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.

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": "..."}
}

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 2026-08-02T18:04:13Z in 0.186 seconds.

total:

37459

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
be01f0d14a6df092e7f656268d165619
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025120980006_006
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1969 Nr. 17D
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1969
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2025120980006_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/be01f0d14a6df092e7f656268d165619
id:
0e5ea26aedcbec8c0a2962e7209d2a02
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023041480072_023
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1961 Nr. 19D
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1961
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023041480072_023_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0e5ea26aedcbec8c0a2962e7209d2a02
id:
c87ef2fef41251ffca6088f234a98099
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023041480072_025
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1961 Nr. 21
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1961
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023041480072_025_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c87ef2fef41251ffca6088f234a98099
id:
8b583e3519f8d4cdf5cba0dc534ac8b6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023041480072_012
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1961 Nr. 10
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1961
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023041480072_012_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8b583e3519f8d4cdf5cba0dc534ac8b6
id:
0dc9589c4cc627c8e73ef74f52067e19
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023041480072_021
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1961 Nr. 18
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1961
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023041480072_021_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0dc9589c4cc627c8e73ef74f52067e19
id:
c39623c65a6ab3a5b8ef83c95dd6c303
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023041480072_017
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1961 Nr. 14
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1961
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023041480072_017_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c39623c65a6ab3a5b8ef83c95dd6c303
id:
a8df42349cd9548acc6c97b99d77c910
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025120980006_009
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1969 Nr. 19
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1969
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2025120980006_009_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a8df42349cd9548acc6c97b99d77c910
id:
5df35691797a29aa662c07566ef2ba05
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023041480072_006
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1961 Nr. 5
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1961
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023041480072_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5df35691797a29aa662c07566ef2ba05
id:
9991108e098795388cf0a2064867ef7e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023041480072_027
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1961 Nr. 22E
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1961
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023041480072_027_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9991108e098795388cf0a2064867ef7e
id:
c2ddeb67a564b1e25908b52b903b3411
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023041480072_022
title:
Norwegian shipping news. 1961 Nr. 19
creators:
1 results
1. Selvig, Per
year:
1961
publisher:
Selvig Publishing
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
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_2023041480072_022_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c2ddeb67a564b1e25908b52b903b3411

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

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.