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 2026-09-26T23:58:08Z in 0.215 seconds.

total:

184391

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
c850792f1b084da9159f56de4f70e4c6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014052606046
title:
Grenland jern og metall 100 år
creators:
1 results
1. Grenland jern og metallarbeiderforening
year:
2006
publisher:
Erik Tanche Nilssen
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_2014052606046_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c850792f1b084da9159f56de4f70e4c6
id:
bbf699bdeb7e97b4397acb75fbe91b16
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020112748523
title:
Havna i Grenland : -et historisk tilbakeblikk
creators:
4 results
1. Flogstad, Finn
2. Grenland havn
3. Høie, Asbjørn
4. Sørensen, Johnny
year:
2017
publisher:
Grenland havn IKS
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_2020112748523_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bbf699bdeb7e97b4397acb75fbe91b16
id:
d11352ca9795a9953a6e462ea94a4240
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025101483031_001
title:
Næringsnytt (Skien) : Grenland. 2025 Nr. 2
creators:
1 results
1. Grenland næringsforening
year:
2025
publisher:
Grenland næringsforening
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_2025101483031_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d11352ca9795a9953a6e462ea94a4240
id:
746c42ef3a1351744f42047610e32749
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2026022748107
title:
Grenland friteater : Harde tak
creators:
2 results
1. Erichsen, Chris
2. Grinaker, Elin
year:
2023
publisher:
Black Box Teater
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_2026022748107_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/746c42ef3a1351744f42047610e32749
id:
6e316d143bf4a3234937ae23ca7adc25
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025032780037_004
title:
Lokalavisen Grenland. 11 Oktober 2011
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2011
publisher:
Tvende 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_2025032780037_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6e316d143bf4a3234937ae23ca7adc25
id:
b5c4977977b507a31cb2d23cc6e09bf8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025032780037_006
title:
Lokalavisen Grenland. 8 November 2011
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2011
publisher:
Tvende 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_2025032780037_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b5c4977977b507a31cb2d23cc6e09bf8
id:
82ad3bf03efff879a3fa85e635eac1e6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025032780037_009
title:
Lokalavisen Grenland. 13 Desember 2011
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2011
publisher:
Tvende 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_2025032780037_009_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/82ad3bf03efff879a3fa85e635eac1e6
id:
cf7fcfeee5eceb2351b905fab2cd6376
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025032780037_002
title:
Lokalavisen Grenland. 13 September 2011
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2011
publisher:
Tvende 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_2025032780037_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/cf7fcfeee5eceb2351b905fab2cd6376
id:
01ed4b2fa03fbbdfdd2b96c6cafd20b2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021011407607
title:
På veien mot nye mål : Grenland sykleklubbs første 50 år 1960-2010
creators:
1 results
1. Wahlstrøm, Thorbjørn
year:
2015
publisher:
Grenland sykleklubb
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_2021011407607_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/01ed4b2fa03fbbdfdd2b96c6cafd20b2
id:
c97c717085e32e9a7f2994ee51850cc2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008012800091
title:
Sikker som banken : Sparebanken Grenland 150 år
creators:
2 results
1. Bystrøm, Harald Bache
2. Sparebanken Grenland
year:
1994
publisher:
Banken
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_2008012800091_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c97c717085e32e9a7f2994ee51850cc2

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.