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 2026-09-23T18:56:44Z in 0.302 seconds.

total:

967

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
4cd3eef0d4086f9f3252337d561fb1ba
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012102306137
title:
Marinbiologisk miljøundersøkelse ved Norscrap West As på Hanøytangen, Askøy kommune i 2004
creators:
1 results
1. Johansen, Per-Otto
year:
2004
publisher:
Institutt for fiskeri- og marinbiologi, 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:
bokhylla
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NORWAY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012102306137_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4cd3eef0d4086f9f3252337d561fb1ba
id:
1c50aac5aefdeffa269cc4b3820f2a59
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000037819
title:
Resipientundersøkelse ved Hanøytangen i Askøy kommune 2017 – Inkludert rettelsesblad
creators:
6 results
1. Tverberg, Joar
2. Eilertsen, Mette
3. Sikveland, Silje E.
4. Olsen, Bernt R.
5. Ohnheiser, Lena
6. Todt, Christiane
year:
2017
publisher:
Rådgivende Biologer AS
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_000037819_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1c50aac5aefdeffa269cc4b3820f2a59
id:
e94ee6c5ba1be70d3a173d982ad01bd3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022100483282_001
title:
Offshore Norway (Offshore Norway AS) : your guide to the Norwegian oil and gas industry. 2022/2023
creators:
1 results
1. Offshore Norway
year:
2022
publisher:
Offshore Norway AS
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2022100483282_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e94ee6c5ba1be70d3a173d982ad01bd3
id:
634fee30ddcd294e369fffa1185a8dbc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_askoyvaeringen_null_null_20110315_34_21_1
title:
Askøyværingen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20110315
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_askoyvaeringen_null_null_20110315_34_21_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/634fee30ddcd294e369fffa1185a8dbc
id:
c750ca4c39d4f85aed1f6413c2013a3d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_askoyvaeringen_null_null_20101005_33_74_1
title:
Askøyværingen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20101005
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_askoyvaeringen_null_null_20101005_33_74_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c750ca4c39d4f85aed1f6413c2013a3d
id:
a784695be57425ad60b469f129079cd2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_askoyvaeringen_null_null_20050524_27_39_1
title:
Askøyværingen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20050524
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_askoyvaeringen_null_null_20050524_27_39_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a784695be57425ad60b469f129079cd2
id:
e41eba6c37afae85f7a642dcb02c092e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fanaposten_null_null_20180116_40_6_1
title:
Fanaposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20180116
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_fanaposten_null_null_20180116_40_6_1-01_001_seksjonsnavn/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e41eba6c37afae85f7a642dcb02c092e
id:
e7aa95e34bbfc397d71c774c319da4f9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_haugesundsavis_null_null_20110314_117_61_1
title:
Haugesunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20110314
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Rogaland
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_haugesundsavis_null_null_20110314_117_61_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e7aa95e34bbfc397d71c774c319da4f9
id:
1bb241200242d4e099148825f6f93a19
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_askoyvaeringen_null_null_20051104_28_82_1
title:
Askøyværingen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20051104
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_askoyvaeringen_null_null_20051104_28_82_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1bb241200242d4e099148825f6f93a19
id:
b45773d503e5b3cf25201e099811d6a2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_haugesundsavis_null_null_20110124_117_19_1
title:
Haugesunds Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20110124
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Rogaland
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_haugesundsavis_null_null_20110124_117_19_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b45773d503e5b3cf25201e099811d6a2

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.