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 2026-09-24T17:32:38Z in 0.193 seconds.

total:

1406483

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
ed8cab9d556c5a78241c4ccd78098c59
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014062407114
title:
Island
creators:
1 results
1. Ødegård, Knut
year:
1992
publisher:
Aschehoug
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_2014062407114_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ed8cab9d556c5a78241c4ccd78098c59
id:
b13fc0e5a2a351aff3e00fa4112da66e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016011948025
title:
Topp 10 Island
creators:
3 results
1. Leffman, David
2. Tångring, Krister
3. Høiby, Hege
year:
2012
publisher:
Gyldendal
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_2016011948025_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b13fc0e5a2a351aff3e00fa4112da66e
id:
19b3f70ec5353729d767e379844eef7c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2019072407055
title:
Topp 10 Island
creators:
3 results
1. Leffman, David
2. Tångring, Krister
3. Høiby, Hege
year:
2011
publisher:
Gyldendal
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_2019072407055_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/19b3f70ec5353729d767e379844eef7c
id:
1dcbd548c8b902c8ae8713a1f4e36662
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023021706011
title:
Topp 10 Island
creators:
2 results
1. Leffman, David
2. Høiby, Hege
year:
2015
publisher:
Gyldendal
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_2023021706011_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1dcbd548c8b902c8ae8713a1f4e36662
id:
b1822c14bea432fbf82a973860ce2a35
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020100948610
title:
Topp 10 Island
creators:
2 results
1. Leffman, David
2. Høiby, Hege
year:
2017
publisher:
Gyldendal
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_2020100948610_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b1822c14bea432fbf82a973860ce2a35
id:
dcbd07cbc5b95f8725e10ffb27573a47
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014030548112
title:
Turen går til Island
creators:
2 results
1. Rasmussen, K. Torben
2. Biseth, Dag
year:
2004
publisher:
Aschehoug
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_2014030548112_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/dcbd07cbc5b95f8725e10ffb27573a47
id:
5291cc78c4cd1784c499c0755a07aa3b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2024102848017
title:
Camino Island
creators:
2 results
1. Grisham, John
2. Kopperud, Truls Holst
year:
2020
publisher:
Cappelen Damm
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_2024102848017_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5291cc78c4cd1784c499c0755a07aa3b
id:
d165ec40145cef37aa59a43d8e2825aa
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020072048561
title:
Camino Island
creators:
2 results
1. Grisham, John
2. Kopperud, Truls Holst
year:
2019
publisher:
Cappelen Damm
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_2020072048561_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d165ec40145cef37aa59a43d8e2825aa
id:
e8c62146d45a5edf220006660674e35d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008111404060
title:
Sullivan's island
creators:
2 results
1. Frank, Dorothea Benton
2. Frogner, Elsa
year:
2001
publisher:
Egmont Hjemmets bokforl.
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_2008111404060_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e8c62146d45a5edf220006660674e35d
id:
e9c01a55161ef3f9161873227ad14354
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016022607541
title:
Turen går til Island
creators:
2 results
1. Rasmussen, K. Torben
2. Sæterdal, Inger-Johanne
year:
2007
publisher:
Aschehoug
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_2016022607541_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e9c01a55161ef3f9161873227ad14354

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.