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 2026-09-23T03:26:59Z in 0.198 seconds.

total:

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
84e236c62b06c293477b154effc29e2d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026020480008_007
title:
Astro rapport. Kvartal 3 2021 Vol. 40
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2021
publisher:
Deep Sky Exploration
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_2026020480008_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/84e236c62b06c293477b154effc29e2d
id:
37169133679c9ba03fc56a05404ff484
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026031280077_012
title:
Bruktnytt : BN : fagblad for transport og anlegg. oktober 2003 Nr. 12
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2003
publisher:
Fagmedia
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_2026031280077_012_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/37169133679c9ba03fc56a05404ff484
id:
532b919c013e7c84c6eee08c43cce076
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026031280072_006
title:
Bruktnytt : BN : fagblad for transport og anlegg. mai 2004 Nr. 6
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2004
publisher:
Fagmedia
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_2026031280072_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/532b919c013e7c84c6eee08c43cce076
id:
f892f9a62f45b0803e195b60c7ced4bd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026031280072_002
title:
Bruktnytt : BN : fagblad for transport og anlegg. februar 2004 Nr. 2
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2004
publisher:
Fagmedia
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_2026031280072_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f892f9a62f45b0803e195b60c7ced4bd
id:
03f35eacfbbda15a9fc1957b1159fdae
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026031280077_015
title:
Bruktnytt : BN : fagblad for transport og anlegg. desember 2003 Nr. 15
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2003
publisher:
Fagmedia
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_2026031280077_015_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/03f35eacfbbda15a9fc1957b1159fdae
id:
a5f8bbae7a30fdded038cd8611a9ff62
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_valdres_null_null_19890629_87_96_1
title:
Valdres
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19890629
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Innlandet
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_valdres_null_null_19890629_87_96_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a5f8bbae7a30fdded038cd8611a9ff62
id:
311d4c1196511fe4dc958d7d2cf7d760
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_tonsbergsblad_null_null_19550507_86_105_1
title:
Tønsbergs blad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19550507
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestfold
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_tonsbergsblad_null_null_19550507_86_105_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/311d4c1196511fe4dc958d7d2cf7d760
id:
45721355678861c997741fd3ea9a6955
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_19930902_134_398_1
title:
Aftenposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19930902
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Oslo
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_aftenposten_null_null_19930902_134_398_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/45721355678861c997741fd3ea9a6955
id:
6fe840ed3a5fa7b775af5d7ab6f4fa45
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_nordlys_null_null_19851205_84_282_1
title:
Nordlys
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19851205
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Troms
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_nordlys_null_null_19851205_84_282_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6fe840ed3a5fa7b775af5d7ab6f4fa45
id:
d1bc3ca3daa0e78476508e31d5642d15
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_19950323_136_139_1
title:
Aftenposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19950323
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Oslo
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_aftenposten_null_null_19950323_136_139_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d1bc3ca3daa0e78476508e31d5642d15

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.