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 2026-09-25T10:18:58Z in 0.281 seconds.

total:

14155

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
2a939b0b95f35354ceda4e1c0d88f084
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009010600103
title:
Stein på stein : L.A. Lund AS 1897-1997
creators:
1 results
1. Sørheim, Aashild
year:
1997
publisher:
L.A. Lund
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_2009010600103_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2a939b0b95f35354ceda4e1c0d88f084
id:
dc0022cf922d7c3521fee70f126f463d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025022180028_003
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2011 Vol. 22 Nr. 7
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2011
publisher:
Sport media
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_2025022180028_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/dc0022cf922d7c3521fee70f126f463d
id:
b752483b893751c7f897859e9dec5812
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024042580045_006
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2008 Vol. 20 Nr. 6
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2008
publisher:
Sport media
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_2024042580045_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b752483b893751c7f897859e9dec5812
id:
1237990d6eb45a10d7f18eea1644023a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680107_002
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2004 Vol. 14 Nr. 2
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2004
publisher:
Sport media
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_2026022680107_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1237990d6eb45a10d7f18eea1644023a
id:
4c8e3521866c58a0915e096142ae25e4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024111480006_001
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2009 Vol. 21 Nr. 1b
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2009
publisher:
Sport media
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_2024111480006_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4c8e3521866c58a0915e096142ae25e4
id:
4ce52d74b30b978f8bf302201f4da2a7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2026051306072
title:
The tradition of Hermes : the Egyptian priestly figure as a teacher of hellenized wisdom
creators:
1 results
1. Bull, Christian
year:
2014
publisher:
University of Bergen
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2026051306072_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4ce52d74b30b978f8bf302201f4da2a7
id:
f50da471ad535b03d937d641cf9ac633
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021112583349_001
title:
Moderne transport (Oslo : 1989-) : logistikk i praksis. 2012 Vol. 45 Nr. 2
creators:
1 results
1. Bjørgu AS
year:
2012
publisher:
Bjørgu AS
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_2021112583349_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f50da471ad535b03d937d641cf9ac633
id:
a0fd66f56ddb0269e5a539dab7cac14b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022021780031_001
title:
Moderne transport (Oslo : 1989-) : logistikk i praksis. 2002 Vol. 34 Nr. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Bjørgu AS
year:
2002
publisher:
Bjørgu AS
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_2022021780031_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a0fd66f56ddb0269e5a539dab7cac14b
id:
1acf679a1baeba1407665e72a1ee33a0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022022480005_007
title:
Moderne transport (Oslo : 1989-) : logistikk i praksis. 2008 Vol. 41 Nr. 7
creators:
1 results
1. Bjørgu AS
year:
2008
publisher:
Bjørgu AS
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_2022022480005_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1acf679a1baeba1407665e72a1ee33a0
id:
bd251b174873f453282b6cf432c274d0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022022480005_008
title:
Moderne transport (Oslo : 1989-) : logistikk i praksis. 2008 Vol. 41 Nr. 8
creators:
1 results
1. Bjørgu AS
year:
2008
publisher:
Bjørgu AS
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_2022022480005_008_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bd251b174873f453282b6cf432c274d0

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.