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 2026-09-23T22:03:23Z in 0.231 seconds.

total:

72335

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
90340c6d7fb724238fd8380449bbbaa6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010010604009
title:
Evaluation of the Norwegian Education Trust Fund for Africa in the World Bank
creators:
2 results
1. Avenstrup, Roger
2. Finnconsult
year:
2003
publisher:
Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2010010604009_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/90340c6d7fb724238fd8380449bbbaa6
id:
b36d76312aff038cac6411932c1b5da8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023061680048_023
title:
Slekt og data : medlemsblad for DIS-Norge, slekt og data. 2014 Vol. 25 Nr. 3
creators:
3 results
1. DIS-Norge
2. DIS-Norge, slekt og data
3. Slekt og data
year:
2014
publisher:
DIS-Norge, slekt og data
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_2023061680048_023_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b36d76312aff038cac6411932c1b5da8
id:
b60140b65f98f12743384a733c11ca56
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009082400051
title:
Higher education in Norway
creators:
2 results
1. Fetveit, Anne-Marie
2. European Centre for Higher Education
year:
1991
publisher:
CEPES
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2009082400051_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b60140b65f98f12743384a733c11ca56
id:
1f3aefc6d182fd3638405b916d436b22
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009080501069
title:
Special education in a comparative perspective
creators:
2 results
1. Stangvik, Gunnar
2. Special Education at the Bottom Line. A Cross-Cultural Study of Special Education Practice (prosjekt)
year:
2002
publisher:
Finnmark University College, Education and Liberal Arts
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2009080501069_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1f3aefc6d182fd3638405b916d436b22
id:
9005918338f0812630a69dab58541f0d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024022280041_003
title:
Norwegian : inflight magazine. 2012 Vol. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Norwegian Air Shuttle
year:
2012
publisher:
Norwegian Air Shuttle
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2024022280041_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9005918338f0812630a69dab58541f0d
id:
d21ff134f91ee8583b6f76754e970eb1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015052608005
title:
Annual report 1995 for the Norwegian Programme for Higher Education and Research within the Action Programme for Eastern Europe
creators:
3 results
1. Handlingsprogrammet for Øst-Europa Utdannings- og forskningsprogrammet
2. Det Norske universitetsråd
3. Norges forskningsråd
year:
1995
publisher:
Norwegian Council of Universities
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015052608005_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d21ff134f91ee8583b6f76754e970eb1
id:
fa28290beb774b742fda1f964dbe4834
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009061204048
title:
Exploring the quality of special education : final report
creators:
2 results
1. Stangvik, Gunnar
2. Special Education at the Bottom Line. A Cross-Cultural Study of Special Education Practice (prosjekt)
year:
2002
publisher:
Finnmark University College, Education and Liberal Arts
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2009061204048_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fa28290beb774b742fda1f964dbe4834
id:
786191bafe10d0944e03e5c0982d98a5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024022280041_006
title:
Norwegian : inflight magazine. 2012 Vol. 6
creators:
1 results
1. Norwegian Air Shuttle
year:
2012
publisher:
Norwegian Air Shuttle
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2024022280041_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/786191bafe10d0944e03e5c0982d98a5
id:
93a49960a8380981f16829c967c241d4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024022280041_005
title:
Norwegian : inflight magazine. 2012 Vol. 5
creators:
1 results
1. Norwegian Air Shuttle
year:
2012
publisher:
Norwegian Air Shuttle
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2024022280041_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/93a49960a8380981f16829c967c241d4
id:
d9f97e05b9c249a45a66fd683258e00d
urn:
not reported by source
title:
MacNorsk : Norwegian education stack
creators:
1 results
1. Sanne, Signe Marie
year:
1990
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/d9f97e05b9c249a45a66fd683258e00d

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.