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 2026-10-03T18:08:18Z in 0.235 seconds.

total:

200

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
4d3ae3fd7fbe7988b3a276add1161c77
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040480047_020
title:
Vannspeilet (trykt utg.) : et fagblad fra Norsk Vann. desember 2020 Nr. 4
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk Vann BA
year:
2020
publisher:
Norsk Vann
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_2024040480047_020_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4d3ae3fd7fbe7988b3a276add1161c77
id:
6214048ab62b6fd863b1e43e96324cc4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040480047_016
title:
Vannspeilet (trykt utg.) : et fagblad fra Norsk Vann. desember 2019 Nr. 4
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk Vann BA
year:
2019
publisher:
Norsk Vann
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_2024040480047_016_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6214048ab62b6fd863b1e43e96324cc4
id:
a19ff9e4958a688882d69ad69afcf1d2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sunnmorsposten_null_null_20200406_138_82_1
title:
Sunnmørsposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20200406
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_sunnmorsposten_null_null_20200406_138_82_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a19ff9e4958a688882d69ad69afcf1d2
id:
7eb2696262b58030cfdd62acfeba21f2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_a5355dc1-5f4d-4615-9595-0b05dd1f9094
title:
Vannspeilet (trykt utg.) : et fagblad fra Norsk Vann. 2023 Nr. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk Vann BA
year:
2023
publisher:
Norsk Vann
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_plikttidsskrift_a5355dc1-5f4d-4615-9595-0b05dd1f9094_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7eb2696262b58030cfdd62acfeba21f2
id:
977e18310aa976e2642f8ccb4b9b8010
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040480047_022
title:
Vannspeilet (trykt utg.) : et fagblad fra Norsk Vann. juni 2021 Nr. 2
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk Vann BA
year:
2021
publisher:
Norsk Vann
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_2024040480047_022_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/977e18310aa976e2642f8ccb4b9b8010
id:
766fa0a76ac5a4f6c614d8387ede17e8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040480047_013
title:
Vannspeilet (trykt utg.) : et fagblad fra Norsk Vann. mars 2019 Nr. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk Vann BA
year:
2019
publisher:
Norsk Vann
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_2024040480047_013_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/766fa0a76ac5a4f6c614d8387ede17e8
id:
78d7ccf58f6a5cf12f5a40d9fbbd086f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040480047_007
title:
Vannspeilet (trykt utg.) : et fagblad fra Norsk Vann. oktober 2017 Nr. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk Vann BA
year:
2017
publisher:
Norsk Vann
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_2024040480047_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/78d7ccf58f6a5cf12f5a40d9fbbd086f
id:
7d7b42efa24104cd3b415ce4b7f7c33b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_c83dff64-3647-4a19-9e3b-6d0e292d4558
title:
Vannspeilet (trykt utg.) : et fagblad fra Norsk Vann. 2023 Nr. 4
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk Vann BA
year:
2023
publisher:
Norsk Vann
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_plikttidsskrift_c83dff64-3647-4a19-9e3b-6d0e292d4558_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7d7b42efa24104cd3b415ce4b7f7c33b
id:
9c29742829f5f3419d15b0791626d5d2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022483132_001
title:
Vannspeilet (trykt utg.) : et fagblad fra Norsk Vann. 2025 Nr. 3
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Norsk Vann
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_2026022483132_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9c29742829f5f3419d15b0791626d5d2
id:
32edb760e319f6ce9df473e85c4d4c09
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040480047_023
title:
Vannspeilet (trykt utg.) : et fagblad fra Norsk Vann. oktober 2021 Nr. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk Vann BA
year:
2021
publisher:
Norsk Vann
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_2024040480047_023_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/32edb760e319f6ce9df473e85c4d4c09

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.