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 2026-09-27T01:10:14Z in 0.190 seconds.

total:

119

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
88d9f6bef1ed681ad319ccb95a4f98cf
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025050980037_007
title:
Kommunal rapport (Oslo : 1987 : trykt utg.). 2015 Vol. 29 Nr. 33
creators:
2 results
1. Norske kommuners sentralforbund
2. Kommunenes sentralforbund
year:
2015
publisher:
Kommunal rapport AS
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_2025050980037_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/88d9f6bef1ed681ad319ccb95a4f98cf
id:
25c8d0291f7a28e9d1128a2ef41ca205
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025050980037_003
title:
Kommunal rapport (Oslo : 1987 : trykt utg.). 2015 Vol. 29 Nr. 29
creators:
2 results
1. Norske kommuners sentralforbund
2. Kommunenes sentralforbund
year:
2015
publisher:
Kommunal rapport AS
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_2025050980037_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/25c8d0291f7a28e9d1128a2ef41ca205
id:
38cb17d461ae09f948c3ff4bd652d397
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_3e2ebedb-1be4-426e-83e4-7e81679604af
title:
HRmagasinet. 2025 Nr. 4
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_3e2ebedb-1be4-426e-83e4-7e81679604af_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/38cb17d461ae09f948c3ff4bd652d397
id:
20f638b4b9fee39c851f952ac3d2afda
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_smaalenenesavis_null_null_20151217_116_293_1
title:
Smaalenenes Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20151217
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:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_smaalenenesavis_null_null_20151217_116_293_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/20f638b4b9fee39c851f952ac3d2afda
id:
bf854095b6454f1ba6b91d87c8b4fc56
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_0f2eb3bd-e18b-431c-9c7a-6e406ce33dfa
title:
HRmagasinet. 2025 Nr. 3
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
Ask 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_plikttidsskrift_0f2eb3bd-e18b-431c-9c7a-6e406ce33dfa_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bf854095b6454f1ba6b91d87c8b4fc56
id:
dd9b2983f8ef2b8b58797d6d177a4c66
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025041480027_005
title:
Kommunal rapport (Oslo : 1987 : trykt utg.). 2016 Vol. 30 Nr. 5
creators:
2 results
1. Norske kommuners sentralforbund
2. Kommunenes sentralforbund
year:
2016
publisher:
Kommunal rapport AS
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_2025041480027_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/dd9b2983f8ef2b8b58797d6d177a4c66
id:
094063d37d97be2088cc6b2a153e392c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fjuken_null_null_20240613_36_22_1
title:
Fjuken
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20240613
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
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_digavis_fjuken_null_null_20240613_36_22_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/094063d37d97be2088cc6b2a153e392c
id:
2fbc824c5825ebf57d7a3acc71308460
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_smaalenenesavis_null_null_20151222_116_297_1
title:
Smaalenenes Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20151222
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:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_smaalenenesavis_null_null_20151222_116_297_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2fbc824c5825ebf57d7a3acc71308460
id:
21e3833bfe4835f4a877a02b4dc8b5a6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_smaalenenesavis_null_null_20151105_116_257_1
title:
Smaalenenes Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20151105
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:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_smaalenenesavis_null_null_20151105_116_257_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/21e3833bfe4835f4a877a02b4dc8b5a6
id:
d91f982d8cf867e0ed43da1370cbbf3e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fjuken_null_null_20240222_36_8_1
title:
Fjuken
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20240222
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
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_digavis_fjuken_null_null_20240222_36_8_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d91f982d8cf867e0ed43da1370cbbf3e

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.