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 2026-10-03T10:15:04Z in 0.305 seconds.

total:

5274

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
6b76b16f418431863a26b31b8e9671ad
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022081848072
title:
Hundre år i ordets tjeneste : Bodoni 1914-2014
creators:
2 results
1. Gjerstad, Jo
2. Bodoni AS
year:
2014
publisher:
Bodoni forl.
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_2022081848072_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6b76b16f418431863a26b31b8e9671ad
id:
2c26a3b7d0d5daa8927f41bf16ec7e86
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022081848108
title:
Minner fra en svunnen tid
creators:
2 results
1. Gjerstad, Jo
2. Bodoni AS
year:
2013
publisher:
Bodoni
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_2022081848108_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2c26a3b7d0d5daa8927f41bf16ec7e86
id:
17b1cdffc73d266fde0904945fb842c2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022081848110
title:
Fra Kaien til Møllendal - og retur : et bidrag til Bergens kulturhistorie
creators:
2 results
1. Gjerstad, Jo
2. Bodoni hus
year:
2005
publisher:
Bodoni hus
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_2022081848110_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/17b1cdffc73d266fde0904945fb842c2
id:
b7d164628197a500d5479258ba7011b3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023020848177
title:
Bergen sett gjennom fremmede øyne. 1 : -med en fiskestank som fikk en nesten til å miste været
creators:
2 results
1. Gjerstad, Jo
2. Bodoni hus
year:
2002
publisher:
Bodoni hus
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_2023020848177_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b7d164628197a500d5479258ba7011b3
id:
522486f6dfe5240b12285c0d334c1984
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20211012_00094_plktr_05788
title:
Ny NNN 120 jr. - godt lær tar vare på små tær!
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2002
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. plakater
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk
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_digifoto_20211012_00094_plktr_05788/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/522486f6dfe5240b12285c0d334c1984
id:
26aea98343c3bdde69082fe01fb7deef
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014120108235
title:
Typebyen : A.s Typografernes byggeselskap av 29. mai 1908 : et bidrag til Bergens kulturhistorie
creators:
3 results
1. Gjerstad, Jo
2. Bergen faktorforening
3. Bodoni hus
year:
2001
publisher:
Bergen faktorforening
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_2014120108235_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/26aea98343c3bdde69082fe01fb7deef
id:
79f702abec05cc99dfbca212d3701b2f
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Thulsa Doom : In Concert : konsertpromo : [promo]
creators:
2 results
1. Thulsa Doom
2. Kleivan, Are
year:
2003
publisher:
Big Dipper Records
media_types:
1 results
1. plakater
languages:
2 results
1. Engelsk
2. Norsk
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/79f702abec05cc99dfbca212d3701b2f
id:
b1b5ff3834fea0d7d846f5729d1d0387
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Thulsa Doom : Studentersamfunnet Bislet : tirsdag 23. nov : konsertpromo : [konsert]
creators:
2 results
1. Thulsa Doom
2. Kleivan, Are
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
Big Dipper Records
media_types:
1 results
1. plakater
languages:
2 results
1. Engelsk
2. Norsk
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/b1b5ff3834fea0d7d846f5729d1d0387
id:
0dc9af710ba7958e4d04ecd17d814eb0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000040299
title:
Zinken : Boliden Odda AS 100 år
creators:
2 results
1. Aven, Håvard Brede
2. Grimelid, Frode
year:
2024
publisher:
Kraftmuseet
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_000040299_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0dc9af710ba7958e4d04ecd17d814eb0
id:
c1f64022f3862c16bb059f140e7fb226
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014060506043
title:
Boligselskapet av 1910 AS gjennom 100 år
creators:
2 results
1. Jørstad, Finn R.
2. Boligselskapet av 1910
year:
2011
publisher:
Boligselskapet av 1910
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_2014060506043_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c1f64022f3862c16bb059f140e7fb226

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.