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 2026-09-28T03:16:22Z in 0.296 seconds.

total:

1534127

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
69cd99113c55ea66c628be7e73cea365
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010042003099
title:
Lyse sider
creators:
1 results
1. Lyse, Steinar
year:
1995
publisher:
Samlaget
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_2010042003099_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/69cd99113c55ea66c628be7e73cea365
id:
f1e583ffba3de5cb465b2586a5388c60
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20150122_00178_NB_MIT_FNR_19932
title:
Bergen, Lyse Kloster
creators:
2 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
2. Brun, Jac
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Hordaland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20150122_00178_NB_MIT_FNR_19932/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f1e583ffba3de5cb465b2586a5388c60
id:
3c523d1e37da1243a02ab5fddd649e7a
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Bredbånd/tele i Lyse Energi AS : innovasjonsprosesser basert på relasjonelt samspill
creators:
2 results
1. Kvadsheim, Henrik
2. Engen, Ole Andreas
year:
2004
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. artikler
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/3c523d1e37da1243a02ab5fddd649e7a
id:
303f0a4a99f8f05f8742cdc07d1be86d
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Gass i Lyse energi AS : innovasjon i grensesnittet mellom politikk og marked
creators:
2 results
1. Engen, Ole Andreas
2. Kvadsheim, Henrik
year:
2004
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. artikler
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/303f0a4a99f8f05f8742cdc07d1be86d
id:
bc636e0deff2788acc96918950c156c9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011081608170
title:
"Ingen skal fryse med kraft ifra Lyse" : historien om Lyse kraft 1947-1997
creators:
5 results
1. Nerheim, Gunnar
2. Lyse kraft
3. Dahlberg, Frida
4. Ramskjær, Liv
5. Gjerde, Kristin Øye
year:
1997
publisher:
Lyse kraft
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_2011081608170_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bc636e0deff2788acc96918950c156c9
id:
1a0e7160a1ea91ea200342bfcaf62578
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20171025_00014_NB_MIT_23_028_A
title:
[Lyse kloster]
creators:
1 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Hordaland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20171025_00014_NB_MIT_23_028_A/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1a0e7160a1ea91ea200342bfcaf62578
id:
38e1b81b500f852a6b06c330286d1dfb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170110_00381_NB_MIT_FNR_26371
title:
Lyse kloster
creators:
2 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
2. Hilsen, Kristian
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Hordaland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170110_00381_NB_MIT_FNR_26371/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/38e1b81b500f852a6b06c330286d1dfb
id:
36df7efa43f0d1f6c1626720b548c0f0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170110_00380_NB_MIT_FNR_26370
title:
Lyse kloster
creators:
2 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
2. Hilsen, Kristian
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Hordaland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170110_00380_NB_MIT_FNR_26370/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/36df7efa43f0d1f6c1626720b548c0f0
id:
85baf1fecb5d872b1ed6bcd2fd7d3e5f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170110_00382_NB_MIT_FNR_26372
title:
Lyse kloster
creators:
2 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
2. Hilsen, Kristian
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Hordaland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170110_00382_NB_MIT_FNR_26372/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/85baf1fecb5d872b1ed6bcd2fd7d3e5f
id:
c43bdccf8a0310ecf789b0871f432582
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_e2877366-95d7-4023-812d-45fd1ec26294
title:
Grønt energiveikart. 2025
creators:
1 results
1. Lyse AS
year:
2025
publisher:
Lyse 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_plikttidsskrift_e2877366-95d7-4023-812d-45fd1ec26294_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c43bdccf8a0310ecf789b0871f432582

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.