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 2026-09-25T16:01:22Z in 0.544 seconds.

total:

451

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
76b51a51052ad6c834c1746fbcf88a90
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014011426015
title:
Mrs Pepperpot and the macaroni
creators:
2 results
1. Prøysen, Alf
2. Arthur, David
year:
1987
publisher:
Arrow Books
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_2014011426015_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/76b51a51052ad6c834c1746fbcf88a90
id:
c67d02e9d2a0bd5da87bab571ce6a898
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014021726005
title:
Mrs Pepperpot and the hidden treasure
creators:
2 results
1. Prøysen, Alf
2. Arthur, David
year:
1989
publisher:
Beaver Books
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_2014021726005_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c67d02e9d2a0bd5da87bab571ce6a898
id:
ed4316e447dd0564b1f184dd2d46aa53
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_e724ab21-08d4-4b3c-ae7e-601edf69e233
title:
Inside history collection. 2026 Nr. 5
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2026
publisher:
Bonnier Publications 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_plikttidsskrift_e724ab21-08d4-4b3c-ae7e-601edf69e233_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ed4316e447dd0564b1f184dd2d46aa53
id:
24a151c6de465bc96f8cb6e525f2c202
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022111448097
title:
Viking longboats
creators:
1 results
1. Mulvihill, Margaret
year:
2006
publisher:
Aladdin/Watts
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_2022111448097_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/24a151c6de465bc96f8cb6e525f2c202
id:
21ffde1b33e2c1c1e6667f9517849e16
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009111200095
title:
Catch : Pupil's book
creators:
3 results
1. Scott, Wendy
2. Jansby, Berit
3. Ytreberg, Lisbeth
year:
1996
publisher:
Aschehoug
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_2009111200095_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/21ffde1b33e2c1c1e6667f9517849e16
id:
7ea36f6dd90d361a1bd96004e2e16c8e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025011583018_001
title:
Inside history collection. 2024 Nr. 6
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2024
publisher:
Bonnier Publications 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_2025011583018_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7ea36f6dd90d361a1bd96004e2e16c8e
id:
f308f3e81762034a9b95137496441a72
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025050683003_001
title:
Inside history collection. 2025 Nr. 2
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Bonnier Publications 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_2025050683003_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f308f3e81762034a9b95137496441a72
id:
9b84556f70dd2d7b6c82ae06df453223
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026011580010_003
title:
Angerthas : tidsskrift for Arthedain - Norges tolkienforening. 2015 71
creators:
1 results
1. Arthedain (Norges tolkienforening)
year:
2015
publisher:
Arthedain
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nno
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_digitidsskrift_2026011580010_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9b84556f70dd2d7b6c82ae06df453223
id:
31c326f90533814c1400a1de3dc121a7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015031626002
title:
Mrs. Pepperpot turns detective
creators:
2 results
1. Prøysen, Alf
2. Bailey, Siân
year:
1996
publisher:
Penguin
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_2015031626002_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/31c326f90533814c1400a1de3dc121a7
id:
ee2f4d597d2424300ab2fd8d7cf30630
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010011400068
title:
Kick off! : 7. klasse Pupil's book
creators:
4 results
1. Jansby, Berit
2. Scott, Wendy
3. Ytreberg, Lisbeth
4. Straume, Berit
year:
1999
publisher:
Aschehoug
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_2010011400068_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ee2f4d597d2424300ab2fd8d7cf30630

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.