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 2026-09-28T08:43:58Z in 0.308 seconds.

total:

55193

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
558815db25b73262c6dfc64982e26b00
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014060406024
title:
Asta Nørregaard : en livshistorie
creators:
2 results
1. Wichstrøm, Anne
2. Nørregaard, Asta
year:
2011
publisher:
Pax
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_2014060406024_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/558815db25b73262c6dfc64982e26b00
id:
51b0f833c268a8977c7cff266c5fc067
urn:
not reported by source
title:
To malerinner : Helene Schjerfbeck (1862-1946, finsk), Asta Nørregaard (1853-1933, norsk) : Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk, Modum, 23. mai - 30. september 1998
creators:
5 results
1. Schjerfbeck, Helene Modum Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk 1998 Utstilling
2. Holger, Lena
3. Steinsvik, Tone Sinding
4. Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk (modum)
5. Lange, Marit
year:
1998
publisher:
Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nor
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/51b0f833c268a8977c7cff266c5fc067
id:
88701f56e8c4a84f6cb8c10c6cd2af78
urn:
not reported by source
title:
To malerinner : Helene Schjerfbeck (1862-1946, finsk), Asta Nørregaard (1853-1933, norsk) : Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk, Modum, 23. mai - 30. september 1998
creators:
5 results
1. Schjerfbeck, Helene Modum Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk 1998 Utstilling
2. Holger, Lena
3. Steinsvik, Tone Sinding
4. Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk (modum)
5. Lange, Marit
year:
1998
publisher:
Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nor
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/88701f56e8c4a84f6cb8c10c6cd2af78
id:
51295b700b59851e2d4d4b22d27f1e08
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019093081147_001
title:
Puls (Puls, Stiftelsen : 1984-1996). 1995 Nr. 14
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1995
publisher:
Musikkavisen a.s.
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2019093081147_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/51295b700b59851e2d4d4b22d27f1e08
id:
c91693a91a079c642190c428e9a0988a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019093081077_001
title:
Puls (Puls, Stiftelsen : 1978-1996). 1993 Nr. 4
creators:
2 results
1. Rock media
2. Puls, Stiftelsen
year:
1993
publisher:
Musikkavisen a.s.
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2019093081077_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c91693a91a079c642190c428e9a0988a
id:
0ec8b4fe4c5c12f9ce0cce44fb808002
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019093081144_001
title:
Puls (Puls, Stiftelsen : 1984-1996). 1995 Nr. 11
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1995
publisher:
Musikkavisen a.s.
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2019093081144_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0ec8b4fe4c5c12f9ce0cce44fb808002
id:
4ccfc1ed085244c027063629e92589a6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019093081146_001
title:
Puls (Puls, Stiftelsen : 1984-1996). 1995 Nr. 13
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1995
publisher:
Musikkavisen a.s.
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2019093081146_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4ccfc1ed085244c027063629e92589a6
id:
e3cc766f4573f6bc54412801f93435b6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019093081151_001
title:
Puls (Puls, Stiftelsen : 1984-1996). 1995 Nr. 17
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1995
publisher:
Musikkavisen a.s.
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2019093081151_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e3cc766f4573f6bc54412801f93435b6
id:
1d8f5c0646e69304c501d9c40415699a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019093081153_001
title:
Puls (Puls, Stiftelsen : 1984-1996). 1995 Nr. 19
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1995
publisher:
Musikkavisen a.s.
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2019093081153_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1d8f5c0646e69304c501d9c40415699a
id:
7c37600546e90e2d18d696005046a7cf
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019093081150_001
title:
Puls (Puls, Stiftelsen : 1984-1996). 1995 Nr. 16
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1995
publisher:
Musikkavisen a.s.
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2019093081150_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7c37600546e90e2d18d696005046a7cf

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.