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 2026-09-26T23:28:17Z in 0.199 seconds.

total:

211147

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
9121b8ff0ec6120eaf402273b657f1f9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015052908089
title:
Hus og historie i Hønefoss
creators:
3 results
1. Drange, Sverre
2. Hønefoss byjubileum
3. Drange, Erling
year:
2001
publisher:
[Hønefoss byjubileum]
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Buskerud
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_2015052908089_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9121b8ff0ec6120eaf402273b657f1f9
id:
c26e54988b76a87869c552fd356ea428
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021010507579
title:
Evaluering av Arena bioenergi innlandet
creators:
3 results
1. Lerfald, Merethe G.
2. Arena bioenergi innlandet
3. Arnesen, Tor
year:
2012
publisher:
Østlandsforskning
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_2021010507579_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c26e54988b76a87869c552fd356ea428
id:
93a9614b31000e3cbf358fc7ee987f44
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014012338006
title:
Hønefoss 150 år : stemninger
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2002
publisher:
Kolltopp forl.
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Buskerud
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_2014012338006_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/93a9614b31000e3cbf358fc7ee987f44
id:
5d76a2792e3a47b9969a9b363b78eeae
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018020848091
title:
Telemedisin arena
creators:
1 results
1. Bach, Bodil
year:
2011
publisher:
Nasjonalt senter for samhandling og telemedisin
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_2018020848091_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5d76a2792e3a47b9969a9b363b78eeae
id:
5fde9fd1f7661b3bf9693cbe0054a791
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016011348096
title:
Med Hønefoss i sentrum
creators:
1 results
1. Østlund, Jan Helge
year:
2002
publisher:
Kolltopp forl.
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Buskerud
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_2016011348096_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5fde9fd1f7661b3bf9693cbe0054a791
id:
0538fdcf557cbd9a377e0ef84fc1064e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022030780004_011
title:
Arena (Norsk kommuneforbund) : fagblad for Norsk kommuneforbund. 1997 Nr. 11
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk kommuneforbund
year:
1997
publisher:
Norsk kommuneforbund
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_2022030780004_011_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0538fdcf557cbd9a377e0ef84fc1064e
id:
dd826b504ee1ef9152668d6271cbd061
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022030780008_006
title:
Arena (Norsk kommuneforbund) : fagblad for Norsk kommuneforbund. 1996 Nr. 6
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk kommuneforbund
year:
1996
publisher:
Norsk kommuneforbund
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_2022030780008_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/dd826b504ee1ef9152668d6271cbd061
id:
b7239b12b87abd69900afead9410992d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022030780007_001
title:
Arena (Norsk kommuneforbund) : fagblad for Norsk kommuneforbund. 2000 Nr. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk kommuneforbund
year:
2000
publisher:
Norsk kommuneforbund
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_2022030780007_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b7239b12b87abd69900afead9410992d
id:
79fee0cfcf452a94c94c0d0cd8a05656
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022030780003_010
title:
Arena (Norsk kommuneforbund) : fagblad for Norsk kommuneforbund. 1999 Nr. 10
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk kommuneforbund
year:
1999
publisher:
Norsk kommuneforbund
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_2022030780003_010_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/79fee0cfcf452a94c94c0d0cd8a05656
id:
99e4f8bfd83e68dd5df6432c3944f538
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022030780006_002
title:
Arena (Norsk kommuneforbund) : fagblad for Norsk kommuneforbund. 1998 Nr. 10
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk kommuneforbund
year:
1998
publisher:
Norsk kommuneforbund
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_2022030780006_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/99e4f8bfd83e68dd5df6432c3944f538

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.