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 2026-09-23T22:54:58Z in 0.348 seconds.

total:

342129

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
f0252c0e1975cda21c5ba91bbdcd552b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011020803019
title:
Lyngdal i bilder i det 20. århundre. B. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Lyngdal historielag
year:
2003
publisher:
Lyngdal historielag
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_2011020803019_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f0252c0e1975cda21c5ba91bbdcd552b
id:
6d54e3b5f048007947bece581c4e32f2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011020803001
title:
Lyngdal i bilder i det 20. århundre. B. 2
creators:
1 results
1. Lyngdal historielag
year:
2005
publisher:
Lyngdal historielag
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_2011020803001_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6d54e3b5f048007947bece581c4e32f2
id:
340da89907e1b37a13839591906f327c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021072206001
title:
Namn i Lyngdal. D. 3 : Lyngdal
creators:
2 results
1. Kvaavik, Signe
2. Lyngdal Kulturkontoret
year:
1993
publisher:
Lyngdal kommune, Kulturkontoret
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_2021072206001_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/340da89907e1b37a13839591906f327c
id:
af8ce06e8720068699ff985384ae2007
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Rullering av boligsosial handlingsplan : Lyngdal kommune 2009-2013
creators:
1 results
1. Lyngdal
year:
2009
publisher:
Lyngdal kommune
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/af8ce06e8720068699ff985384ae2007
id:
465f2ccef8c74f93cfa95278289ad406
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011092608225
title:
Lyngdal kirke 150 år : 1848-1998
creators:
1 results
1. Lyngdal menighetsråd (Lyngdal)
year:
1998
publisher:
Menighetsrådet
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_2011092608225_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/465f2ccef8c74f93cfa95278289ad406
id:
f3d756cdfdac926068d8fe3b3ec2bf0d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019071081378_001
title:
Lyngdalsboka : [årsskrift for Lyngdal historielag]. 2001
creators:
1 results
1. Lyngdal historielag
year:
2001
publisher:
Historielaget
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_2019071081378_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f3d756cdfdac926068d8fe3b3ec2bf0d
id:
a58356407dac9e688c260ed49837d692
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019071081376_001
title:
Lyngdalsboka : [årsskrift for Lyngdal historielag]. 2003
creators:
1 results
1. Lyngdal historielag
year:
2003
publisher:
Historielaget
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_2019071081376_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a58356407dac9e688c260ed49837d692
id:
1072e0f9045cf7ba38235c9c377e3e32
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2020021081092_001
title:
Lyngdalsboka : [årsskrift for Lyngdal historielag]. 2002
creators:
1 results
1. Lyngdal historielag
year:
2002
publisher:
Historielaget
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_2020021081092_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1072e0f9045cf7ba38235c9c377e3e32
id:
cb9a99a671599bde31a594e8365eeb3a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019071081370_001
title:
Lyngdalsboka : [årsskrift for Lyngdal historielag]. 1992
creators:
1 results
1. Lyngdal historielag
year:
1992
publisher:
Historielaget
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_2019071081370_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/cb9a99a671599bde31a594e8365eeb3a
id:
9de16017e4cfd751cd3ec68e51c5a0f4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019071081372_001
title:
Lyngdalsboka : [årsskrift for Lyngdal historielag]. 1991
creators:
1 results
1. Lyngdal historielag
year:
1991
publisher:
Historielaget
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_2019071081372_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9de16017e4cfd751cd3ec68e51c5a0f4

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.