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 2026-09-28T09:06:53Z in 0.251 seconds.

total:
1921129
page:
0
size:
10
items:

10 results

  1. id:
    ecc3cfdb05cf1abfa1de509ab0109c2b
    urn:
    not reported by source
    title:
    Vi skaper trygghet og tillit
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Christiansen, Geir
    2. Odvold, Tone
    year:
    2020
    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/ecc3cfdb05cf1abfa1de509ab0109c2b
  2. id:
    1948176ac8ac69873dfbaba0f6b777f9
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022051080126_001
    title:
    Årsrapport. 2009
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Otto-huset, Stiftelsen
    year:
    2009
    publisher:
    Stiftelsen Otto-huset
    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_2022051080126_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/1948176ac8ac69873dfbaba0f6b777f9
  3. id:
    75ce6a633de027ab10a03e13909b7d3a
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021062148579
    title:
    Konge på MC
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Berget, Halvard
    year:
    2021
    publisher:
    [MC-huset Nydal AS]
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    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_digibok_2021062148579_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/75ce6a633de027ab10a03e13909b7d3a
  4. id:
    995264202061b530fd9baebefc0f3aec
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018082748070
    title:
    Slik vedlikeholder du huset
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Nøsterud, Geir
    year:
    2013
    publisher:
    Bonnier Publications International
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    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_digibok_2018082748070_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/995264202061b530fd9baebefc0f3aec
  5. id:
    14646af0ef318ea335fc054e026f660d
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020091707654
    title:
    Huset
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Horst, Jørn Lier
    2. Tothammer, Lars
    year:
    2016
    publisher:
    Gyldendal undervisning
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    1 results

    1. nno
    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_2020091707654_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/14646af0ef318ea335fc054e026f660d
  6. id:
    47b6a85040e851ceb230acb2fb4d500d
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009012104013
    title:
    Oluf Rasmussen AS, 100 år : 1902-2002
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Oluf Rasmussen AS
    year:
    2002
    publisher:
    [Oluf Rasmussens forl.]
    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_2009012104013_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/47b6a85040e851ceb230acb2fb4d500d
  7. id:
    2f22d781256dc6b03859aba3f514fb21
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006121401018
    title:
    Huset Buddenbrook. 2
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Mann, Thomas
    2. Kjær, Margrethe
    year:
    1930
    publisher:
    Gyldendal
    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_2006121401018_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/2f22d781256dc6b03859aba3f514fb21
  8. id:
    c88b08e413b5d7c0a1c9cd242ec422ac
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006120700118
    title:
    Huset Buddenbrook. 1
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Mann, Thomas
    2. Kjær, Margrethe
    year:
    1929
    publisher:
    Gyldendal
    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_2006120700118_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/c88b08e413b5d7c0a1c9cd242ec422ac
  9. id:
    d6ebd3d996c67dfa3c8df0061920a03c
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017052307168
    title:
    Huset Buddenbrook
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Mann, Thomas
    2. Kjær, Margrethe
    year:
    1980
    publisher:
    Gyldendal
    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_2017052307168_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/d6ebd3d996c67dfa3c8df0061920a03c
  10. id:
    681b09b832b0da82fe20aad4f7125ad2
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006121400017
    title:
    Huset Buddenbrook. 3
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Mann, Thomas
    2. Kjær, Margrethe
    year:
    1930
    publisher:
    Gyldendal
    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_2006121400017_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/681b09b832b0da82fe20aad4f7125ad2
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
10
has_more_results:
yes
truncated:
yes
next_offset:
10
Will you use the result in generated code?

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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.