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.

ParameterRequirementJSON typeDescription
qrequiredstringFree-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
media_typeoptionalunionRestrict 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.
languageoptionalunionLanguage 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.
countyoptionalunionNorwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
year_fromoptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
year_tooptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
digital_onlyoptionalbooleanOnly items that have been digitized.
sortoptionalunionOne of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
pageoptionalintegerZero-based page index.
sizeoptionalintegerResults per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).
limitoptionalintegerGateway page size; default 25, maximum 100.
offsetoptionalintegerNumber 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.

Type: string. Free-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
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.
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.
Type: string. Norwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: yes/no. Only items that have been digitized.
Type: string. One of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
Type: integer. Zero-based page index.
Type: integer. Results per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).

Result

Source: National Library of Norway. Retrieved 2026-10-02T19:29:14Z in 0.629 seconds.

total:
37971
page:
0
size:
10
items:

10 results

  1. id:
    48634034df80e6ce8ee319739dd51524
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016050448115
    title:
    The Oil market as an oligopoly
    creators:

    5 results

    1. Hoel, Michael
    2. Berger, Kjell
    3. Holden, Steinar
    4. Olsen, Øystein
    5. Statistisk sentralbyrå
    year:
    1988
    publisher:
    Central Bureau of Statistics
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    1 results

    1. eng
    county:
    not reported by source
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    yes
    license:
    publicdomain
    viewability:
    ALL
    access_allowed_from:
    EVERYWHERE
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016050448115_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/48634034df80e6ce8ee319739dd51524
  2. id:
    e0983a4b4142e77be8e730d7a65065b5
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680106_005
    title:
    Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2005 Vol. 17 Nr. 4
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Birkebeinerrittet
    2. Birkebeinerrennet
    year:
    2005
    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_2026022680106_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/e0983a4b4142e77be8e730d7a65065b5
  3. id:
    8365a683dfddbeb9ea5c71b0e39b4fb5
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680105_008
    title:
    Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2006 Vol. 18 Nr. B
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Birkebeinerrittet
    2. Birkebeinerrennet
    year:
    2006
    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_2026022680105_008_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/8365a683dfddbeb9ea5c71b0e39b4fb5
  4. id:
    90b95656bc274adb1cc703aa75e6bcef
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024111480005_004
    title:
    Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2009 Vol. 21 Nr. 8
    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_2024111480005_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/90b95656bc274adb1cc703aa75e6bcef
  5. id:
    410e22fbe51244d80737a9d17ad7a56f
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680107_004
    title:
    Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2004 Vol. 14 Nr. 4
    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_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/410e22fbe51244d80737a9d17ad7a56f
  6. id:
    14e25740202a28cf464836a66ce53f60
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024071980003_007
    title:
    Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2007 Vol. 19 Nr. 5b
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Birkebeinerrittet
    2. Birkebeinerrennet
    year:
    2007
    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_2024071980003_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/14e25740202a28cf464836a66ce53f60
  7. 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
  8. id:
    c8ec30b1ab6ccab3c3751c0b98591efc
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024042580046_001
    title:
    Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2008 Vol. 20 Nr. 1b
    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_2024042580046_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/c8ec30b1ab6ccab3c3751c0b98591efc
  9. id:
    9c159d060b7ede2a598ff1b8b3d2b915
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680108_002
    title:
    Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2003 Vol. 15 Nr. 2
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Birkebeinerrittet
    2. Birkebeinerrennet
    year:
    2003
    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_2026022680108_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/9c159d060b7ede2a598ff1b8b3d2b915
  10. id:
    23abef20c15c9b98d06b337db50144a9
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024071980003_002
    title:
    Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2007 Vol. 19 Nr. 1b
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Birkebeinerrittet
    2. Birkebeinerrennet
    year:
    2007
    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_2024071980003_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/23abef20c15c9b98d06b337db50144a9
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
10
has_more_results:
yes
truncated:
yes
next_offset:
10
Will you use the result in generated code?

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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

  1. Replace the placeholders in the HTML GET template; remove optional parameters you do not need.
  2. Check types, units, limits and ID formats in the parameter table.
  3. 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.