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 2026-09-26T02:25:25Z in 0.242 seconds.

total:

2376511

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
b9fb2e081c4c0479e763656835557be8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017041948103
title:
Huset vårt
creators:
2 results
1. Magnussen, Kjeld
2. Boliginstituttet for Oslo, Veritas for fast eiendom
year:
1967
publisher:
Boliginstituttet for Oslo, Veritas for fast eiendom
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. und
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_2017041948103_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b9fb2e081c4c0479e763656835557be8
id:
551cff3fdc2014ed2f1b36f5ba702271
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012051108060
title:
Vårt land 20 år : 1945-1965 : en hilsen fra bladet til venner og medarbeidere
creators:
1 results
1. Vårt land AS
year:
1965
publisher:
Vårt Land
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_2012051108060_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/551cff3fdc2014ed2f1b36f5ba702271
id:
c6690fca3419c3ac6c43abea398a4bc6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000004267
title:
Huset Aukrust 25 år : tegnet av arkitekt Sverre Fehn
creators:
2 results
1. Semmingsen, Astrid Hilde
2. Engh, Ellen Anniken Næstvold
year:
2021
publisher:
Huset Aukrust
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Innlandet
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_pliktmonografi_000004267_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c6690fca3419c3ac6c43abea398a4bc6
id:
58992ee393933df6e3a88e454aebcfb7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2007102600056
title:
Teatret vårt gjennom 20 år : 1972-1992 : Teatret vårt i jubileumsåret 1992
creators:
1 results
1. Teatret vårt
year:
1992
publisher:
Tekst & bilder
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2007102600056_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/58992ee393933df6e3a88e454aebcfb7
id:
ed93d7b98e084c199367421f780d296a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011030108043
title:
10 år med St. Croix-huset : et allaktivitetshus i Fredrikstad : en fagrapport støttet av Barne- og familiedepartementet
creators:
2 results
1. Heidenstrøm, Bjørn
2. St. Croix-huset
year:
2001
publisher:
St. Croix-huset
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_2011030108043_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ed93d7b98e084c199367421f780d296a
id:
1948176ac8ac69873dfbaba0f6b777f9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022051080126_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2009
creators:
1 results
1. Otto-huset, Stiftelsen
year:
2009
publisher:
Stiftelsen Otto-huset
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_2022051080126_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1948176ac8ac69873dfbaba0f6b777f9
id:
75ce6a633de027ab10a03e13909b7d3a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021062148579
title:
Konge på MC
creators:
1 results
1. Berget, Halvard
year:
2021
publisher:
[MC-huset Nydal 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_2021062148579_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/75ce6a633de027ab10a03e13909b7d3a
id:
013ea2c216520b15db6868d202d0c0e5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013013105071
title:
Det mystiske huset
creators:
2 results
1. Lidbeck, Petter
2. Gundersen, Inge Ulrik
year:
2007
publisher:
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_2013013105071_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/013ea2c216520b15db6868d202d0c0e5
id:
da77489b70c9f8100ebced4f2fd8d8bc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023101048011
title:
Huset i Eldafjord
creators:
2 results
1. Sandemo, Margit
2. Meidell, Bente
year:
2005
publisher:
Schibsted
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_2023101048011_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/da77489b70c9f8100ebced4f2fd8d8bc
id:
957e75567825aecc0063c846def71909
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008100700032
title:
Huset ved Flon
creators:
2 results
1. Johansson, Kjell
2. Qvale, Per
year:
1999
publisher:
Cappelen
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_2008100700032_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/957e75567825aecc0063c846def71909

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.