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 2026-09-26T09:19:20Z in 0.242 seconds.

total:

452

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
39f4fea4be741b44a5d0e00d9b63c31e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017011048232
title:
Media i tida : kortversjon av St. meld. nr 32 (1992-93)
creators:
1 results
1. Norge Kulturdepartementet
year:
1993
publisher:
Kulturdepartementet
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_2017011048232_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/39f4fea4be741b44a5d0e00d9b63c31e
id:
758596a5f62847a983806600b826aa1a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009100600026
title:
Media i tida
creators:
1 results
1. Norge Kulturdepartementet
year:
1993
publisher:
Departementet
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_2009100600026_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/758596a5f62847a983806600b826aa1a
id:
f019a0fdc6bd608611c53045a5f2690a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digistorting_1992-93_part3_vol-c
title:
Stortingsforhandlinger (ib. utg.). 1992/93 Vol. 137 Nr. 3c
creators:
1 results
1. Norge Stortinget
year:
1992
publisher:
[Forvaltningstjenestene]
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_digistorting_1992-93_part3_vol-c_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f019a0fdc6bd608611c53045a5f2690a
id:
2c03052300a61513a9dab8eaa425623c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digistorting_1993-94_part1_vol-a
title:
Stortingsforhandlinger (ib. utg.). 1993/94 Vol. 138 Nr. 1a
creators:
1 results
1. Norge Stortinget
year:
1993
publisher:
[Forvaltningstjenestene]
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_digistorting_1993-94_part1_vol-a_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2c03052300a61513a9dab8eaa425623c
id:
7e401bff857249fc482fe2b560bf9d7e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022031480021_003
title:
Blikk (trykt utg.). 2019 Nr. 3
creators:
2 results
1. Rosa trekant
2. Blikk AS
year:
2019
publisher:
Blikk
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
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_digitidsskrift_2022031480021_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7e401bff857249fc482fe2b560bf9d7e
id:
fa19c8077166b15b62cf7b76da05ca21
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025073183066_001
title:
Media Scandinavia (trykt utg.) : mediekatalog for Danmark, Grønland, Island, Færøerne, Norge, Sverige og Finland udgivet af Danske reklamebureauers brancheforening. 1993
creators:
1 results
1. Danske Reklamebureauers Brancheforening
year:
1993
publisher:
Danske reklamebureauers brancheforening
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. dan
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_2025073183066_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fa19c8077166b15b62cf7b76da05ca21
id:
8c3665d252d95088a90bf35af6e7293e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025073183065_001
title:
Media Scandinavia (trykt utg.) : mediekatalog for Danmark, Grønland, Island, Færøerne, Norge, Sverige og Finland udgivet af Danske reklamebureauers brancheforening. 1992
creators:
1 results
1. Danske Reklamebureauers Brancheforening
year:
1992
publisher:
Danske reklamebureauers brancheforening
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. dan
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_2025073183065_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8c3665d252d95088a90bf35af6e7293e
id:
04f3abcd5d167f3bde396b320cb0a181
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_dagensnaeringsliv_null_null_20180419_129_89_1
title:
Dagens Næringsliv
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20180419
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_dagensnaeringsliv_null_null_20180419_129_89_1-1_001_nyhet/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/04f3abcd5d167f3bde396b320cb0a181
id:
3e64c4a61afb29d792b65fbd44e40553
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_dagensnaeringsliv_null_null_20180709_129_154_1
title:
Dagens Næringsliv
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20180709
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_dagensnaeringsliv_null_null_20180709_129_154_1-1_001_nyhet/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3e64c4a61afb29d792b65fbd44e40553
id:
5bf31e57f2729991533f2a21d4c2fc85
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018050348063
title:
Slik bruker du sosiale medier på jobben
creators:
1 results
1. Grimmert, Espen
year:
2015
publisher:
Fagbokforl.
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_2018050348063_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5bf31e57f2729991533f2a21d4c2fc85

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.