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 2026-09-23T20:10:11Z in 0.177 seconds.

total:

3948

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
6e4230b76334e98d6626316e7bcecaf7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009060400101
title:
Hygiene i praksis for kokkar og servitørar
creators:
1 results
1. Furset, Bjørn Tore
year:
1995
publisher:
Universitetsforl.
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_2009060400101_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6e4230b76334e98d6626316e7bcecaf7
id:
4d9d8e61cc1090962faaf8509e7ed5ea
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009060400075
title:
Hygiene i praksis for kokker og servitører
creators:
1 results
1. Furset, Bjørn Tore
year:
1995
publisher:
Universitetsforl.
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_2009060400075_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4d9d8e61cc1090962faaf8509e7ed5ea
id:
3f45ab075e0d772eb006beeeb174712c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_839922aa-cfe7-4a5c-8453-6189d6308f18
title:
Horeca : magasin for hotell, restaurant, kafé, catering, kantine og institusjon. 2024 Nr. 3
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2024
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_839922aa-cfe7-4a5c-8453-6189d6308f18_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3f45ab075e0d772eb006beeeb174712c
id:
7a84975ece7bf8c0d62e8f523b67f7d6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_6b5db7c7-e80f-49d3-89ff-f64160fde607
title:
Horeca : magasin for hotell, restaurant, kafé, catering, kantine og institusjon. 2026 Nr. 4
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2026
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_6b5db7c7-e80f-49d3-89ff-f64160fde607_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7a84975ece7bf8c0d62e8f523b67f7d6
id:
a60525d2867ae4f300a3c38939662aa4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_5d93c7fd-7a13-4ba1-bb42-d73d2905ffba
title:
Horeca : magasin for hotell, restaurant, kafé, catering, kantine og institusjon. 2025 Nr. 2
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_5d93c7fd-7a13-4ba1-bb42-d73d2905ffba_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a60525d2867ae4f300a3c38939662aa4
id:
96f36d6aa81b1957b6172e3212a1cdca
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_46f23612-28e6-46f2-b262-b0cf2a6306dc
title:
Horeca : magasin for hotell, restaurant, kafé, catering, kantine og institusjon. 2025 Nr. 1
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_46f23612-28e6-46f2-b262-b0cf2a6306dc_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/96f36d6aa81b1957b6172e3212a1cdca
id:
f979251ec7e0e964fb71c860e2e6f8af
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_682586a8-6d1a-4f38-adfb-41fbee556e1d
title:
Horeca : magasin for hotell, restaurant, kafé, catering, kantine og institusjon. 2025 Nr. 3
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_682586a8-6d1a-4f38-adfb-41fbee556e1d_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f979251ec7e0e964fb71c860e2e6f8af
id:
8c350885450262f3e56131d9955a1be7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_d0db60f7-a90f-4e89-9f28-62228f0aae6d
title:
Horeca : magasin for hotell, restaurant, kafé, catering, kantine og institusjon. 2025 Nr. 6
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_d0db60f7-a90f-4e89-9f28-62228f0aae6d_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8c350885450262f3e56131d9955a1be7
id:
198a11d6eb75f7840e29dd433e0307e0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_15b0ab4f-8329-40e6-8f7b-7d9b3a6d7266
title:
Horeca : magasin for hotell, restaurant, kafé, catering, kantine og institusjon. 2024 Nr. 5
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2024
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_15b0ab4f-8329-40e6-8f7b-7d9b3a6d7266_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/198a11d6eb75f7840e29dd433e0307e0
id:
77ba7aa99d44a3db44e7a4e3a79afb89
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_e02e5ed7-9917-4783-8b76-1002cb78721f
title:
Horeca : magasin for hotell, restaurant, kafé, catering, kantine og institusjon. 2025 Nr. 5
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_e02e5ed7-9917-4783-8b76-1002cb78721f_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/77ba7aa99d44a3db44e7a4e3a79afb89

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.