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 2026-09-26T23:22:17Z in 0.268 seconds.

total:

17373

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
5869d4408a5751551bfbdd215f1db090
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021091348545
title:
Molde byleksikon
creators:
2 results
1. Kvernberg, Anders
2. Romsdal sogelag
year:
2021
publisher:
Romsdal sogelag
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_2021091348545_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5869d4408a5751551bfbdd215f1db090
id:
fdcf8d2080c62901f92e48fcc355db83
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19981117_72_126_1
title:
Fylket (Molde: 1961-)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19981117
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19981117_72_126_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fdcf8d2080c62901f92e48fcc355db83
id:
c8b0bd0f6121b8858529eecda2649a1b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19931016_67_109_1
title:
Fylket (Molde: 1961-)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19931016
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19931016_67_109_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c8b0bd0f6121b8858529eecda2649a1b
id:
3144ece5d6461e6c7c7d0212a067c3bc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19861030_1_122_1
title:
Fylket (Molde: 1961-)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19861030
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19861030_1_122_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3144ece5d6461e6c7c7d0212a067c3bc
id:
a3a8a364af7f2ef24d0cddd2eb7e46aa
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19961231_70_141_1
title:
Fylket (Molde: 1961-)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19961231
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19961231_70_141_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a3a8a364af7f2ef24d0cddd2eb7e46aa
id:
646327830d1d2d02053060a409f05dbb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19961221_70_139_1
title:
Fylket (Molde: 1961-)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19961221
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_digavis_fylketmolde_null_null_19961221_70_139_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/646327830d1d2d02053060a409f05dbb
id:
56e140be1574b80d857c2d1f970d6f89
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025031080112_003
title:
Avisa Romsdal : Molde, Vestnes, Aukra, Midsund, Sandøy, Fræna, Eide, Averøy, Gjemnes, Nesset, Rauma. 2012 Nr. 15
creators:
1 results
1. Avisa Romsdal
year:
2012
publisher:
Avisa Romsdal
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_2025031080112_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/56e140be1574b80d857c2d1f970d6f89
id:
b2628d18b902b499c91818c662de6d21
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011071308027
title:
Bygdebok for Nesjestranda : gards- og slektshistorie for Vågsetra, gnr. 112 ...
creators:
3 results
1. Solemdal, Arnold
2. Veøy helselag
3. Nesjestranda bygdeboknemnd
year:
1995
publisher:
Veøy helselag
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_2011071308027_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b2628d18b902b499c91818c662de6d21
id:
4b847f1f3cb5608e1c7d08fdeb0b29c0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010041206115
title:
Sammen om bedre kollektivtransport : første felles tiltaksplan for utvikling av kollektivtransporten i Ålesund og Giske
creators:
1 results
1. Ohr, Frode
year:
1999
publisher:
Møreforsking, Molde
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_2010041206115_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4b847f1f3cb5608e1c7d08fdeb0b29c0
id:
d682294be8c5bf353e860698a195c3ef
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023112080057_003
title:
Trafikanten (Hordaland) : Trygg trafikk-avisa : Hordaland. oktober 2005 Vol. 18 Nr. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Trygg trafikk Hordaland
year:
2005
publisher:
Info-Nor
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_2023112080057_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d682294be8c5bf353e860698a195c3ef

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.