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 2026-09-23T23:42:10Z in 0.223 seconds.

total:

31688

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
f8755dcc4a5583d949eea67f32b1bfdf
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009120913001
title:
Det norske folk i de Forenede Stater : deres daglige liv og økonomiske stilling : historik over Amerika : landets fremtidsmuligheter for en indvandrer
creators:
1 results
1. Takla, Knut
year:
1913
publisher:
Stenersen
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_2009120913001_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f8755dcc4a5583d949eea67f32b1bfdf
id:
f6cd45d17416050c38c259c9a88b3772
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021110348584
title:
Stille suksess : Jemtland 100 år : 1919-2019
creators:
2 results
1. Paulsberg, Terje
2. Jemtland AS
year:
2019
publisher:
Alfa forlag as
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_2021110348584_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f6cd45d17416050c38c259c9a88b3772
id:
a3272d27c1545187f2cf0e7b7ac41fb2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013022238015
title:
Med blikk for fremtiden : de første år - H.C.A. Melbye 1907-2007
creators:
2 results
1. Steen, Øyvind
2. HCA Melbye AS
year:
2007
publisher:
HCA Melbye
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_2013022238015_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a3272d27c1545187f2cf0e7b7ac41fb2
id:
99927d0bcaee7a93971f614a83dca2ee
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011082508026
title:
-"og livet går videre" : en beretning om Autronica gjennom 40 år, for ansatte og andre med nær tilknytning til Autronica
creators:
2 results
1. Amundsen, Harry
2. Autronica AS
year:
1997
publisher:
[Autronica]
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_2011082508026_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/99927d0bcaee7a93971f614a83dca2ee
id:
8076a94b0f097032ee31167ddb52331e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024111582008_001
title:
Norges statskalender (trykt utg.) : fortegnelse over konstitusjonelle organer og statsforvaltning m.v. = Norwegian government yearbook .... 1907
creators:
1 results
1. InfoMediaHuset AS
year:
1907
publisher:
Kommuneforl.
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_2024111582008_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8076a94b0f097032ee31167ddb52331e
id:
dc1915affd4e234753e04def66b25979
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2020120882120_001
title:
Norges statskalender (trykt utg.) : fortegnelse over konstitusjonelle organer og statsforvaltning m.v. = Norwegian government yearbook .... 1904
creators:
1 results
1. InfoMediaHuset AS
year:
1904
publisher:
Kommuneforl.
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_2020120882120_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/dc1915affd4e234753e04def66b25979
id:
7308e2d22644223d84a52eeb70112cc9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024102983109_001
title:
Norges statskalender (trykt utg.) : fortegnelse over konstitusjonelle organer og statsforvaltning m.v. = Norwegian government yearbook .... 1908
creators:
1 results
1. InfoMediaHuset AS
year:
1908
publisher:
Kommuneforl.
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_2024102983109_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7308e2d22644223d84a52eeb70112cc9
id:
855d39c27a5a154369f29b91f84ac3cb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021012682019_001
title:
Norges statskalender (trykt utg.) : fortegnelse over konstitusjonelle organer og statsforvaltning m.v. = Norwegian government yearbook .... 1909
creators:
1 results
1. InfoMediaHuset AS
year:
1909
publisher:
Kommuneforl.
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_2021012682019_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/855d39c27a5a154369f29b91f84ac3cb
id:
de181a1a397d86ecc0ed3d7d663ad5fd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2020120882062_001
title:
Norges statskalender (trykt utg.) : fortegnelse over konstitusjonelle organer og statsforvaltning m.v. = Norwegian government yearbook .... 1910
creators:
1 results
1. InfoMediaHuset AS
year:
1910
publisher:
Kommuneforl.
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_2020120882062_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/de181a1a397d86ecc0ed3d7d663ad5fd
id:
9d34dc1df422a103f32471edeab39151
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021012682018_001
title:
Norges statskalender (trykt utg.) : fortegnelse over konstitusjonelle organer og statsforvaltning m.v. = Norwegian government yearbook .... 1906
creators:
1 results
1. InfoMediaHuset AS
year:
1906
publisher:
Kommuneforl.
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_2021012682018_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9d34dc1df422a103f32471edeab39151

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.