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 2026-09-27T22:07:19Z in 0.257 seconds.

total:

4498190

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
177ae8274f34617268252faa0acaaf39
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014080808139
title:
Norsk bygdekino A/S gjennom 10 år
creators:
2 results
1. Nymoen, Sverre
2. Norsk bygdekino A/S
year:
1960
publisher:
[Norsk bygdekino A/S]
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_2014080808139_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/177ae8274f34617268252faa0acaaf39
id:
57a9123bb81a917f15a40ca4da967558
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024061483141_001
title:
Bulletin (Norsk form). 2007 Nr. 1 47
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk form
year:
2007
publisher:
Norsk form
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_2024061483141_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/57a9123bb81a917f15a40ca4da967558
id:
8ac315cf58a624944e761ca55a0c127d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2026031248073
title:
A/S Bill : 1915-1985
creators:
2 results
1. Salvesen, Beth
2. Bill, A/S
year:
1985
publisher:
[Rederiet]
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_2026031248073_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8ac315cf58a624944e761ca55a0c127d
id:
6725476ec76d6d8feda47ab95a2952ea
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015021106033
title:
A. S. Stephansen A/S gjennom 50 år : 1895 - 1945
creators:
2 results
1. Kristoffersen, Kjell
2. Stephansen A/S
year:
1946
publisher:
A. Garnæs Boktrykkeri
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_2015021106033_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6725476ec76d6d8feda47ab95a2952ea
id:
6ef72bbed1c4312f7a388ac7e930b605
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018021909543
title:
Halvorsen & Larsen A/S : 1867-1967
creators:
1 results
1. Halvorsen & Larsen A/S
year:
1967
publisher:
Halvorsen & Larsen
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. und
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_2018021909543_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6ef72bbed1c4312f7a388ac7e930b605
id:
7c4028147782bc41664968d23faa939d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017110348048
title:
Rapps historie 1907-1982 : A/S Motoren Rap, A/S Motoren Rapp, Rapp fabrikker A/S, Rapp hydema A/S
creators:
3 results
1. Røsholm, Halvor E.
2. Salvesen, Beth
3. Rapp hydema A/S
year:
1982
publisher:
[Rapp hydema]
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_2017110348048_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7c4028147782bc41664968d23faa939d
id:
b94e966953875a19a0447a1a4401e744
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017051648087
title:
Mesna Kartonfabrikk A/S, Lillehammer 1916-1966 : utg. i anledning av femtiårs-jubileet
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1967
publisher:
not reported by source
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_2017051648087_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b94e966953875a19a0447a1a4401e744
id:
e168903f7508b76b64420187073b90a1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017100348197
title:
Brødr. Aarsæther A/S, 1877-1977
creators:
3 results
1. Vollan, Odd
2. Heli, Hans
3. Aarsæther A/S
year:
1977
publisher:
[Brødr. Aarsæther]
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_2017100348197_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e168903f7508b76b64420187073b90a1
id:
437b14d8b55971ac1cf07e5d2ca2e892
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017110348047
title:
ElektroVakuum A/S 1933-1977 : et tilbakeblikk
creators:
2 results
1. Sohlberg, Johan Wilhelm
2. Elektrovakuum A/S
year:
1982
publisher:
[J.W. Sohlberg]
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_2017110348047_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/437b14d8b55971ac1cf07e5d2ca2e892
id:
b686ff7e0f3b004721f1aa64fb5ac91c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012102206040
title:
Norsk form : en evaluering
creators:
2 results
1. Kjørup, Søren
2. Norsk form
year:
2004
publisher:
Norsk kulturråd
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. dan
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_2012102206040_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b686ff7e0f3b004721f1aa64fb5ac91c

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.