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 2026-09-26T06:51:53Z in 0.229 seconds.

total:

4982

page:

size:

items:

10 results

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:
b781f0fafe049b8d8671f7c7cc6f260f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023092683004_001
title:
Sirdalmagasinet. 2023 Vol. 18 Nr. 4
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2023
publisher:
Lokomotiv media
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023092683004_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b781f0fafe049b8d8671f7c7cc6f260f
id:
a4be942c6985bf560a72d75f92fe9989
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022101883022_001
title:
Sirdalmagasinet. 2022 Vol. 17 Nr. 5
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2022
publisher:
Lokomotiv media
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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_2022101883022_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a4be942c6985bf560a72d75f92fe9989
id:
13f2920e447eb442c31ad77b2045c655
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024011683151_001
title:
Sirdalmagasinet. 2023 Vol. 18 Nr. 6
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2023
publisher:
Lokomotiv media
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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_2024011683151_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/13f2920e447eb442c31ad77b2045c655
id:
49f3b66fd95d94403b34b378e83d6a5d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023031083136_001
title:
Sirdalmagasinet. 2023 Vol. 18 Nr. 1
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2023
publisher:
Lokomotiv media
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023031083136_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/49f3b66fd95d94403b34b378e83d6a5d
id:
eceedf97968e3fec3fdd79f46794268b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bomlonytt_null_null_20080829_36_92_1
title:
Bømlo-nytt
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20080829
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_digavis_bomlonytt_null_null_20080829_36_92_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/eceedf97968e3fec3fdd79f46794268b
id:
ed2bc99cee7727f46d0fa84818f88688
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011080508017
title:
Ås bygdebokverk 1850-2010. B. 1 : Bondestyre, kamp og forsoning : Ås 1850-1940
creators:
2 results
1. Dørum, Knut
2. Ås
year:
2007
publisher:
Ås kommune
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_2011080508017_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ed2bc99cee7727f46d0fa84818f88688
id:
6e15852516418acafe726a0e352dc192
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bomlonytt_null_null_20070425_35_47_1
title:
Bømlo-nytt
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20070425
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_digavis_bomlonytt_null_null_20070425_35_47_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6e15852516418acafe726a0e352dc192
id:
4d9430726f31269a7c434e38f837b249
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bomlonytt_null_null_20080903_36_94_1
title:
Bømlo-nytt
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20080903
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_digavis_bomlonytt_null_null_20080903_36_94_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4d9430726f31269a7c434e38f837b249
id:
9cf443244f416eb4f664a83cb7e3bcdd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bomlonytt_null_null_20041201_32_132_1
title:
Bømlo-nytt
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20041201
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_digavis_bomlonytt_null_null_20041201_32_132_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9cf443244f416eb4f664a83cb7e3bcdd

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.