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 2026-09-28T08:40:15Z in 0.278 seconds.

total:
150
page:
0
size:
10
items:

10 results

  1. id:
    c49e8a01087b7041310e3ac0266acf7f
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024080680045_002
    title:
    Miljørapport. 2008
    creators:

    3 results

    1. El-Retur
    2. Elektronikkretur
    3. Hvitevareretur AS
    year:
    2008
    publisher:
    Elektronikkretur
    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_2024080680045_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/c49e8a01087b7041310e3ac0266acf7f
  2. id:
    a94f9dfb73c9d6c9f05c9249ba53fdff
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024080680045_003
    title:
    Miljørapport. 2009
    creators:

    3 results

    1. El-Retur
    2. Elektronikkretur
    3. Hvitevareretur AS
    year:
    2009
    publisher:
    Elektronikkretur
    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_2024080680045_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/a94f9dfb73c9d6c9f05c9249ba53fdff
  3. id:
    dc41ef15732122f27bd582899b4f15d0
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024080680045_001
    title:
    Miljørapport. 2007
    creators:

    3 results

    1. El-Retur
    2. Elektronikkretur
    3. Hvitevareretur AS
    year:
    2007
    publisher:
    Elektronikkretur
    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_2024080680045_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/dc41ef15732122f27bd582899b4f15d0
  4. id:
    087c3171dea03fbcb8c0ea59cdf7c256
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_ostlandetsblad_null_null_20100227_103_49_1
    title:
    Østlandets Blad
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    20100227
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. aviser
    languages:

    1 results

    1. Norsk bokmål
    county:
    Akershus
    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_digavis_ostlandetsblad_null_null_20100227_103_49_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/087c3171dea03fbcb8c0ea59cdf7c256
  5. id:
    2e04f621567aa23dfe6ea36fdd40532e
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_dagensnaeringsliv_null_null_20050418_116_87_1
    title:
    Dagens Næringsliv
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    20050418
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. aviser
    languages:

    1 results

    1. Norsk bokmål
    county:
    Oslo
    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_dagensnaeringsliv_null_null_20050418_116_87_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/2e04f621567aa23dfe6ea36fdd40532e
  6. id:
    1064eef48593e624c5034d0859002ff0
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024071183061_001
    title:
    Rosenkilden : næringslivsmagasinet. 2024 Vol. 30 Nr. 2
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Stavanger næringsforening
    2. Næringsforeningen i Stavanger-regionen
    year:
    2024
    publisher:
    Næringsforeningen i Stavanger-regionen
    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_2024071183061_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/1064eef48593e624c5034d0859002ff0
  7. id:
    6c7304613b1b2b78e104bf6665e40378
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_dagbladet_null_1_20151230_147_303_1
    title:
    Dagbladet (Oslo: 1869-)
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    20151230
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. aviser
    languages:

    1 results

    1. Norsk bokmål
    county:
    Oslo
    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_dagbladet_null_1_20151230_147_303_1-1_001_nyheter/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/6c7304613b1b2b78e104bf6665e40378
  8. id:
    f2995b00a906455b5bef073ea9eb42a7
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025082080017_001
    title:
    Estate lokaler : magasinet for deg som leier og søker lokaler. januar 2011 Vol. 12 Nr. 1
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2011
    publisher:
    Estate 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_2025082080017_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/f2995b00a906455b5bef073ea9eb42a7
  9. id:
    74caaf6db638f23784dcebc63971128d
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025082080018_004
    title:
    Estate lokaler : magasinet for deg som leier og søker lokaler. april 2010 Vol. 11 Nr. 4
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2010
    publisher:
    Estate 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_2025082080018_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/74caaf6db638f23784dcebc63971128d
  10. id:
    4533f2da3948a72e4d69d0ee8745eba5
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025081980034_002
    title:
    Estate magasin : magasin for eiendomsbransjen. 2017 Nr. 2
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2017
    publisher:
    Estate media
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. tidsskrift
    languages:

    3 results

    1. eng
    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_2025081980034_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/4533f2da3948a72e4d69d0ee8745eba5
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
10
has_more_results:
yes
truncated:
yes
next_offset:
10
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

  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.