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 2026-09-27T13:04:24Z in 0.192 seconds.

total:

2671

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
2315bf592afddde4197ef965cb46a997
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_steinkjeravisa_null_null_19850618_2_47_1
title:
Steinkjer-Avisa
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19850618
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_steinkjeravisa_null_null_19850618_2_47_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2315bf592afddde4197ef965cb46a997
id:
b4188cfc6bf7396913b024ba40515754
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_romsdalsposten_null_null_19790223_104_46_1
title:
Romsdalsposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19790223
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:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_romsdalsposten_null_null_19790223_104_46_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b4188cfc6bf7396913b024ba40515754
id:
d892ea2e9d40563a8ec74a22ff912c2c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025021183081_001
title:
Steinkjer-Saga : kultur- og lokalhistorisk magasin for Steinkjer. 2024 Vol. 34 Nr. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Foreningen Gamle Steinkjer
year:
2024
publisher:
Foreningen Gamle Steinkjer.
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_2025021183081_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d892ea2e9d40563a8ec74a22ff912c2c
id:
87119e35f7d0f20e3f4a30ebde5907e3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_nordlandsposten_null_null_19790221_117_44_1
title:
Nordlandsposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19790221
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Nordland
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_digavis_nordlandsposten_null_null_19790221_117_44_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/87119e35f7d0f20e3f4a30ebde5907e3
id:
35211f66c52e578e3ac847f6b8126c5c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_varingen_null_null_19820305_37_18_1
title:
Varingen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19820305
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Akershus
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_digavis_varingen_null_null_19820305_37_18_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/35211f66c52e578e3ac847f6b8126c5c
id:
e1e22e55d172bd870cd9ef91771ef8f6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sunnmoerearbeideravis_null_null_19780415_55_86_1
title:
Sunnmøre Arbeideravis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19780415
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_sunnmoerearbeideravis_null_null_19780415_55_86_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e1e22e55d172bd870cd9ef91771ef8f6
id:
d07f0f3fea75c3bc4519fe07acaee9ce
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_steinkjeravisa_null_null_19840817_1_4_1
title:
Steinkjer-Avisa
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19840817
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_steinkjeravisa_null_null_19840817_1_4_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d07f0f3fea75c3bc4519fe07acaee9ce
id:
b4ab19cdfa955c700c4d4acac87d652f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_tronderavisa_null_null_19800307_0_57_1
title:
Trønder-Avisa
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19800307
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_tronderavisa_null_null_19800307_0_57_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b4ab19cdfa955c700c4d4acac87d652f
id:
7b4827a879f563fb83464a560e1f4785
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_helgelandsblad_null_null_19830630_80_75_1
title:
Helgelands Blad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19830630
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Nordland
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_digavis_helgelandsblad_null_null_19830630_80_75_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7b4827a879f563fb83464a560e1f4785
id:
7a32bbde77485ae09874f3914df2863b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_tronderavisa_null_null_19841212_0_289_1
title:
Trønder-Avisa
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19841212
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_tronderavisa_null_null_19841212_0_289_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7a32bbde77485ae09874f3914df2863b

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.