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 2026-09-28T03:31:36Z in 0.243 seconds.

total:

1209

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
3f74325aae6711bba7862612de9ae2c8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021121648081
title:
Motstandskamp fra Trondheim : skjulte nettverk, våpensmugling og sabotasjeaksjoner
creators:
1 results
1. Busch, Tor
year:
2019
publisher:
Museumsforlaget
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_2021121648081_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3f74325aae6711bba7862612de9ae2c8
id:
ffb3110d4e37ee73017ec7a30769b4c9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018030748102
title:
Gamle gårder i Øyestad. 2
creators:
4 results
1. Asdal, Gunnar Knutsen
2. Myrdal, Arne J.
3. Øyestad historielag
4. Gundersen, Bergår
year:
1982
publisher:
Laget
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Agder
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_2018030748102_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ffb3110d4e37ee73017ec7a30769b4c9
id:
dd4aba1c37e161804c3645fdaa5a32f0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20010126_82_18_1
title:
Brønnøysunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20010126
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20010126_82_18_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/dd4aba1c37e161804c3645fdaa5a32f0
id:
4b335017a6e8a28ba4474f9fd867b1b7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20160405_95_39_1
title:
Brønnøysunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20160405
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20160405_95_39_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4b335017a6e8a28ba4474f9fd867b1b7
id:
8c015a2dc5d272c8786530c8154fb993
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20000831_80_168_1
title:
Brønnøysunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20000831
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20000831_80_168_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8c015a2dc5d272c8786530c8154fb993
id:
aad57a5ba0cff101f7472a207e7b378e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20021220_83_242_1
title:
Brønnøysunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20021220
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20021220_83_242_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/aad57a5ba0cff101f7472a207e7b378e
id:
20a89cfbff5b4eafd94add4dc3700dc2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20100709_91_130_1
title:
Brønnøysunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20100709
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20100709_91_130_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/20a89cfbff5b4eafd94add4dc3700dc2
id:
d1f572127076ef280955e6eaa7ffc5d9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_19930206_73_20_1
title:
Brønnøysunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19930206
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_19930206_73_20_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d1f572127076ef280955e6eaa7ffc5d9
id:
26194c8da9c486df6803c725c8cb4cd8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_ytringen_null_null_20161125_35_92_1
title:
Ytringen : politisk uavhengig talerør for Ytre Namdal og Bindal
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20161125
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_ytringen_null_null_20161125_35_92_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/26194c8da9c486df6803c725c8cb4cd8
id:
9c0a3ca23e307e3bef6e19dd6937cda8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20001109_80_218_1
title:
Brønnøysunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20001109
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bronnoysundsavis_null_null_20001109_80_218_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9c0a3ca23e307e3bef6e19dd6937cda8

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.