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 2026-09-25T15:31:02Z in 0.192 seconds.

total:

990

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
0dcfde54bb4ceecbca96ce2d32b68fdb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sunnmoringen_null_null_19751014_29_72_1
title:
Sunnmøringen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19751014
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Nynorsk
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_sunnmoringen_null_null_19751014_29_72_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0dcfde54bb4ceecbca96ce2d32b68fdb
id:
daa5efaefc04899a43ed1f547c3d509a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_stjoerdalingen_null_null_19640314_40_21_1
title:
Stjørdalingen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19640314
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_stjoerdalingen_null_null_19640314_40_21_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/daa5efaefc04899a43ed1f547c3d509a
id:
7222c0fc5adabd2de6ca2e74b621d7f2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_jarlsberg_null_null_20010724_158_80_1
title:
Jarlsberg
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20010724
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestfold
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_jarlsberg_null_null_20010724_158_80_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7222c0fc5adabd2de6ca2e74b621d7f2
id:
b5ac04f37087c45fe8041c83f529a16c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sunnmoringen_null_null_19730904_27_61_1
title:
Sunnmøringen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19730904
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Nynorsk
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_sunnmoringen_null_null_19730904_27_61_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b5ac04f37087c45fe8041c83f529a16c
id:
e9d30ef83b8bfb594451311b583cebd5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_ostlandetsblad_null_null_19721204_65_140_1
title:
Østlandets Blad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19721204
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_19721204_65_140_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e9d30ef83b8bfb594451311b583cebd5
id:
a88b9bbafb98beeab4d594360b633621
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_lindesnes_null_null_19660506_78_103_1
title:
Lindesnes
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19660506
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Agder
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_lindesnes_null_null_19660506_78_103_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a88b9bbafb98beeab4d594360b633621
id:
085db2639b206840442e31c2bb043baf
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_farsundsavis_null_null_19941130_106_278_1
title:
Farsunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19941130
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Agder
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_farsundsavis_null_null_19941130_106_278_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/085db2639b206840442e31c2bb043baf
id:
405b5c50b6d02e17442cbe39e833c9d8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sogndagblad_null_null_19751212_34_270_1
title:
Sogn Dagblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19751212
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sogndagblad_null_null_19751212_34_270_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/405b5c50b6d02e17442cbe39e833c9d8
id:
a233451dd7d6274267bac2a2dec03e14
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_rjukandagblad_null_null_19501021_40_244_1
title:
Rjukan Dagblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19501021
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_19501021_40_244_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a233451dd7d6274267bac2a2dec03e14
id:
a01f254b375b84fc4be18dc0fe7864a4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sunnmoringen_null_null_19700710_24_51_1
title:
Sunnmøringen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19700710
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Nynorsk
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_sunnmoringen_null_null_19700710_24_51_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a01f254b375b84fc4be18dc0fe7864a4

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.