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 2026-09-26T03:24:14Z in 0.196 seconds.

total:

525763

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
fbe43af60e25039e1ff50351702feaf6
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Odda : "Hovedstaden i Hardanger" : Utg. ved Odda kommunes 50 års jubileum
creators:
2 results
1. Foreningen Norden. Odda Avdeling
2. Odda Kommune
year:
19630101
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nor
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fbe43af60e25039e1ff50351702feaf6
id:
14d94d645abfcfc8013636f8c83e1c32
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020101407521
title:
Rettleiar for byggeskikk i Odda kommune
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2015
publisher:
Odda kommune
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_2020101407521_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/14d94d645abfcfc8013636f8c83e1c32
id:
5da84ac8d1d7c070f99014d8ade2655d
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Odda : nærstikart
creators:
1 results
1. Odda
year:
1995
publisher:
Kommunen
media_types:
1 results
1. kart
languages:
3 results
1. eng
2. nob
3. mul
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5da84ac8d1d7c070f99014d8ade2655d
id:
8482daa7329170dd304e243d84a94627
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Odda i Hardanger - et godt alternativ
creators:
2 results
1. Hesjedal, Arne
2. Odda Kommune
year:
19820101
publisher:
[Odda kommune]
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nor
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8482daa7329170dd304e243d84a94627
id:
f261160078982991b7bedb3988f74d72
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Friluftskart Odda
creators:
1 results
1. Odda Miljøkontoret
year:
1994
publisher:
Kommunen
media_types:
1 results
1. kart
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f261160078982991b7bedb3988f74d72
id:
c2bc1be7e08c6bbe10ea43c9101c083d
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Faresonekart skred : Odda kommune
creators:
1 results
1. Norges geotekniske institutt
year:
2013
publisher:
Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c2bc1be7e08c6bbe10ea43c9101c083d
id:
0c42ac76e8837dfe5c7a44a3bfea547c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012041908025
title:
Odda i Hardanger
creators:
2 results
1. Odda
2. Foreningen Norden Odda
year:
1957
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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_2012041908025_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0c42ac76e8837dfe5c7a44a3bfea547c
id:
e92a9b9f611caa87a19a56cbea49a770
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026021983036_001
title:
Odda i manns minne. 2018
creators:
1 results
1. Odda mållag
year:
2018
publisher:
Odda mållag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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_2026021983036_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e92a9b9f611caa87a19a56cbea49a770
id:
88d375293c2e6612c7d465ca10bbad0d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026021983039_001
title:
Odda i manns minne. 2011
creators:
1 results
1. Odda mållag
year:
2011
publisher:
Odda mållag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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_2026021983039_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/88d375293c2e6612c7d465ca10bbad0d
id:
66c278f15c01244f4a49228bdce8c00c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026021983034_001
title:
Odda i manns minne. 2019
creators:
1 results
1. Odda mållag
year:
2019
publisher:
Odda mållag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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_2026021983034_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/66c278f15c01244f4a49228bdce8c00c

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.