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 2026-09-26T11:13:45Z in 0.212 seconds.

total:

338

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
8c340bb2be2931bdc041a19affb4421c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sulaposten_null_null_20170427_71_16_1
title:
Sulaposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20170427
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Nynorsk
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_sulaposten_null_null_20170427_71_16_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8c340bb2be2931bdc041a19affb4421c
id:
0d88d189ac997c442864437649408f66
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sulaposten_null_null_20200917_0_36_1
title:
Sulaposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20200917
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Nynorsk
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_sulaposten_null_null_20200917_0_36_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0d88d189ac997c442864437649408f66
id:
0243422419fdb82ca7400591bfe63d67
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_nyttiuka_null_null_20190619_34_24_1
title:
Nytt i Uka
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20190619
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_nyttiuka_null_null_20190619_34_24_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0243422419fdb82ca7400591bfe63d67
id:
afab9ec9def417935a2b6129fc1cedcd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sulaposten_null_null_20180329_1_13_1
title:
Sulaposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20180329
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Nynorsk
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_sulaposten_null_null_20180329_1_13_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/afab9ec9def417935a2b6129fc1cedcd
id:
62691fa7584f2185d966e146f89fd92d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sulaposten_null_null_20200430_0_17_1
title:
Sulaposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20200430
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Nynorsk
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_sulaposten_null_null_20200430_0_17_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/62691fa7584f2185d966e146f89fd92d
id:
723c66fb2503d26f8c65f0c69ab5db6c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bergensarbeiderblad_null_null_19491216_23_292_1
title:
Bergens Arbeiderblad (1927-41, 1945-92)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19491216
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
No results.
county:
Vestland
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_bergensarbeiderblad_null_null_19491216_23_292_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/723c66fb2503d26f8c65f0c69ab5db6c
id:
e9ea3ef37341d1b936c34cad595cfbbb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sunnmorsposten_null_null_20161223_134_300_1
title:
Sunnmørsposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20161223
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_sunnmorsposten_null_null_20161223_134_300_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e9ea3ef37341d1b936c34cad595cfbbb
id:
f4b0e41eb3bed59c954e3943f65705e7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sunnmorsposten_null_null_20170317_134_65_1
title:
Sunnmørsposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20170317
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_sunnmorsposten_null_null_20170317_134_65_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f4b0e41eb3bed59c954e3943f65705e7
id:
f858dfef718a85c13cf1b429bcc33d59
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sulaposten_null_null_20210114_0_2_1
title:
Sulaposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20210114
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Nynorsk
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_sulaposten_null_null_20210114_0_2_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f858dfef718a85c13cf1b429bcc33d59
id:
d2480e07d39d97a8d54a5b2a548f8f98
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_nyttiuka_null_null_20191218_34_50_1
title:
Nytt i Uka
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20191218
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_nyttiuka_null_null_20191218_34_50_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d2480e07d39d97a8d54a5b2a548f8f98

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.