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 2026-09-23T20:01:30Z in 0.253 seconds.

total:

528

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
63f91ecfddd5777da456dfaaa8e10761
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sognogfjordane_null_null_19530629_22_71_1
title:
Sogn og Fjordane
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19530629
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_sognogfjordane_null_null_19530629_22_71_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/63f91ecfddd5777da456dfaaa8e10761
id:
a28dd96ad85e4da566f54d3acfd32efb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sogningensognsavis_null_null_19760103_1_1_1
title:
Sogningen-Sogns Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19760103
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_sogningensognsavis_null_null_19760103_1_1_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a28dd96ad85e4da566f54d3acfd32efb
id:
00057da19b42ace08170d8bf1d2391e3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sognsavis_null_null_19530903_28_41_1
title:
Sogns Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19530903
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_sognsavis_null_null_19530903_28_41_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/00057da19b42ace08170d8bf1d2391e3
id:
27a1ffebaeaee27baddefe9e45667847
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025062480072_003
title:
Våre veger. 1988 Vol. 15 Nr. 3
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1988
publisher:
Teknisk ukeblad 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_2025062480072_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/27a1ffebaeaee27baddefe9e45667847
id:
7ca57fc177a412bfc3177147d2f72271
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sognogfjordane_null_null_19511012_20_79_1
title:
Sogn og Fjordane
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19511012
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_sognogfjordane_null_null_19511012_20_79_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7ca57fc177a412bfc3177147d2f72271
id:
dbabc6c47cf241f7a4cb92d1ccd4e32e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025080783109_001
title:
Kyrkjebod (Atrå) : kyrkjelydsblad for Tinn. 2025 Vol. 70 Nr. 2
creators:
2 results
1. Tinn prestegjeld
2. Tinn kirkelige fellesråd
year:
2025
publisher:
[Tinn kirkelige fellesråd]
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_2025080783109_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/dbabc6c47cf241f7a4cb92d1ccd4e32e
id:
5c08bbc917a13de2e8996e3b82bfd4a5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025032583012_001
title:
Klubbavis (Kolbu). 2015 Nr. Jubileumsavis
creators:
1 results
1. IL Kolbukameratene
year:
2015
publisher:
Kolbukameratene
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_2025032583012_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5c08bbc917a13de2e8996e3b82bfd4a5
id:
933c15092b0bdc7c9a28f8ed50a171bd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_totensblad_null_null_20200311_93_10_1
title:
Totens blad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20200311
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:
ccbync
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_totensblad_null_null_20200311_93_10_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/933c15092b0bdc7c9a28f8ed50a171bd
id:
f90fa94b391f72576bf036a29768a913
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025062480072_008
title:
Våre veger. 1988 Vol. 15 Nr. 8
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1988
publisher:
Teknisk ukeblad 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_2025062480072_008_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f90fa94b391f72576bf036a29768a913
id:
3fd2de487b20848e702bccdc356b1170
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025012780022_002
title:
Klubbavis (Kolbu). 2010 Nr. Jubileumsavis
creators:
1 results
1. IL Kolbukameratene
year:
2010
publisher:
Kolbukameratene
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_2025012780022_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3fd2de487b20848e702bccdc356b1170

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.