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.

ParameterRequirementJSON typeDescription
qrequiredstringFree-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
media_typeoptionalunionRestrict 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.
languageoptionalunionLanguage 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.
countyoptionalunionNorwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
year_fromoptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
year_tooptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
digital_onlyoptionalbooleanOnly items that have been digitized.
sortoptionalunionOne of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
pageoptionalintegerZero-based page index.
sizeoptionalintegerResults per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).
limitoptionalintegerGateway page size; default 25, maximum 100.
offsetoptionalintegerNumber 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.

Type: string. Free-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
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.
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.
Type: string. Norwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: yes/no. Only items that have been digitized.
Type: string. One of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
Type: integer. Zero-based page index.
Type: integer. Results per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).

Result

Source: National Library of Norway. Retrieved 2026-09-25T14:29:48Z in 0.254 seconds.

total:
6
page:
0
size:
10
items:

6 results

  1. id:
    00b541d23b3427dc76470f48550dc05b
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_drammenstidendeogbuskerudblad_null_null_19890127_158_23_1
    title:
    Drammens Tidende og Buskeruds blad
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    19890127
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. aviser
    languages:

    1 results

    1. Norsk bokmål
    county:
    Buskerud
    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_drammenstidendeogbuskerudblad_null_null_19890127_158_23_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/00b541d23b3427dc76470f48550dc05b
  2. id:
    44bd01211a3a7823ef2385d7ce08160d
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_19980419_139_176_1
    title:
    Aftenposten
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    19980419
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. aviser
    languages:

    1 results

    1. Norsk bokmål
    county:
    Oslo
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    LIBRARY
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_19980419_139_176_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/44bd01211a3a7823ef2385d7ce08160d
  3. id:
    88c304f205e2984b3274f37fde48ae8e
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_19890201_130_53_1
    title:
    Aftenposten
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    19890201
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. aviser
    languages:

    1 results

    1. Norsk bokmål
    county:
    Oslo
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    LIBRARY
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_19890201_130_53_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/88c304f205e2984b3274f37fde48ae8e
  4. id:
    110376353c670d9b33a7b05ca44bb88d
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_20000529_141_232_1
    title:
    Aftenposten
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    20000529
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. aviser
    languages:

    1 results

    1. Norsk bokmål
    county:
    Oslo
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    LIBRARY
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_20000529_141_232_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/110376353c670d9b33a7b05ca44bb88d
  5. id:
    3ebdfa6fd9ff1a4d1442cee4eaa269ef
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_19861104_127_497_1
    title:
    Aftenposten
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    19861104
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. aviser
    languages:

    1 results

    1. Norsk bokmål
    county:
    Oslo
    digital:
    yes
    public_domain:
    no
    license:
    copyrighted
    viewability:
    NONE
    access_allowed_from:
    LIBRARY
    thumbnail:
    https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aftenposten_null_null_19861104_127_497_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/3ebdfa6fd9ff1a4d1442cee4eaa269ef
  6. id:
    1d07854553cc05530a89f0f0e134d4ec
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021062581035_001
    title:
    Norges handels-kalender (trykt utg.) : adressebok for handel, håndverk, industri og skipsfart. 1984 Nr. 1
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    1984
    publisher:
    S. M. Bryde
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. tidsskrift
    languages:

    1 results

    1. nob
    county:
    not reported by source
    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_digitidsskrift_2021062581035_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/1d07854553cc05530a89f0f0e134d4ec
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
6
has_more_results:
no
truncated:
no
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

  1. Replace the placeholders in the HTML GET template; remove optional parameters you do not need.
  2. Check types, units, limits and ID formats in the parameter table.
  3. 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.