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 2026-09-25T20:54:00Z in 0.272 seconds.

total:

1467728

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
eb7287e7a72bef72e11c5b1d74173416
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008111700029
title:
Mannskoret KK 1901-2001 : en kulturinstitusjon på Hadeland gjennom 100 år
creators:
2 results
1. Hvattum, Harald
2. Mannskoret KK
year:
2001
publisher:
Koret
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_2008111700029_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/eb7287e7a72bef72e11c5b1d74173416
id:
8dae6dd332ea623fb8261812e41f7478
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022082383320_001
title:
KK julen : spesialblad fra KK. 2021
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2021
publisher:
Aller media
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_digitidsskrift_2022082383320_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8dae6dd332ea623fb8261812e41f7478
id:
f38f1aeab61412f531c3614a1f5268cd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024010983013_001
title:
KK julen : spesialblad fra KK. 2023
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2023
publisher:
Aller media
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_digitidsskrift_2024010983013_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f38f1aeab61412f531c3614a1f5268cd
id:
ff9de8c9e0d34d543b630bb411f80520
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023012083342_001
title:
KK julen : spesialblad fra KK. 2022
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2022
publisher:
Aller media
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_digitidsskrift_2023012083342_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ff9de8c9e0d34d543b630bb411f80520
id:
97158736b6e9b7c7f9ad4818025e9f55
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026011683072_001
title:
KK julen : spesialblad fra KK. 2025
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Aller media
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_digitidsskrift_2026011683072_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/97158736b6e9b7c7f9ad4818025e9f55
id:
0cd0d6abd93e467c7b94b157463996c7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025011583046_001
title:
KK julen : spesialblad fra KK. 2024
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2024
publisher:
Aller media
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_digitidsskrift_2025011583046_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0cd0d6abd93e467c7b94b157463996c7
id:
4d8397c4c160ad6905bab8b1825de5dd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026081883008_001
title:
KK strikk. 2026
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2026
publisher:
[Aller media]
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_digitidsskrift_2026081883008_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4d8397c4c160ad6905bab8b1825de5dd
id:
ca678eb26f47c71232665f0ea67570d6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_6f4231bf-23ad-4487-8476-5464043b6c2a
title:
KK (trykt utg.). 2026 Nr. 8 KK Living
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2026
publisher:
Aller media
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_6f4231bf-23ad-4487-8476-5464043b6c2a_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ca678eb26f47c71232665f0ea67570d6
id:
00c297e09abef222deffc4f8ac1d2d10
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024101083004_001
title:
KK (trykt utg.). 2024 Nr. 8 KK Strikk
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2024
publisher:
Aller media
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_digitidsskrift_2024101083004_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/00c297e09abef222deffc4f8ac1d2d10
id:
d345d328405f0cdef628dfd59702fb23
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025071183084_001
title:
KK (trykt utg.). 2025 Nr. 9 KK Strikk
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Aller media
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_digitidsskrift_2025071183084_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d345d328405f0cdef628dfd59702fb23

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.