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 2026-09-25T18:08:51Z in 0.180 seconds.

total:

791350

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
7a8a8f5155883c85978350a9b4abbb8b
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Br. Birkeland AS : solid familierederi på Storebø
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1998
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. artikler
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7a8a8f5155883c85978350a9b4abbb8b
id:
49ff270d288bfabd3bf781a7aff2059f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170322_00025_NB_MIT_GNR_04266
title:
[Birkeland]
creators:
1 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Aust Agder
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170322_00025_NB_MIT_GNR_04266/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/49ff270d288bfabd3bf781a7aff2059f
id:
0afa9ad70c5ad70a7550c66666440b41
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20151116_00010_NB_MIT_FNR_12908
title:
Birkeland
creators:
1 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Vest Agder
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20151116_00010_NB_MIT_FNR_12908/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0afa9ad70c5ad70a7550c66666440b41
id:
80e7b190bbd8b55693506b12fae31dcf
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000014359
title:
Ingunn Birkeland syr
creators:
2 results
1. Birkeland, Ingunn
2. Bry, Knut
year:
2023
publisher:
Gyldendal
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_pliktmonografi_000014359_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/80e7b190bbd8b55693506b12fae31dcf
id:
ba86018737dcda37bdf89e3fccf2d236
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000002600
title:
Ingunn Birkeland strikker
creators:
2 results
1. Birkeland, Ingunn
2. Bry, Knut
year:
2022
publisher:
Gyldendal
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_pliktmonografi_000002600_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ba86018737dcda37bdf89e3fccf2d236
id:
d470f09b139b395b47f955ee959e3441
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170322_00013_NB_MIT_GNR_04262
title:
[Birkeland folkehøyskole]
creators:
1 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Aust Agder
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170322_00013_NB_MIT_GNR_04262/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d470f09b139b395b47f955ee959e3441
id:
372e40a2e871a42aec109b83aafa2738
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011070108186
title:
Birkeland&Eyde : et skuespill
creators:
1 results
1. Johansen, Arthur
year:
2005
publisher:
Zenisk
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_2011070108186_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/372e40a2e871a42aec109b83aafa2738
id:
6789d9ab94a91635af7f0a8ad4606e1b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006082900012
title:
Breve fra riksarkivar Birkeland (1848-1879)
creators:
1 results
1. Birkeland, M. (Michael)
year:
1920
publisher:
Steen
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006082900012_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6789d9ab94a91635af7f0a8ad4606e1b
id:
480604a2c4c2c8e068b118c8f38aca87
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008062004006
title:
Korpsmusikken i Birkenes gjennom 60 år : Birkenes hornmusikk 1936-1996 : Birkeland musikkorps 1946-1996
creators:
2 results
1. Birkenes hornmusikk
2. Birkeland musikkorps
year:
1996
publisher:
Hornmusikken
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_2008062004006_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/480604a2c4c2c8e068b118c8f38aca87
id:
1eb3ab7d4038f35a1359cd33f8e73dd7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009113000106
title:
The laboratory work of professor Kristian Birkeland
creators:
1 results
1. Brundtland, Terje
year:
1997
publisher:
University of Tromsø, Faculty of Science
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2009113000106_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1eb3ab7d4038f35a1359cd33f8e73dd7

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.