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 2026-09-23T18:00:01Z in 0.290 seconds.

total:

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
97ae51ed123ef7f87d92a10152f583ba
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_bergensaftenbladbergenattenattini_null_null_19310703_167_152_1
title:
Bergens Aftenblad (II) Bergen: 1889-1942
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19310703
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_bergensaftenbladbergenattenattini_null_null_19310703_167_152_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/97ae51ed123ef7f87d92a10152f583ba
id:
0b04ff188356dcfe72ae139e40058276
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aandalsnesavis_null_null_19990422_74_46_1
title:
Åndalsnes Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19990422
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_digavis_aandalsnesavis_null_null_19990422_74_46_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0b04ff188356dcfe72ae139e40058276
id:
f76223533a56040634a5a24d97aec26e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_hallingdolen_null_null_19831004_45_112_1
title:
Hallingdølen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19831004
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Buskerud
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_digavis_hallingdolen_null_null_19831004_45_112_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f76223533a56040634a5a24d97aec26e
id:
aceae91e01a7f13ff989616d8b8dacef
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_namdalen_null_null_19270207_40_16_1
title:
Namdalen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19270207
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:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_namdalen_null_null_19270207_40_16_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/aceae91e01a7f13ff989616d8b8dacef
id:
58b44c7e1ee321aec018019317b09146
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_roykenoghurumsavis_null_null_19840704_9_26_1
title:
Røyken og Hurums Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19840704
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_roykenoghurumsavis_null_null_19840704_9_26_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/58b44c7e1ee321aec018019317b09146
id:
22a7c643ad6310c37ee3b6b3871fc378
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_telen_null_null_19430715_16_116_1
title:
Telen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19430715
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Telemark
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_telen_null_null_19430715_16_116_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/22a7c643ad6310c37ee3b6b3871fc378
id:
9fd35ef149b1dda3ee6d26a069d4049c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_rjukandagblad_null_null_19531102_43_253_1
title:
Rjukan Dagblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19531102
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Telemark
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_rjukandagblad_null_null_19531102_43_253_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9fd35ef149b1dda3ee6d26a069d4049c
id:
1f2bf9a5eb984000b16813e266df7874
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_smaalenenesamtstidende_null_null_19530105_122_3_1
title:
Smaalenenes Amtstidende
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19530105
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Østfold
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_digavis_smaalenenesamtstidende_null_null_19530105_122_3_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1f2bf9a5eb984000b16813e266df7874
id:
8930416a52fa39dcc274f7cab4ecf2a2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_nidaros_null_null_19530908_52_208_1
title:
Nidaros
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19530908
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:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_nidaros_null_null_19530908_52_208_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8930416a52fa39dcc274f7cab4ecf2a2
id:
a1b37b0bcc40baa5c0b3fd0239d9108f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fremtiden_null_null_19761215_68_291_1
title:
Fremtiden
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19761215
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Buskerud
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbync
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fremtiden_null_null_19761215_68_291_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a1b37b0bcc40baa5c0b3fd0239d9108f

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.