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 2026-09-11T10:54:13Z in 0.248 seconds.

total:

226299

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
72e5b5a88ed0e68a4c522811530802a4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009060904072
title:
Vampyrens assistent
creators:
2 results
1. Shan, Darren
2. Rosse, Øystein
year:
2003
publisher:
Damm
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_2009060904072_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/72e5b5a88ed0e68a4c522811530802a4
id:
4e4129a44fea843c54382a6618d59f6e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016071206008
title:
Assistent i skolen
creators:
2 results
1. Fox, Glenys
2. Eide, Johan
year:
2000
publisher:
Kommuneforl.
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_2016071206008_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4e4129a44fea843c54382a6618d59f6e
id:
b9411f07eb30c2b2b7b9db5abc9775d2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013112706032
title:
De udødeliges assistent
creators:
2 results
1. Harris, Charlaine
2. Røe, Anne Marie
year:
2010
publisher:
Cappelen Damm
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_2013112706032_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b9411f07eb30c2b2b7b9db5abc9775d2
id:
f28708daa3a49ed7030e788c6e43fdb3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013082806121
title:
De udødeliges assistent
creators:
2 results
1. Harris, Charlaine
2. Røe, Anne Maria
year:
2009
publisher:
Cappelen Damm
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_2013082806121_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f28708daa3a49ed7030e788c6e43fdb3
id:
ebf62f1f66d2eca2db99a72a870d51db
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014060308065
title:
Den perfekte partner
creators:
2 results
1. Jordan, Penny
2. Sævold, Ann-Magritt
year:
1999
publisher:
Egmont bøker Fredhøi
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_2014060308065_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ebf62f1f66d2eca2db99a72a870d51db
id:
2979993161f444f7d31cb08048ff9e91
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025122280031_001
title:
Agdernæring : det lokalt [sic] næringslivsbladet for Agderfylkene. 2021 Vol. 23 Nr. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Grafisk partner
year:
2021
publisher:
Grafisk partner
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_2025122280031_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2979993161f444f7d31cb08048ff9e91
id:
44c057b8e566a42d1fbc497604cd7bfb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014010905085
title:
NAVF : en FoU-partner med utviklingspotensiale
creators:
1 results
1. Kommittén för utvärdering av NAVF
year:
1988
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. swe
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_2014010905085_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/44c057b8e566a42d1fbc497604cd7bfb
id:
d8ac4d03bcb4dbbee1af43218ec13aee
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012120738025
title:
Sandberg AS : 50 år med direkte markedsføring : 1958-2008
creators:
2 results
1. Nordli, Øyvind
2. CDG Sandberg
year:
2008
publisher:
Sandberg
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_2012120738025_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d8ac4d03bcb4dbbee1af43218ec13aee
id:
74a81787432d7cd9997383270fde2160
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023022048109
title:
Elin Berg fra Norge
creators:
2 results
1. Roux, Eva
2. Grafisk partner
year:
2022
publisher:
Grafisk partner
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
2 results
1. fre
2. 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_2023022048109_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/74a81787432d7cd9997383270fde2160
id:
afb5d1275bccec9e43fc0b05c85067ac
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011012003036
title:
Trondheim verft AS
creators:
1 results
1. Andreassen, Elin
year:
2009
publisher:
Tapir akademisk forl.
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. pol
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_2011012003036_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/afb5d1275bccec9e43fc0b05c85067ac

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.