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 2026-09-25T20:05:08Z in 0.194 seconds.

total:

983104

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
097ef3c326207a3ece24c8d5bc7eba52
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026010782005_001
title:
Årbok for Narvik. 2025
creators:
2 results
1. Ofoten slekts- og historielag
2. Narvik historielag
year:
2025
publisher:
Ofoten slekts- og historielag
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_2026010782005_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/097ef3c326207a3ece24c8d5bc7eba52
id:
c8821dc307fdf84de575814f69edf1ae
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_0499edb7-721e-4932-be67-a27e500160bb
title:
Årbok for Narvik. 2025
creators:
2 results
1. Ofoten slekts- og historielag
2. Narvik historielag
year:
2025
publisher:
Ofoten slekts- og historielag
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_0499edb7-721e-4932-be67-a27e500160bb_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c8821dc307fdf84de575814f69edf1ae
id:
c20eb2e43ee7542e4dac4a0945368c01
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013110608095
title:
Narvik og kirken : Narvik kirke 75 år
creators:
2 results
1. Haugen, Odd
2. Narvik menighetsråd
year:
2000
publisher:
Narvik menighetsråd
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_2013110608095_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c20eb2e43ee7542e4dac4a0945368c01
id:
35c9fc9f9c9004efb6d0c2129fc0554a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015081827001
title:
Narvik sjakklubb 60 år : 1919-1979
creators:
1 results
1. Narvik sjakklubb
year:
1979
publisher:
klubben
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_2015081827001_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/35c9fc9f9c9004efb6d0c2129fc0554a
id:
1ef419efaad99a40e94e6e2e7603b75d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019012281026_001
title:
Årbok (Museum Nord - Narvik) : fra bane, bygd og by. 2011
creators:
1 results
1. Museum Nord - Narvik
year:
2011
publisher:
Museum Nord - Narvik
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_2019012281026_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1ef419efaad99a40e94e6e2e7603b75d
id:
a7dc3a32d6ad72727e31552bf7d51f5e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017101805011
title:
Narvik kunstforening 40 år 1948-1988 : jubileumsskrift
creators:
1 results
1. Narvik kunstforening
year:
1988
publisher:
Foreningen
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_2017101805011_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a7dc3a32d6ad72727e31552bf7d51f5e
id:
074f5447734a2398d2516d229d93824c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008061804029
title:
Narvik sykehus : 1905-1995 : 90 år
creators:
1 results
1. Narvik sykehus
year:
1995
publisher:
Narvik sykehus
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_2008061804029_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/074f5447734a2398d2516d229d93824c
id:
52354f9298bee37e31a71fc4f0bf5f78
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016112448012
title:
Narvik mannskor 1911-1961
creators:
2 results
1. Strømsnes, Karl
2. Narvik mannskor
year:
1961
publisher:
Koret
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_2016112448012_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/52354f9298bee37e31a71fc4f0bf5f78
id:
9b04bb21fc21d5fc729b1a876103374f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011090108014
title:
Bygg og bo i Narvik : Narvik boligbyggelag 1946-2006
creators:
2 results
1. Sletbakk, Knut
2. Narvik boligbyggelag
year:
2006
publisher:
Boligbyggelaget
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_2011090108014_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9b04bb21fc21d5fc729b1a876103374f
id:
8ff62a593d1393ab765093d69ccf63ec
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010121605086
title:
Narvik sparebank 1903-1953
creators:
2 results
1. Hoel, John
2. Narvik sparebank
year:
1953
publisher:
Banken
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_2010121605086_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8ff62a593d1393ab765093d69ccf63ec

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.