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 2026-10-03T01:07:38Z in 1.051 seconds.

total:

2215

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
eca617846262380e203adb03e5e31142
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_9fdbf398-91dc-4275-acde-adbe773b9677
title:
Årsrapport. 2021
creators:
1 results
1. Betonmast AS
year:
2021
publisher:
Betonmast
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_plikttidsskrift_9fdbf398-91dc-4275-acde-adbe773b9677_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/eca617846262380e203adb03e5e31142
id:
0cd9459cc6249a7bd516baac6c8add96
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_fd0de070-ae80-40e4-ab25-bd0220c6e687
title:
Årsrapport. 2020
creators:
1 results
1. Betonmast AS
year:
2020
publisher:
Betonmast
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_plikttidsskrift_fd0de070-ae80-40e4-ab25-bd0220c6e687_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0cd9459cc6249a7bd516baac6c8add96
id:
803ef68ff6f7edc99226892fad3bbe0b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2025072406059
title:
A multi-perspective obsevation of site museums : case study of archaeological site museums in China, with Norwegian example as reference
creators:
3 results
1. Xu, Dongming
2. Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet
3. Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet Institutt for arkitektur og teknologi
year:
2018
publisher:
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Department of Architecture and Technology
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_2025072406059_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/803ef68ff6f7edc99226892fad3bbe0b
id:
c2a60b84d3c198d2ac1c77e747a1c716
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022031480020_001
title:
Blikk (trykt utg.). 2018 Nr. 1
creators:
2 results
1. Rosa trekant
2. Blikk AS
year:
2018
publisher:
Blikk
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_2022031480020_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c2a60b84d3c198d2ac1c77e747a1c716
id:
387dc80f4ccd17c034e6814f4a16431f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018060548013
title:
Scenekunsten og de unge : en antologi fra Scenekunstbruket
creators:
2 results
1. Graffer, Sidsel
2. Sekkelsten, Ådne
year:
2014
publisher:
Vidarforl.
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
5 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
4. nno
5. dan
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_2018060548013_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/387dc80f4ccd17c034e6814f4a16431f
id:
ce85a5131c4632480d119b0d3071053b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020012307185
title:
Norske dekorasjoner : tildelt med bånd til å bæres på uniform eller sivilt antrekk
creators:
1 results
1. Hallberg, Harald
year:
2012
publisher:
Dreyer bok
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_2020012307185_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ce85a5131c4632480d119b0d3071053b
id:
05b8a59272299fed9084a8c453683d1f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024091780019_010
title:
Arkitektnytt (trykt utg.). 2009 Vol. 58 Nr. 10
creators:
3 results
1. Norske landskapsarkitekters forening
2. Norske arkitekters landsforbund
3. Norske interiørarkitekters landsforening
year:
2009
publisher:
Norske arkitekters landsforbund
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_2024091780019_010_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/05b8a59272299fed9084a8c453683d1f
id:
1857b2a7eb6c7644b297494c4bfd00d8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025031983025_001
title:
Årbok. 2025
creators:
1 results
1. Norske landskapsarkitekters forening
year:
2025
publisher:
Norske landskapsarkitekters forening
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_2025031983025_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1857b2a7eb6c7644b297494c4bfd00d8
id:
2043906062b9edb487c7817a928ed21c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_firda_null_null_20190316_102_64_1
title:
Firda
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20190316
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_firda_null_null_20190316_102_64_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2043906062b9edb487c7817a928ed21c
id:
acda8c2a32f54bc46cd6a00cd60ba4e7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_tidenskrav_null_null_20070524_98_118_1
title:
Tidens krav ( Kristiansund)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20070524
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_digavis_tidenskrav_null_null_20070524_98_118_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/acda8c2a32f54bc46cd6a00cd60ba4e7

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.