b0c57ed9c13dffeb89275d

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.