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 2026-09-12T11:27:42Z in 0.244 seconds.

total:

920336

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
cfa3bd128d260d40fb39ed6342a8a1d8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012050908169
title:
Optiske nett
creators:
2 results
1. Hjelme, Dag R.
2. Røyset, Arne
year:
1994
publisher:
SINTEF DELAB
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_2012050908169_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/cfa3bd128d260d40fb39ed6342a8a1d8
id:
a99e663e43d9769d754f6925bca8b706
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022080883126_001
title:
Nett no (Fosnavåg). 2021 Vol. 9 Nr. 1
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2021
publisher:
Bakkar & berg media
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. 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_2022080883126_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a99e663e43d9769d754f6925bca8b706
id:
bd6272bf6ba58859a4366476d622cced
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026042283015_001
title:
Nett no (Fosnavåg). 2025 Vol. 13 Nr. 1
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Bakkar & berg media
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. 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_2026042283015_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bd6272bf6ba58859a4366476d622cced
id:
598f0d937f18757930b3dd65bedb5b02
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024041783142_001
title:
Nett no (Fosnavåg). 2023 Vol. 11 Nr. 1
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2023
publisher:
Bakkar & berg media
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. 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_2024041783142_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/598f0d937f18757930b3dd65bedb5b02
id:
8c4c0d7d0f58564f885d1eb44c7c7290
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022032983068_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2020
creators:
3 results
1. Midtkraft
2. Midtkraft nett
3. Midtkraft strøm
year:
2020
publisher:
Midtkraft
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_2022032983068_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8c4c0d7d0f58564f885d1eb44c7c7290
id:
43d388ffecfccf50b51cd674ddcf9486
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014102106026
title:
Moderne IP-nett
creators:
1 results
1. Sørensen, Frode
year:
2008
publisher:
Bookworld
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_2014102106026_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/43d388ffecfccf50b51cd674ddcf9486
id:
3f88a6f31bf9c6bff0a594c2bd6f2de0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013073038029
title:
Moderne IP-nett
creators:
1 results
1. Sørensen, Frode
year:
2011
publisher:
Bookworld
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_2013073038029_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3f88a6f31bf9c6bff0a594c2bd6f2de0
id:
75a78ba9150a173e1e0e62e48e88c165
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014101306042
title:
Moderne IP-nett
creators:
1 results
1. Sørensen, Frode
year:
2004
publisher:
IDG Norge Books
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_2014101306042_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/75a78ba9150a173e1e0e62e48e88c165
id:
47b6a85040e851ceb230acb2fb4d500d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009012104013
title:
Oluf Rasmussen AS, 100 år : 1902-2002
creators:
1 results
1. Oluf Rasmussen AS
year:
2002
publisher:
[Oluf Rasmussens forl.]
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_2009012104013_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/47b6a85040e851ceb230acb2fb4d500d
id:
146b49fa6670607bfbc14590141b1b39
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023112880044_003
title:
Nett nå : et nettverksmagasin fra Nordnorsk lederutvikling. 2004 Nr. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Nordnorsk lederutvikling
year:
2004
publisher:
Stiftelsen Nordnorsk lederutvikling
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_2023112880044_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/146b49fa6670607bfbc14590141b1b39

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.