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 2026-09-24T23:47:56Z in 0.202 seconds.

total:

4862

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
65dee1a9a6bedef453296faa41e3488f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_morgenbladet_null_null_18790926_61_265_1
title:
Morgenbladet
creators:
not reported by source
year:
18790926
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Oslo
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_digavis_morgenbladet_null_null_18790926_61_265_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/65dee1a9a6bedef453296faa41e3488f
id:
b7f15ae20da3cd513b407d88048abe0a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_helgelandstidende_null_null_18980208_24_10_1
title:
Helgelands Tidende
creators:
not reported by source
year:
18980208
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Nordland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_helgelandstidende_null_null_18980208_24_10_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b7f15ae20da3cd513b407d88048abe0a
id:
092d50a41170a2e365f45402886c7c88
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_mosstilskuer_null_null_18790930_41_113_1
title:
Moss Tilskuer
creators:
not reported by source
year:
18790930
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Østfold
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_digavis_mosstilskuer_null_null_18790930_41_113_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/092d50a41170a2e365f45402886c7c88
id:
0a02042d82751f344ca53d780ab95bf8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_soendenfjeldskeavis_null_null_18940418_2_212_1
title:
Søndenfjeldske avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
18940418
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Agder
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_digavis_soendenfjeldskeavis_null_null_18940418_2_212_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0a02042d82751f344ca53d780ab95bf8
id:
cbf24e1e204995ec3b90c6ae8b59311c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012071206001
title:
De tyske haandverkere paa norsk grund i middelalderen
creators:
1 results
1. Bendixen, B.E.
year:
1912
publisher:
not reported by source
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_2012071206001_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/cbf24e1e204995ec3b90c6ae8b59311c
id:
3be92006dbc778670e9086b127091aca
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_morgenbladet_null_null_18750109_57_8_2
title:
Morgenbladet
creators:
not reported by source
year:
18750109
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Oslo
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_digavis_morgenbladet_null_null_18750109_57_8_2-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3be92006dbc778670e9086b127091aca
id:
8d7834558fb1deaef3e74d33d74c7cf4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_morgenbladetextranumer_null_null_18970919_1_38_1
title:
Morgenbladet : Extranumer
creators:
not reported by source
year:
18970919
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Oslo
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_morgenbladetextranumer_null_null_18970919_1_38_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8d7834558fb1deaef3e74d33d74c7cf4
id:
9dc4d7eacacd093ac89ed214147c14a7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025061080019_013
title:
Norges håndverk. 1920 Vol. 2 Nr. 4
creators:
2 results
1. Norske håndverks- og industribedrifters forbund
2. Norges håndverkerforbund
year:
1920
publisher:
Norske håndverks- og industribedrifters forbund
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025061080019_013_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9dc4d7eacacd093ac89ed214147c14a7
id:
db88398339b4a91e6e7b09601d4cfcf8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_hamarstiftstidendeatten_null_null_18900821_43_193_1
title:
Hamar Stiftstidende (1866-1916)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
18900821
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Innlandet
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_digavis_hamarstiftstidendeatten_null_null_18900821_43_193_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/db88398339b4a91e6e7b09601d4cfcf8
id:
fdf5de30e225b9d35d3d88999652a396
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021092281028_001
title:
Norges håndverk. 1926 Vol. 8 Nr. 1-24
creators:
2 results
1. Norske håndverks- og industribedrifters forbund
2. Norges håndverkerforbund
year:
1926
publisher:
Norske håndverks- og industribedrifters forbund
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021092281028_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fdf5de30e225b9d35d3d88999652a396

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.