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 2026-09-28T05:48:50Z in 0.287 seconds.

total:

42849

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
bdb51a526aaa3dc81e98489381170d3a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009011504098
title:
Sandnes havn : glimt fra 150 års historie
creators:
1 results
1. Tjelta, Ivar
year:
1998
publisher:
[I. Tjelta]
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_2009011504098_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bdb51a526aaa3dc81e98489381170d3a
id:
498e5a8ea55c8dcb300c5e051e5d0e9d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021120748046
title:
Forsand & Høle : fjordene, bygdene og folket
creators:
1 results
1. Tjelta, Ivar
year:
2017
publisher:
I. Tjelta
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_2021120748046_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/498e5a8ea55c8dcb300c5e051e5d0e9d
id:
fb95abfdde4b3a83cb258922dbf35266
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018030748158
title:
Forsand & Høle : fjordene, bygdene og folket
creators:
1 results
1. Tjelta, Ivar
year:
1996
publisher:
I. Tjelta
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Rogaland
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_2018030748158_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fb95abfdde4b3a83cb258922dbf35266
id:
79dd692fa010aae6e701b65b5135b924
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023081606013
title:
Norvegia
creators:
1 results
1. Tjelta, Trond
year:
2017
publisher:
Blackcap
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_2023081606013_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/79dd692fa010aae6e701b65b5135b924
id:
3dd7b95fed9564b2e831cc7934a60a58
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018041748539
title:
Ei Bygd i omvelting : Sola bondelag - 100 år : 1909-2009
creators:
1 results
1. Sola bondelag
year:
2009
publisher:
Sola bondelag
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_2018041748539_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3dd7b95fed9564b2e831cc7934a60a58
id:
abfba76bc83acb414ead2e5332c8f19c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016070548083
title:
Rogaland i bilder
creators:
3 results
1. Sirevåg, John
2. Worsøe, Odd Inge
3. Tollefsen, Nils J.
year:
2002
publisher:
Commentum forl.
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_2016070548083_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/abfba76bc83acb414ead2e5332c8f19c
id:
af26877096293a91d1c80d5854d7aafd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018060448064
title:
Betong- og maskinentreprenørenes gylne 10 år. [2]
creators:
4 results
1. Tjelta, Ivar
2. Skjærpe, Reid
3. Thoring, Erik
4. Rugland, Egil
year:
2010
publisher:
Ivar Tjelta
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_2018060448064_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/af26877096293a91d1c80d5854d7aafd
id:
612c524765245a0b87291acb4361eba0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017030148029
title:
Historiske glimt fra betongindustrien i Sør-Rogaland. 1
creators:
4 results
1. Tjelta, Ivar
2. Skjærpe, Reid
3. Thoring, Erik
4. Rugland, Egil
year:
2001
publisher:
Ivar Tjelta
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_2017030148029_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/612c524765245a0b87291acb4361eba0
id:
e0983a4b4142e77be8e730d7a65065b5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680106_005
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2005 Vol. 17 Nr. 4
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2005
publisher:
Sport media
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_2026022680106_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e0983a4b4142e77be8e730d7a65065b5
id:
410e22fbe51244d80737a9d17ad7a56f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680107_004
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2004 Vol. 14 Nr. 4
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2004
publisher:
Sport media
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_2026022680107_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/410e22fbe51244d80737a9d17ad7a56f

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.