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 2026-09-25T15:27:09Z in 0.001 seconds.

total:

541363

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
d3226b8c7dbb3bd4478fcdaefdc9a6d6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_a178ba7a-675d-4047-a546-c4d67652e192
title:
Årsrapport (online). 2021
creators:
1 results
1. Sandnes Pro-service
year:
2021
publisher:
Sandnes Pro-service
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_a178ba7a-675d-4047-a546-c4d67652e192_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d3226b8c7dbb3bd4478fcdaefdc9a6d6
id:
d4a9766e8a6d43d39def91bbea53e42c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023050848084
title:
Eystein Sandnes
creators:
2 results
1. Linder, Mats
2. King, Adam
year:
2022
publisher:
Papiret forlag
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_2023050848084_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d4a9766e8a6d43d39def91bbea53e42c
id:
ac08f6753f737bc6412127a12f9c5448
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681151_001
title:
Årbok (Sandnes historielag). 2017 20
creators:
1 results
1. Sandnes historielag
year:
2017
publisher:
Sandnes historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681151_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ac08f6753f737bc6412127a12f9c5448
id:
7e05a981dea19c15b346b60129cbb2b0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681163_001
title:
Årbok (Sandnes historielag). 2016 19
creators:
1 results
1. Sandnes historielag
year:
2016
publisher:
Sandnes historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681163_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7e05a981dea19c15b346b60129cbb2b0
id:
2b014da8e6d2ca0f21313c807bef3a58
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681161_001
title:
Årbok (Sandnes historielag). 2015 18
creators:
1 results
1. Sandnes historielag
year:
2015
publisher:
Sandnes historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681161_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2b014da8e6d2ca0f21313c807bef3a58
id:
f704730b274dc0f44dee19737b92daea
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681157_001
title:
Årbok (Sandnes historielag). 2013 16
creators:
1 results
1. Sandnes historielag
year:
2013
publisher:
Sandnes historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681157_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f704730b274dc0f44dee19737b92daea
id:
b568af013601dbb5d276a716044da6d3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681159_001
title:
Årbok (Sandnes historielag). 2014 17
creators:
1 results
1. Sandnes historielag
year:
2014
publisher:
Sandnes historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018111681159_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b568af013601dbb5d276a716044da6d3
id:
5363dc1e7054f5d4fc81c6a51963bf6b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023091583061_001
title:
Årbok (Sandnes historielag). 2021 24
creators:
1 results
1. Sandnes historielag
year:
2021
publisher:
Sandnes historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023091583061_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5363dc1e7054f5d4fc81c6a51963bf6b
id:
5dc40b928d046cade6260ed8ebff1bd2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_00dc8537-bc5e-493f-88ae-a75e91fc3c22
title:
Årbok (Sandnes historielag). 2024 27
creators:
1 results
1. Sandnes historielag
year:
2024
publisher:
Sandnes historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. 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_plikttidsskrift_00dc8537-bc5e-493f-88ae-a75e91fc3c22_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5dc40b928d046cade6260ed8ebff1bd2
id:
b1b44ae66b7594e4b383b1d890a9f857
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023091583059_001
title:
Årbok (Sandnes historielag). 2019 22
creators:
1 results
1. Sandnes historielag
year:
2019
publisher:
Sandnes historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023091583059_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b1b44ae66b7594e4b383b1d890a9f857

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.