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 2026-09-27T02:09:25Z in 0.301 seconds.

total:

134008

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
d6affeeaac0de50206fe2b889300412e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2017053081129_001
title:
Byminner (Oslo : trykt utg.) : tidsskrift for Oslo museum. 1996 Nr. 1/2
creators:
2 results
1. Oslo bymuseum
2. Oslo museum
year:
1996
publisher:
Oslo museum
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbync
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2017053081129_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d6affeeaac0de50206fe2b889300412e
id:
22dcdc077e319fa611b1029b163e4063
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digilyd_MZEP00015642_ref_0001
title:
En liten en på gitarren : vals ; I Paris traff jeg en markise : foxtrot
creators:
2 results
1. Rose, Einar
2. Jubelgutta
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
Telefunken
media_types:
1 results
1. musikk
languages:
No results.
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digilyd_MZEP00015642_ref_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/22dcdc077e319fa611b1029b163e4063
id:
43530c815687931fa1243ad91627abdc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021041348705
title:
Det nye Oslo i tekst og billeder
creators:
4 results
1. Blix, Bjørn
2. Oslo
3. Reisetrafikkforening for Oslo og omegn
4. Christophersen, E.
year:
1933
publisher:
Blix Forlag
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_2021041348705_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/43530c815687931fa1243ad91627abdc
id:
c52b78f0930feab5cc00de3c809ae43d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012041308042
title:
Tennis gjennom 80 år : Oslo tennisklub : 1900-1980
creators:
2 results
1. Bjurstedt, Dick
2. Oslo tennisklubb
year:
1980
publisher:
Oslo tennisklub
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_2012041308042_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c52b78f0930feab5cc00de3c809ae43d
id:
8f4ab9a3edb3dc4342cda203dcb8e65b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381002_001
title:
Oslo adressebok. 1936
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1936
publisher:
Adresseboka
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381002_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8f4ab9a3edb3dc4342cda203dcb8e65b
id:
7e1566b1e568f37667019c24fe5cccd1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381014_001
title:
Oslo adressebok. 1935
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1935
publisher:
Adresseboka
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381014_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7e1566b1e568f37667019c24fe5cccd1
id:
14f8f6f610ac4dd6b17c3624c746c574
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381010_001
title:
Oslo adressebok. 1938
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1938
publisher:
Adresseboka
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381010_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/14f8f6f610ac4dd6b17c3624c746c574
id:
3ef427f7f053da100b440eff686a10fe
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381016_001
title:
Oslo adressebok. 1937
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1937
publisher:
Adresseboka
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381016_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3ef427f7f053da100b440eff686a10fe
id:
d56e052a9997b7ba3ce9e8c7fc789f67
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381004_001
title:
Oslo adressebok. 1934
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1934
publisher:
Adresseboka
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381004_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d56e052a9997b7ba3ce9e8c7fc789f67
id:
d51092710e2c8d9484b3a96f4ba12015
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381018_001
title:
Oslo adressebok. 1947
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1947
publisher:
Adresseboka
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019091381018_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d51092710e2c8d9484b3a96f4ba12015

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.