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 2026-09-25T21:45:11Z in 0.215 seconds.

total:
135801
page:
0
size:
10
items:

10 results

  1. id:
    7f9ac5d9358f52042a067e1ff865dd1c
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009030404153
    title:
    Kompaniet : Vida
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Braathen, Erik
    year:
    1997
    publisher:
    Våpenlitteratur
    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_2009030404153_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/7f9ac5d9358f52042a067e1ff865dd1c
  2. id:
    c0dea1cb7049c68d991dc5773447a278
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008090100137
    title:
    Kompaniet : Demon ved morgengry
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Braathen, Erik
    year:
    1999
    publisher:
    Våpenlitteratur
    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_2008090100137_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/c0dea1cb7049c68d991dc5773447a278
  3. id:
    4edc614defccc33a1e54da9268e347aa
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000057751
    title:
    Venninnene på Nordiska Kompaniet
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Kvarnström-Jones, Ruth
    2. Garten, Veronica
    year:
    2025
    publisher:
    Aschehoug
    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_pliktmonografi_000057751_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/4edc614defccc33a1e54da9268e347aa
  4. id:
    ac5e94e4b2f6aaeed5dd607a38a88956
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000045365
    title:
    Venninnene på Nordiska Kompaniet
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Kvarnström-Jones, Ruth
    2. Garten, Veronica
    year:
    2025
    publisher:
    Aschehoug
    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_pliktmonografi_000045365_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/ac5e94e4b2f6aaeed5dd607a38a88956
  5. id:
    0548c9ef4ed485c874f9d80f0bf7e1e5
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2007092504034
    title:
    Lær deg regnearket : as-easy-as-
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Gaarder, Einar
    year:
    1991
    publisher:
    NKI
    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_2007092504034_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/0548c9ef4ed485c874f9d80f0bf7e1e5
  6. id:
    7e8b2ae99c92c319b73e0047ab054a4f
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021110848085
    title:
    Kompaniet av dikta sjeler : roman
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Marasco, Wanda
    2. Sørsdal, Kristin
    year:
    2019
    publisher:
    Samlaget
    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_2021110848085_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/7e8b2ae99c92c319b73e0047ab054a4f
  7. id:
    90a287f1537953fc87a01e0fa8a16b7d
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000068971
    title:
    The Logical Song ; As It Is/As It Turns Out ; jegmegduvi
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2020
    publisher:
    DanseFOT, Nagelhus Schia Productions
    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_pliktmonografi_000068971_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/90a287f1537953fc87a01e0fa8a16b7d
  8. id:
    a71a07f007db82c48997f8166b2fba5b
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014080808011
    title:
    Forslag til Exercerreglement for Infanteriet. 1ste og 2det Afsnit : Rekrutskolen og Kompaniet
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    1870
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    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_digibok_2014080808011_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/a71a07f007db82c48997f8166b2fba5b
  9. id:
    1a5d0b8649f967cf47981e7104926f1c
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011081006034
    title:
    Erfaring - vår framtid : AS Bolaks 1975-2010
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Vangsnes, Ella Marie Brekke
    2. Bolaks AS
    year:
    2010
    publisher:
    AS Bolaks
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    1 results

    1. nno
    county:
    Vestland
    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_2011081006034_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/1a5d0b8649f967cf47981e7104926f1c
  10. id:
    11356cad8b2f83937a793156f62cde46
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012112638057
    title:
    Vognmand : A. Vinje 1889, Vinjes transport AS 2010
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Vinje, Arne O.
    year:
    2010
    publisher:
    [Vinjes transport 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_2012112638057_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/11356cad8b2f83937a793156f62cde46
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
10
has_more_results:
yes
truncated:
yes
next_offset:
10
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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.