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 2026-09-27T08:45:40Z in 0.222 seconds.

total:

17013

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
16cc345558e7f197d6d17fc602066e0b
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Behandling av kommunalt restavfall i Tromsø : en samfunnsøkonomisk vurdering
creators:
1 results
1. Perpetuum
year:
2001
publisher:
ECON, Senter for økonomisk analyse
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/16cc345558e7f197d6d17fc602066e0b
id:
4328d6b569bf06cd760e108eaada4572
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmusikk_EAN_7041888518525_01_0004
title:
Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major, III. Perpetuum mobile
creators:
5 results
1. Nilsson, Anders Kjellberg
2. Bjelland, Sveinung
3. Lindberg lyd AS
4. Plagge, Wolfgang
5. Ravel, Maurice
year:
20130714
publisher:
2L
media_types:
1 results
1. musikk
languages:
1 results
1. und
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4328d6b569bf06cd760e108eaada4572
id:
293bb37a445ba3ac9927d46ba03c9458
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013071706026
title:
Perpetuum automobile : beretningen om Oslo og omegn bilbransjeforening gjennom 75 år
creators:
1 results
1. Melhuus, Knut
year:
2009
publisher:
Bilforl.
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_2013071706026_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/293bb37a445ba3ac9927d46ba03c9458
id:
ba4e7f1f30e5a2c4fb94cafeaa38e1d7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015102308103
title:
Nansen : the explorer as hero
creators:
1 results
1. Huntford, Roland
year:
1997
publisher:
Duckworth
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2015102308103_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ba4e7f1f30e5a2c4fb94cafeaa38e1d7
id:
4e1e9c3a973b751e45ed499d8b718edc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2024052728025
title:
Tarantelle i As-dur : Op 85, No. 2
creators:
1 results
1. Heller, Stephen
year:
1912
publisher:
Norsk Musikforl.
media_types:
1 results
1. noter
languages:
1 results
1. zxx
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_2024052728025_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4e1e9c3a973b751e45ed499d8b718edc
id:
a86d175951cc70cdbc8879889296924e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022102783014_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2002
creators:
1 results
1. Plastretur
year:
2002
publisher:
Plastretur
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_2022102783014_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a86d175951cc70cdbc8879889296924e
id:
c9a43b9201f338f770a924bc428365ce
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025090983078_001
title:
Bærekraftsrapport. 2020
creators:
1 results
1. Gratangslaks AS
year:
2020
publisher:
Gratangslaks AS
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_2025090983078_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c9a43b9201f338f770a924bc428365ce
id:
97710ad9371414615673ce24b909910b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040383012_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2001
creators:
1 results
1. Plastretur
year:
2001
publisher:
Plastretur
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_2024040383012_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/97710ad9371414615673ce24b909910b
id:
65ae527b4830df0e871dda7027f458c7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024101180061_001
title:
Frimerker som hobby : skandinavisk frimerketidsskrift for samlere = Stamps as hobby : Scandinavian stamp magazine. 1982 Vol. 4 Nr. 1
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1982
publisher:
Haugli & Nordhagen
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_2024101180061_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/65ae527b4830df0e871dda7027f458c7
id:
8b701e1406de820c318f3d47fc4e0d94
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013041807238
title:
Høvikodden live 1968-2007 : Henie Onstad kunstsenter som tverrkunstnerisk arena = Henie Onstad Art Centre as cross-artistic arena
creators:
2 results
1. Borchgrevink, Hild
2. Ugelstad, Caroline
year:
2007
publisher:
Henie Onstad kunstsenter
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
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_digibok_2013041807238_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8b701e1406de820c318f3d47fc4e0d94

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.