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 2026-09-27T03:54:10Z in 0.184 seconds.

total:

57601

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
29801055a07609a1b55a827f19f53b74
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012082908075
title:
Lappcodicillen av 1751 : var det samernas Magna Charta?
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1989
publisher:
Sámi Instituhtta
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. swe
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_2012082908075_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/29801055a07609a1b55a827f19f53b74
id:
0bd8d47a11d9cf6a806ef96c4b1341be
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011012608064
title:
Fiskerens frue
creators:
1 results
1. Larsen, Henning
year:
1996
publisher:
Magna vox musikkteater
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_2011012608064_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0bd8d47a11d9cf6a806ef96c4b1341be
id:
9a2b2358837c9e7593cfef2418699f15
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008061904035
title:
Folketellingen 3.12.1900 for 214 Aas kommune
creators:
1 results
1. Teleslekt (prosjekt)
year:
1996
publisher:
Teleslekt
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
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_digibok_2008061904035_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9a2b2358837c9e7593cfef2418699f15
id:
6a581cdbf72dbaa7e62f44f3eaa770a7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2019082977008
title:
"Et prosjekt er et prosjekt er et prosjekt" : en analyse av prosjektbegrepets utvikling og betydning i det norske språket, med hovedvekt på kulturpolitisk retorikk og scenekunstdiskurs
creators:
1 results
1. Velure, Hallfrid
year:
2014
publisher:
Universitetet i Bergen
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
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_digibok_2019082977008_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6a581cdbf72dbaa7e62f44f3eaa770a7
id:
e40fa94cc23a820dd137a1bc5ffbe352
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011012708067
title:
Folketellingen 3.12.1900 for 0128 Rakkestad
creators:
1 results
1. Teleslekt (prosjekt)
year:
1996
publisher:
Teleslekt
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
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_digibok_2011012708067_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e40fa94cc23a820dd137a1bc5ffbe352
id:
5769fda68bc256fee95fcdbe7cb6c535
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014051908243
title:
Folketellingen 3.12.1900 for 0728 Lardal
creators:
1 results
1. Teleslekt (prosjekt)
year:
1996
publisher:
Teleslekt
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
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_digibok_2014051908243_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5769fda68bc256fee95fcdbe7cb6c535
id:
f2512864d17226d38e382c86837ff655
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008072304042
title:
Folketellingen 3.12.1900 for 114 Varteig
creators:
1 results
1. Teleslekt (prosjekt)
year:
1996
publisher:
Teleslekt
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
county:
not reported by source
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_digibok_2008072304042_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f2512864d17226d38e382c86837ff655
id:
391a21794c1bb341e634a72df3ee67fa
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008061304096
title:
Folketellingen 3.12.1900 for 707 Larvik kjøbstad. D. 2(2) : Registre
creators:
1 results
1. Teleslekt (prosjekt)
year:
1996
publisher:
Teleslekt
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
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_digibok_2008061304096_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/391a21794c1bb341e634a72df3ee67fa
id:
5771043800f21ef86f719a1afde9bd94
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011082908027
title:
Folketellingen 3.12.1900 for 811 Siljan (Slemdal)
creators:
1 results
1. Teleslekt (prosjekt)
year:
1997
publisher:
Teleslekt NBR
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
county:
not reported by source
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_digibok_2011082908027_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5771043800f21ef86f719a1afde9bd94
id:
65f8d4517d24a30025150e4d07e73be5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011011208081
title:
Folketellingen 3.12.1900 for 1559 Straumsnes
creators:
1 results
1. Teleslekt (prosjekt)
year:
1996
publisher:
Teleslekt
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
county:
not reported by source
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_digibok_2011011208081_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/65f8d4517d24a30025150e4d07e73be5

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.