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 2026-09-26T11:53:37Z in 0.211 seconds.

total:

623244

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
6150aafc3f9c9e140e3ac234cde9e5a5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014082908074
title:
Med loven mot makta : Juss-buss førti år
creators:
1 results
1. Juss-buss
year:
2011
publisher:
Novus
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_2014082908074_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6150aafc3f9c9e140e3ac234cde9e5a5
id:
e6331108a2489c8c2d5d9bb027c278e3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021072648098
title:
Forankret i Nord-Norge : historien om Nordic Last og Buss 30 år : 1984-2014
creators:
1 results
1. Jacobsen, Yngve
year:
2014
publisher:
Nordic Last og Buss
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_2021072648098_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e6331108a2489c8c2d5d9bb027c278e3
id:
c6d76741164b68f641187eb574fcad9c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008111904119
title:
Tvers igjennom lov til seier
creators:
1 results
1. Juss-buss
year:
2001
publisher:
Unipax
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2008111904119_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c6d76741164b68f641187eb574fcad9c
id:
7fa89433116d00fdfacc7d2716e04562
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020050748001
title:
Etterkommere etter Rudolf Andersen og Anna Pauline Paulsen
creators:
1 results
1. Støve, Jan Kåre
year:
2018
publisher:
[J.K. Støve
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_2020050748001_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7fa89433116d00fdfacc7d2716e04562
id:
eb5b757ffbe9a5337db8175719e01723
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022383099_001
title:
Buss : håndbok for rute- og turbilbransjen. 2003
creators:
1 results
1. Transportbedriftenes landsforening
year:
2003
publisher:
Landsforeningen
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_2026022383099_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/eb5b757ffbe9a5337db8175719e01723
id:
15c747f418f6301a9458f9092e58b400
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025031280045_047
title:
Trikk og buss. 1937 Vol. 9 Nr. 12
creators:
1 results
1. Oslo sporveier
year:
1937
publisher:
Oslo sporveier
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_2025031280045_047_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/15c747f418f6301a9458f9092e58b400
id:
97e59fb04136e879eeaf31ffd9f15a8f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025031080015_008
title:
Trikk og buss. 1939 Vol. 11 Nr. 11/12
creators:
1 results
1. Oslo sporveier
year:
1939
publisher:
Oslo sporveier
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_2025031080015_008_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/97e59fb04136e879eeaf31ffd9f15a8f
id:
692a9f37b15a0313c15ad7ccaf30c25b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000020027
title:
Historier fra min historie : noen, - men heldigvis ikke alle :-) -, Obbehistorie
creators:
1 results
1. Paulsen, Oddbjørn
year:
2020
publisher:
[Oddbjørn Paulsen]
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_000020027_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/692a9f37b15a0313c15ad7ccaf30c25b
id:
887d47d0163f66a8d0a7865b9b49b5e1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000020009
title:
Litra buss : og den senere busstrafikken i Lillehammer
creators:
1 results
1. Bjerke, Thor
year:
2023
publisher:
Rutebilhistorisk Forening, Avd. Lillehammer og Gudbrandsdal
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Innlandet
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_000020009_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/887d47d0163f66a8d0a7865b9b49b5e1
id:
2ca68729361c1c4204cc37f50882b0fc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000020028
title:
Bekjennelser om arbeidsliv- og ledelse : fra en "elskverdig tyrann" (kontorsjef Randi om Oddbjørn)
creators:
1 results
1. Paulsen, Oddbjørn
year:
2023
publisher:
[Oddbjørn Paulsen]
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Nordland
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_000020028_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2ca68729361c1c4204cc37f50882b0fc

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.