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 2026-09-26T13:31:46Z in 0.200 seconds.

total:

51485

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
c71125517c9e553789f11dc43bfb5bf0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022101948035
title:
Homér og Kanari
creators:
3 results
1. Windheim, Hilde
2. Mrdalj, Darko
3. Sagåsen, Øyvind
year:
2013
publisher:
Comino
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_2022101948035_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c71125517c9e553789f11dc43bfb5bf0
id:
1db5ceb9a48b2cc8038d6ad8e4d4128f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2026072748126
title:
/Hummer og kanari : skriveverkstedet ved Åsane folkehøgskole 2025/2026
creators:
2 results
1. Rørsla Forlag
2. Åsane Folkehøgskole
year:
2026
publisher:
Rørsla Forlag - Åsane Folkehøgskole
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_2026072748126_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1db5ceb9a48b2cc8038d6ad8e4d4128f
id:
b26136266d4c483846f1f389a8f12beb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011070706047
title:
Humor og kanari
creators:
1 results
1. Thorsen, Øyvind
year:
2004
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_2011070706047_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b26136266d4c483846f1f389a8f12beb
id:
f5c7ade837147060a6d0540326f1f324
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2019031105070
title:
Dikt og skriblerier om hummer og kanari : fra 1960-årene til høsten 2015
creators:
1 results
1. Krogh, Egil
year:
2015
publisher:
SkyWay forl.
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_2019031105070_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f5c7ade837147060a6d0540326f1f324
id:
89d506b3feb45cd41e212b8864fb81ee
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021100648130
title:
Vindunderlig! : hummer og kanari fra vinverdenen
creators:
1 results
1. Mahé de Berdouaré, Nicolas
year:
2018
publisher:
[Forlaget Flasken]
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_2021100648130_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/89d506b3feb45cd41e212b8864fb81ee
id:
f0c27f31c6e9ff22eb67e2d128145351
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018042448511
title:
Jammer og kanari : en samling drops- og tigerdikt
creators:
2 results
1. Oma, Karen Marie
2. Ørdal, Stina Langlo
year:
2010
publisher:
Publica
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_2018042448511_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f0c27f31c6e9ff22eb67e2d128145351
id:
c9b33a0aee9d8d3e0ed3ac2090496877
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020112448546
title:
Lise Schønberg : Hummer og kanari! : smykker og objekter i 50 år = Bits and Bobs and Lobster! : 50 Years of Jewellery Art
creators:
7 results
1. Falch, Frank
2. Sørlandets kunstmuseum
3. Lise Schønberg: Hummer og kanari! Smykker og objekter i 50 år (utstilling)
4. Schønberg, Lise
5. Mortensen, Karl Olav Segrov
6. Moi, Arlyne
7. Kroneberg, Else-Brit
year:
2018
publisher:
Sørlandets kunstmuseum
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020112448546_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c9b33a0aee9d8d3e0ed3ac2090496877
id:
c7ffd6d5643e03ba513946a7134eddda
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024071980003_006
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2007 Vol. 19 Nr. 5
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2007
publisher:
Sport 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_2024071980003_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c7ffd6d5643e03ba513946a7134eddda
id:
af7f497a5211f08967be9ee7f53b3631
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680105_006
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2006 Vol. 18 Nr. 5
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2006
publisher:
Sport 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_2026022680105_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/af7f497a5211f08967be9ee7f53b3631
id:
e1c82409eb9e99b758514598b5b3b57d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024071980003_009
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2007 Vol. 19 Nr. 6b
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2007
publisher:
Sport 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_2024071980003_009_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e1c82409eb9e99b758514598b5b3b57d

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.