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 2026-09-25T04:34:02Z in 0.301 seconds.

total:

2622

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
5279c8cd5a287d52598d6497d72398a1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023020948133
title:
Baedeker's Scandinavia : Norway, Sweden, Finland
creators:
2 results
1. Andersen, Waltraud
2. Hogarth, James
year:
1996
publisher:
Macmillan Travel
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2023020948133_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5279c8cd5a287d52598d6497d72398a1
id:
36d1da096ba1e412d72f891b528b5ede
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023020948132
title:
Baedeker's Scandinavia : Norway, Sweden, Finland
creators:
2 results
1. Andersen, Waltraud
2. Hogarth, James
year:
1993
publisher:
Prentice-Hall
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2023020948132_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/36d1da096ba1e412d72f891b528b5ede
id:
cb76c81e69b3a5a251f0e473a136f8a7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680106_002
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2005 Vol. 17 Nr. 2
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2005
publisher:
Sport media
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_2026022680106_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/cb76c81e69b3a5a251f0e473a136f8a7
id:
7db89c34f7a200e426d5e62887b07aa9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025061980078_015
title:
Coop medlem (trykt utg.). mars 2009 Nr. 2
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2009
publisher:
Coop Norge SA
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2025061980078_015_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7db89c34f7a200e426d5e62887b07aa9
id:
775ce3044840c27bfb533a20e2fbe50a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022062080027_021
title:
Norsk landbruk. 1967 Nr. 22
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1967
publisher:
Landbruksforlaget
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2022062080027_021_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/775ce3044840c27bfb533a20e2fbe50a
id:
bb1a71ab7eba905d3811e0055f047a02
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022061680048_008
title:
Norsk landbruk. 1980 Vol. 99 Nr. 8
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1980
publisher:
Landbruksforlaget
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2022061680048_008_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bb1a71ab7eba905d3811e0055f047a02
id:
79b3bf1eaeffa1d687761b097585e10b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023121980019_028
title:
Rosebladet (Hvalstad) : medlemsblad for Norsk roseforening. 1993 Vol. 11 Nr. 3/4
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk roseforening
year:
1993
publisher:
Norsk roseforening
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_2023121980019_028_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/79b3bf1eaeffa1d687761b097585e10b
id:
18dd8e83543e94ef2939552347d9a9e0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2017113081050_001
title:
Oslo adressebok. 1989/90 Vol. 111 Nr. 2
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1989
publisher:
Adresseboka
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2017113081050_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/18dd8e83543e94ef2939552347d9a9e0
id:
1059598f75d269e75a12448fe8a96313
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022061780125_003
title:
Norsk landbruk. 1974 Vol. 64 Nr. 3
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1974
publisher:
Landbruksforlaget
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2022061780125_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1059598f75d269e75a12448fe8a96313
id:
2b3e4a0b07ea271e3d84dac9c0b1b195
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022060880020_002
title:
PC world Norge (trykt utg.). 1995 Nr. 2 Halvår
creators:
2 results
1. Computerworld Norge
2. PC Communications Norge
year:
1995
publisher:
IDG magazines Norge
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_2022060880020_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2b3e4a0b07ea271e3d84dac9c0b1b195

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.