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 2026-09-25T19:00:00Z in 0.234 seconds.

total:

120563

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
e64e1bdaab4dffcc6f347f837ac1853c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008091600029
title:
Ute
creators:
1 results
1. Bye, Anders
year:
1998
publisher:
Pax
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
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_digibok_2008091600029_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e64e1bdaab4dffcc6f347f837ac1853c
id:
c452d7fde3d61cac07d6faf72a1f1b5c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017082848154
title:
A/S Norsk dentaldepot gjennom 75 år, 1903-1978
creators:
2 results
1. Lønnå, Finn
2. Norsk dental depot
year:
1978
publisher:
NDD
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
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_digibok_2017082848154_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c452d7fde3d61cac07d6faf72a1f1b5c
id:
a3899ed50c856a99d1a23de1d0a3ad52
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011090606104
title:
Ute av verden
creators:
1 results
1. Knausgård, Karl Ove
year:
2005
publisher:
Den norske bokklubben
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
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_digibok_2011090606104_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a3899ed50c856a99d1a23de1d0a3ad52
id:
facab33f6528de1f9618b2cf9206d4c2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022030780038_001
title:
Kvinner hjemme og ute. 1981 Vol. 32 Nr. 1
creators:
2 results
1. Andelslaget Kvinner
2. Norsk kvinneforbund
year:
1981
publisher:
Andelslaget
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_2022030780038_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/facab33f6528de1f9618b2cf9206d4c2
id:
a22be1d11248714d788214f5a08123bc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022030780034_008
title:
Kvinner hjemme og ute. 1968 Vol. 19 Nr. 8
creators:
2 results
1. Andelslaget Kvinner
2. Norsk kvinneforbund
year:
1968
publisher:
Andelslaget
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_2022030780034_008_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a22be1d11248714d788214f5a08123bc
id:
78178a2ab5fa7a8af87051afd2d56ef3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014061906123
title:
Om mennesker, maskiner og muligheter- : Dias AS jubileumsbok
creators:
1 results
1. Dias AS
year:
2011
publisher:
Dias
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_2014061906123_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/78178a2ab5fa7a8af87051afd2d56ef3
id:
158be69620e9bfac92529b18d5ba3390
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021032548698
title:
Hjemme og ute : lesebok. 3
creators:
2 results
1. Munch, Mathilde
2. Svensen, Sven
year:
1933
publisher:
Steen
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
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_digibok_2021032548698_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/158be69620e9bfac92529b18d5ba3390
id:
dc0c4d081941b957f4fc72c9718ef6c5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010060806032
title:
Hjemme og ute : lesebok. 3
creators:
2 results
1. Munch, Mathilde
2. Svensen, Sven
year:
1928
publisher:
Steenske Forlag
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
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_digibok_2010060806032_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/dc0c4d081941b957f4fc72c9718ef6c5
id:
bc50b63ad8cad2d1792e7bae1a687006
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021091548031
title:
Ute av verden : roman
creators:
1 results
1. Knausgård, Karl Ove
year:
2015
publisher:
Tiden
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_2021091548031_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bc50b63ad8cad2d1792e7bae1a687006
id:
7883aedfd78c9ae03857c7af18bbc2ca
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012052905085
title:
Ute av verden : roman
creators:
1 results
1. Knausgård, Karl Ove
year:
2006
publisher:
Tiden
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_2012052905085_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7883aedfd78c9ae03857c7af18bbc2ca

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.