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.

ParameterRequirementJSON typeDescription
qrequiredstringFree-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
media_typeoptionalunionRestrict 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.
languageoptionalunionLanguage 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.
countyoptionalunionNorwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
year_fromoptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
year_tooptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
digital_onlyoptionalbooleanOnly items that have been digitized.
sortoptionalunionOne of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
pageoptionalintegerZero-based page index.
sizeoptionalintegerResults per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).
limitoptionalintegerGateway page size; default 25, maximum 100.
offsetoptionalintegerNumber 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.

Type: string. Free-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
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.
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.
Type: string. Norwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: yes/no. Only items that have been digitized.
Type: string. One of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
Type: integer. Zero-based page index.
Type: integer. Results per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).

Result

Source: National Library of Norway. Retrieved 2026-09-24T04:41:05Z in 0.224 seconds.

total:
20613
page:
0
size:
10
items:

10 results

  1. id:
    70f966e3857316c691b1c244b9ad33b9
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021093048085
    title:
    Løper og bonde mot fylkeskongen og alle hans springere : et helvete for den som tør å hevde sin rett!
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Lilleholt, L.K. Harris (Laila Katherine Harris)
    year:
    2017
    publisher:
    Kolofon
    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_2021093048085_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/70f966e3857316c691b1c244b9ad33b9
  2. id:
    bc4ec7a51c7d0ab56b226bb161f832ac
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011040806119
    title:
    Infomediarett
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Wiersholm, Mellbye & Bech advokatfirma AS
    year:
    2002
    publisher:
    Cappelen akademisk
    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_2011040806119_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/bc4ec7a51c7d0ab56b226bb161f832ac
  3. id:
    addbac544001b263a8d4203068822d3e
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008042400038
    title:
    Begjær
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Harris, Frank
    2. Wollebæk, Per
    year:
    1951
    publisher:
    Brann
    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_2008042400038_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/addbac544001b263a8d4203068822d3e
  4. id:
    5c9108629036f911ef7b0540ce1225e3
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014021106123
    title:
    Dødelig maktkamp
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Harris, Charlaine
    2. Larsson, Sigrid
    year:
    2010
    publisher:
    Cappelen Damm
    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_2014021106123_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/5c9108629036f911ef7b0540ce1225e3
  5. id:
    e54a7ddf59d59f07a4b64520ed8a3c61
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022111448062
    title:
    Et spill for to
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Harris, Lynn Raye
    2. Grødahl, Rita
    year:
    2013
    publisher:
    Harlequin
    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_2022111448062_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/e54a7ddf59d59f07a4b64520ed8a3c61
  6. id:
    8f4698dc626df675b543e2c6974a15e0
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020031348010
    title:
    I bevegelse : Stokke AS 75 år
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Høidal, Eldar
    2. Norsk møbelfaglig senter
    3. Häggström, Anders
    year:
    2007
    publisher:
    Norsk møbelfaglig senter
    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_2020031348010_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/8f4698dc626df675b543e2c6974a15e0
  7. id:
    4c8e3521866c58a0915e096142ae25e4
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024111480006_001
    title:
    Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2009 Vol. 21 Nr. 1b
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Birkebeinerrittet
    2. Birkebeinerrennet
    year:
    2009
    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_2024111480006_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/4c8e3521866c58a0915e096142ae25e4
  8. id:
    3e84433b83c3eefa9141b4d99f5b670f
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009031000003
    title:
    Skjulte synder
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Hoag, Tami
    2. Frogner, Elsa
    year:
    1999
    publisher:
    Egmont bøker
    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_2009031000003_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/3e84433b83c3eefa9141b4d99f5b670f
  9. id:
    791aaf0f9540fc7aee72d7806b66b5ce
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009030904080
    title:
    Skjulte synder
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Hoag, Tami
    2. Frogner, Elsa
    year:
    1997
    publisher:
    Egmont Hjemmets bokforl.
    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_2009030904080_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/791aaf0f9540fc7aee72d7806b66b5ce
  10. id:
    d92b1c328123b63121e867ace6b3fde5
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011102424021
    title:
    En guttedrøm
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Archer, Jeffrey
    2. Smith, Anne-Marie
    year:
    1991
    publisher:
    Aschehoug
    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_2011102424021_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/d92b1c328123b63121e867ace6b3fde5
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
10
has_more_results:
yes
truncated:
yes
next_offset:
10
Will you use the result in generated code?

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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

  1. Replace the placeholders in the HTML GET template; remove optional parameters you do not need.
  2. Check types, units, limits and ID formats in the parameter table.
  3. 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.