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 2026-09-08T15:31:32Z in 0.227 seconds.

total:

137859

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
dc85b14d79cf71c70aa5cce64f6574d4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022020448504
title:
Molde havn 1605 - 2005
creators:
2 results
1. Grøtte, Ottar
2. Molde havn
year:
2005
publisher:
Molde havnevesen KF
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_2022020448504_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/dc85b14d79cf71c70aa5cce64f6574d4
id:
21ffcc242ea4bf420549c786f0bda748
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021051881076_001
title:
Årbok for Harstad. 2015 Vol. 28
creators:
1 results
1. Harstad historielag
year:
2015
publisher:
Laget
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_2021051881076_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/21ffcc242ea4bf420549c786f0bda748
id:
28412813b488b8f2c106ab56d6c4c3ba
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021012681054_001
title:
Årbok for Harstad. 2016 Vol. 29
creators:
1 results
1. Harstad historielag
year:
2016
publisher:
Laget
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_2021012681054_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/28412813b488b8f2c106ab56d6c4c3ba
id:
e17eddf9ec577f15c31b5f237e857414
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022050680035_001
title:
Årbok for Harstad. 2010 Vol. 23
creators:
1 results
1. Harstad historielag
year:
2010
publisher:
Harstad historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2022050680035_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e17eddf9ec577f15c31b5f237e857414
id:
a4e6b7d92d0e85034d881e7b1bd63fd9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021051881078_001
title:
Årbok for Harstad. 2014 Vol. 27
creators:
1 results
1. Harstad historielag
year:
2014
publisher:
Laget
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_2021051881078_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a4e6b7d92d0e85034d881e7b1bd63fd9
id:
0b970836612add3bea84b84d43ed1390
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021051881080_001
title:
Årbok for Harstad. 2012 Vol. 25
creators:
1 results
1. Harstad historielag
year:
2012
publisher:
Laget
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_2021051881080_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0b970836612add3bea84b84d43ed1390
id:
abbb4c1482031d052fda1cb531e67261
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026032782005_001
title:
Årbok for Harstad. 2021 Vol. 34
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2021
publisher:
Harstad historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2026032782005_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/abbb4c1482031d052fda1cb531e67261
id:
9ff0af71966a2a15ae9465ac1f6f3d98
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026032782007_001
title:
Årbok for Harstad. 2017 Vol. 30
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2017
publisher:
Harstad historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2026032782007_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9ff0af71966a2a15ae9465ac1f6f3d98
id:
9ddd53796c1e576ad13f3b04aeddfaa3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026032782003_001
title:
Årbok for Harstad. 2019 Vol. 32
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2019
publisher:
Harstad historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2026032782003_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9ddd53796c1e576ad13f3b04aeddfaa3
id:
836bad76002a708c08019de32364fb37
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021012681052_001
title:
Årbok for Harstad. 2011 Vol. 24
creators:
1 results
1. Harstad historielag
year:
2011
publisher:
Laget
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_2021012681052_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/836bad76002a708c08019de32364fb37

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

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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

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.