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 2026-09-26T23:26:11Z in 0.181 seconds.

total:

54222

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
be6e80ff94f185d76f5877621e217630
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012110208003
title:
Gjeldsforhandling og konkurs. 3 : Omstøtelse
creators:
1 results
1. Huser, Kristian
year:
1992
publisher:
[Juristinformasjon]
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_2012110208003_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/be6e80ff94f185d76f5877621e217630
id:
a4fcfc722d463041cd8132c1cb65f607
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012110208005
title:
Gjeldsforhandling og konkurs. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Huser, Kristian
year:
1987
publisher:
[Juristinformasjon]
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_2012110208005_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a4fcfc722d463041cd8132c1cb65f607
id:
94ce3915a865ee51ca329a917a80bf53
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012110208004
title:
Gjeldsforhandling og konkurs. 2
creators:
1 results
1. Huser, Kristian
year:
1988
publisher:
[Juristinformasjon]
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_2012110208004_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/94ce3915a865ee51ca329a917a80bf53
id:
65f910e20c057b9e00629080ba80d67c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2022102648132
title:
Livsverk : Bergene Holm AS 1946-2006
creators:
2 results
1. Wellberg, Finn
2. Bergene Holm AS
year:
2007
publisher:
Bergene Holm AS
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_2022102648132_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/65f910e20c057b9e00629080ba80d67c
id:
3d966a4e48078dbd89f9c4743631df8d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012112308062
title:
Sivilingeniør Olaf Abel Engh AS 50 år
creators:
1 results
1. Sivilingeniør Olaf Abel Engh AS
year:
1996
publisher:
SCC Abel Engh
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_2012112308062_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3d966a4e48078dbd89f9c4743631df8d
id:
150005ea1666a2f1f2939af145c70987
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009062900010
title:
Byggetid : Martin M. Bakken AS : 75 års historie 1928-2003
creators:
1 results
1. Martin M. Bakken AS
year:
2003
publisher:
Martin M. Bakken A/S
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_2009062900010_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/150005ea1666a2f1f2939af145c70987
id:
03d33ef7e0ca25032ad77c69639dbcae
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2007082804033
title:
Avtaletolking : en innføring i avtaletolkingslærens alminnelige del
creators:
2 results
1. Huser, Kristian
2. Universitetet i Bergen Det juridiske fakultet
year:
1983
publisher:
Universitetsforlaget
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2007082804033_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/03d33ef7e0ca25032ad77c69639dbcae
id:
a655cced28c38953341f646d4d7d569d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025012880004_007
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2010 Vol. 22 Nr. Birkebeinerrittet
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2010
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_2025012880004_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a655cced28c38953341f646d4d7d569d
id:
9e59b8c290180fa53675e84a65820547
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680108_004
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2003 Vol. 15 Nr. 4
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2003
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_2026022680108_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9e59b8c290180fa53675e84a65820547
id:
c8ec30b1ab6ccab3c3751c0b98591efc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024042580046_001
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2008 Vol. 20 Nr. 1b
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2008
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_2024042580046_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c8ec30b1ab6ccab3c3751c0b98591efc

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.