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 2026-10-01T20:13:45Z in 0.237 seconds.

total:

2520

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
f8b73b0e29844a9a53faebfdae7a72ab
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011081708007
title:
Fra sjøhus til shippinghus : R.G. Hagland AS, 125 år i skipsfartens tjeneste
creators:
2 results
1. Strøm, Bjarne Aagaard
2. R.G. Hagland (firma)
year:
1997
publisher:
[R.G. Hagland]
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_2011081708007_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f8b73b0e29844a9a53faebfdae7a72ab
id:
09167bf1bb28a19bf3c92ac39878e1ef
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_hordalandfolkeblad_null_null_20230324_150_24_1
title:
Hordaland Folkeblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20230324
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:
NB
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_hordalandfolkeblad_null_null_20230324_150_24_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/09167bf1bb28a19bf3c92ac39878e1ef
id:
25200fe9dc87dea9c7e5e410c43d85d0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2007111304006
title:
Das Buch der Trolle
creators:
2 results
1. Lidberg, Rolf
2. Lööf, Jan
year:
1992
publisher:
Carlsen
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. ger
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_2007111304006_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/25200fe9dc87dea9c7e5e410c43d85d0
id:
722f5e1b962c98001d2b8490868ba9c7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2026010707022
title:
Troll : das echte Buch über die Norwegischen Troll
creators:
3 results
1. Lidberg, Rolf
2. Dahl, Birgitta
3. Lööf, Jan
year:
2016
publisher:
Cappelen Damm
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. ger
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_2026010707022_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/722f5e1b962c98001d2b8490868ba9c7
id:
281ca6eba67ca82dc427dd562c37b54f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_hordalandfolkeblad_null_null_20220621_149_47_1
title:
Hordaland Folkeblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20220621
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:
NB
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_hordalandfolkeblad_null_null_20220621_149_47_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/281ca6eba67ca82dc427dd562c37b54f
id:
37ff625872eb33217ae94e473988f216
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_samningen_null_null_20190321_43_12_1
title:
Samningen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20190321
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:
NB
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_samningen_null_null_20190321_43_12_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/37ff625872eb33217ae94e473988f216
id:
785ca1ada9d5d07866f43edbdca9c579
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022080848563
title:
La psicòloga
creators:
2 results
1. Flood, Helene
2. Roig, Esther
year:
2020
publisher:
Columna
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. cat
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_2022080848563_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/785ca1ada9d5d07866f43edbdca9c579
id:
3765939e2df882620e6b771759d7e7c1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022081648522
title:
Maya
creators:
3 results
1. Gaarder, Jostein
2. Cloetta, Anne-Lise
3. Casassas, Anna
year:
2001
publisher:
Editorial Empúries
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. cat
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_2022081648522_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3765939e2df882620e6b771759d7e7c1
id:
75608761a08cb99afdf59fb7ae69f859
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009092304059
title:
Einblicke 2 : tekstbok
creators:
2 results
1. Moen, Eva Bøe
2. Østnor, Arna
year:
1990
publisher:
NKS-forlaget
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. ger
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_2009092304059_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/75608761a08cb99afdf59fb7ae69f859
id:
79d55dc890e55918d45f1ca5d89a9bf9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bergenstidende_null_null_20190212_152_42_1
title:
Bergens Tidende
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20190212
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_bergenstidende_null_null_20190212_152_42_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/79d55dc890e55918d45f1ca5d89a9bf9

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.