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 2026-09-25T12:06:56Z in 0.340 seconds.

total:
5501
page:
0
size:
10
items:

10 results

  1. id:
    7beb614ece7e3f0dc1141347164e2dc9
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000031805
    title:
    The political economy of care : welfare state capitalism, universalism, and social reproduction
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Fagertun, Anette
    2. Haukelien, Heidi
    3. Vike, Halvard
    year:
    2024
    publisher:
    Scandinavian University Press
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. bøker
    languages:

    1 results

    1. eng
    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_pliktmonografi_000031805_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/7beb614ece7e3f0dc1141347164e2dc9
  2. id:
    623bb5fd664e8b04394a3c9df2b9795d
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000034303
    title:
    Å kjøpe for Norge
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Langseth, Marius
    2. Similä, Jan Ole
    year:
    2020
    publisher:
    Cappelen Damm akademisk
    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_pliktmonografi_000034303_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/623bb5fd664e8b04394a3c9df2b9795d
  3. id:
    e77ad1bff861d67faf641530fd6084ef
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024082883193_001
    title:
    Årsrapport. 2020
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Kistefos AS
    year:
    2020
    publisher:
    Kistefos
    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_2024082883193_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/e77ad1bff861d67faf641530fd6084ef
  4. id:
    9ba28b22c347f64cebd3a75e0f5f91e3
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015101381007_001
    title:
    Kompass (Stavanger : 1970) : indeks over Norges industri og næringsliv : register of Norwegian industry and commerce. 1999 Vol. 30
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Norges industriforbund
    2. Kompass-Norge
    3. Norges eksportråd
    year:
    1999
    publisher:
    Kompass-Norge
    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_2015101381007_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/9ba28b22c347f64cebd3a75e0f5f91e3
  5. id:
    494d770d583fca8c5202f65935fad5eb
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015101381099_001
    title:
    Kompass (Stavanger : 1970) : indeks over Norges industri og næringsliv : register of Norwegian industry and commerce
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Norges industriforbund
    2. Kompass-Norge
    3. Norges eksportråd
    year:
    1969
    publisher:
    Kompass-Norge
    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_2015101381099_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/494d770d583fca8c5202f65935fad5eb
  6. id:
    485cf80a0cfa56477a6482204ca7e34b
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015101381005_001
    title:
    Kompass (Stavanger : 1970) : indeks over Norges industri og næringsliv : register of Norwegian industry and commerce. 1996 Vol. 27
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Norges industriforbund
    2. Kompass-Norge
    3. Norges eksportråd
    year:
    1996
    publisher:
    Kompass-Norge
    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_2015101381005_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/485cf80a0cfa56477a6482204ca7e34b
  7. id:
    1ae26abbdb35dc543e1ac695ee1ebb07
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015101381002_001
    title:
    Kompass (Stavanger : 1970) : indeks over Norges industri og næringsliv : register of Norwegian industry and commerce. 1998 Vol. 29
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Norges industriforbund
    2. Kompass-Norge
    3. Norges eksportråd
    year:
    1998
    publisher:
    Kompass-Norge
    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_2015101381002_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/1ae26abbdb35dc543e1ac695ee1ebb07
  8. id:
    1f4f12a91648281c50376f94eb5f8bf6
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015101381004_001
    title:
    Kompass (Stavanger : 1970) : indeks over Norges industri og næringsliv : register of Norwegian industry and commerce. 1998 Vol. 29
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Norges industriforbund
    2. Kompass-Norge
    3. Norges eksportråd
    year:
    1998
    publisher:
    Kompass-Norge
    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_2015101381004_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/1f4f12a91648281c50376f94eb5f8bf6
  9. id:
    45ac228c5550597bad4878d24dc28e01
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2015101381008_001
    title:
    Kompass (Stavanger : 1970) : indeks over Norges industri og næringsliv : register of Norwegian industry and commerce. 1996 Vol. 27 1
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Norges industriforbund
    2. Kompass-Norge
    3. Norges eksportråd
    year:
    1996
    publisher:
    Kompass-Norge
    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_2015101381008_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/45ac228c5550597bad4878d24dc28e01
  10. id:
    01ec84e35f1565a827550ad8d94e9f44
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026031280109_012
    title:
    LO-aktuelt (trykt utg.). 2017 Nr. 12
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2017
    publisher:
    Stiftelsen LO media
    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_2026031280109_012_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/01ec84e35f1565a827550ad8d94e9f44
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
10
has_more_results:
yes
truncated:
yes
next_offset:
10
Will you use the result in generated code?

Open the same result as JSON

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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.