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 2026-09-26T21:44:22Z in 0.205 seconds.

total:

108271

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
d3df6724a1673fdc14fe46d970d73c09
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025050983009_001
title:
Askheimr : årbok for Askim historielag. 2024
creators:
1 results
1. Askim historielag
year:
2024
publisher:
Askim historielag i samarbeid med Bok&Design
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
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_digitidsskrift_2025050983009_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d3df6724a1673fdc14fe46d970d73c09
id:
780daa7836af359beb114c984e46937e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022483073_001
title:
Askheimr : årbok for Askim historielag. 2018
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2018
publisher:
Askim historielag i samarbeid med Bok&Design
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
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_digitidsskrift_2026022483073_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/780daa7836af359beb114c984e46937e
id:
7b589577e2a1d0ec70ad39807a8eff81
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022483071_001
title:
Askheimr : årbok for Askim historielag. 2020
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2020
publisher:
Askim historielag i samarbeid med Bok&Design
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
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_digitidsskrift_2026022483071_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7b589577e2a1d0ec70ad39807a8eff81
id:
f7e7b52b1e0a1d82621c656a2bc18765
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017030808142
title:
Askim skytterlag 100 år : 1862-1962
creators:
1 results
1. Askim skytterlag
year:
1962
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. rum
county:
Østfold
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_2017030808142_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f7e7b52b1e0a1d82621c656a2bc18765
id:
c06c5d387efebf78cb06d97d62478661
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016062948106
title:
Askim sparebank 100 år : 1888-1988
creators:
1 results
1. Askim sparebank
year:
1988
publisher:
Sparebanken
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Østfold
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_2016062948106_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c06c5d387efebf78cb06d97d62478661
id:
110619af678d31d294b9190125307b08
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022112180052_017
title:
Vikingen (Oslo : 1963-1968) : Askim-konsernet informerer. 1967 Nr. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Askim gummivarefabrikk
year:
1967
publisher:
Askim gummivarefabrik
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_2022112180052_017_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/110619af678d31d294b9190125307b08
id:
3658c5472f08b0ce1f080eba24d91ccd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008091700035
title:
Fra husnød til boliger for folk flest : Askim og omegn boligbyggelag 50 år : 1947-1997
creators:
1 results
1. Askim og omegn boligbyggelag
year:
1997
publisher:
[AOBBL]
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Østfold
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_2008091700035_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3658c5472f08b0ce1f080eba24d91ccd
id:
e9c1c6f17b9f6de2ac404658500978ba
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011012003024
title:
Portene åpnes, grensene faller : 1973-2003
creators:
2 results
1. Zakariassen, Olav
2. Næsheim, Egil Torin
year:
2010
publisher:
Askim kommune
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Østfold
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_2011012003024_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e9c1c6f17b9f6de2ac404658500978ba
id:
d5fe0f146c623912aaf4e88ee1878cc4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015051308224
title:
Skyfri himmel : 1945-1973
creators:
2 results
1. Zakariassen, Olav
2. Næsheim, Egil Torin
year:
2006
publisher:
Askim kommune
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Østfold
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_2015051308224_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d5fe0f146c623912aaf4e88ee1878cc4
id:
d9464dd10a285ad41988e577631bff98
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011071506072
title:
I lykkens kalosjer : fra landsbygd til industristed
creators:
3 results
1. Zakariassen, Olav
2. Dehli, Martin
3. Næsheim, Egil Torin
year:
2004
publisher:
Askim kommune
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Østfold
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_2011071506072_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d9464dd10a285ad41988e577631bff98

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.