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.

ParameterRequirementJSON typeDescription
qrequiredstringFree-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
media_typeoptionalunionRestrict 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.
languageoptionalunionLanguage 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.
countyoptionalunionNorwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
year_fromoptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
year_tooptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
digital_onlyoptionalbooleanOnly items that have been digitized.
sortoptionalunionOne of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
pageoptionalintegerZero-based page index.
sizeoptionalintegerResults per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).
limitoptionalintegerGateway page size; default 25, maximum 100.
offsetoptionalintegerNumber 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.

Type: string. Free-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
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.
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.
Type: string. Norwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: yes/no. Only items that have been digitized.
Type: string. One of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
Type: integer. Zero-based page index.
Type: integer. Results per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).

Result

Source: National Library of Norway. Retrieved 2026-09-28T12:03:01Z in 0.422 seconds.

total:
49636
page:
0
size:
10
items:

10 results

  1. id:
    21216b3d0c6c3abac26ba6958c2165c1
    urn:
    not reported by source
    title:
    Alt er underholdning : om Neil Postman og massemediene
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Eriksen, Trond Berg
    year:
    1986
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. artikler
    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/21216b3d0c6c3abac26ba6958c2165c1
  2. id:
    0adbaa4b6e865ca85950c41415e48064
    urn:
    not reported by source
    title:
    Postman Pat's traktorekspress
    creators:

    4 results

    1. Cunliffe, John
    2. Berridge, Celia
    3. Wood, Ivor
    4. Langballe, Kjersti
    year:
    1984
    publisher:
    Grøndahl
    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/0adbaa4b6e865ca85950c41415e48064
  3. id:
    9e93f12e8bb2b99ac63afec84bf39fc4
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmusikk_UPC_197186273424_01_0004
    title:
    Postman
    creators:

    2 results

    1. Pike
    2. p.i.k.e.
    year:
    19990611
    publisher:
    Perfect Pop Records
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. musikk
    languages:

    1 results

    1. eng
    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/9e93f12e8bb2b99ac63afec84bf39fc4
  4. id:
    bab0897bee02753c29169150d1c4404e
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmusikk_EAN_7071245117528_01_0001
    title:
    Postman Cheval
    creators:

    4 results

    1. Transfigured Night
    2. Al DeLoner
    3. Byström, Atle
    4. Knudsen, Rikke
    year:
    20131211
    publisher:
    Byström
    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/bab0897bee02753c29169150d1c4404e
  5. id:
    8abb0de4e546a4929df20cf140a1ce95
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010120808002
    title:
    Postman[n] Pat på vinterføre
    creators:

    1 results

    1. Bølgen, Tordis
    year:
    1997
    publisher:
    Grøndahl Dreyer
    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_2010120808002_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/8abb0de4e546a4929df20cf140a1ce95
  6. id:
    273e01c1dab893efbc90e0001ab826ef
    urn:
    not reported by source
    title:
    Postman Pat i motvind
    creators:

    4 results

    1. Cunliffe, John
    2. Berridge, Celia
    3. Wood, Ivor
    4. Langballe, Kjersti
    year:
    1985
    publisher:
    Grøndahl
    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/273e01c1dab893efbc90e0001ab826ef
  7. id:
    929774620f057e86496e23d32c483c30
    urn:
    not reported by source
    title:
    Postman Pat på glattisen
    creators:

    4 results

    1. Cunliffe, John
    2. Berridge, Celia
    3. Wood, Ivor
    4. Langballe, Kjersti
    year:
    1985
    publisher:
    Grøndahl
    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/929774620f057e86496e23d32c483c30
  8. id:
    30ff8a7a20e5bd85dd4db281d8f3e32f
    urn:
    not reported by source
    title:
    Postman Lyle
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Petersen-Øverleir, Børge
    2. Petersen, Bjørn
    3. Henning Gravrok Band
    year:
    2001
    publisher:
    not reported by source
    media_types:

    1 results

    1. musikk
    languages:

    1 results

    1. und
    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/30ff8a7a20e5bd85dd4db281d8f3e32f
  9. id:
    e3111e63cf44533efb9f7963a39322c8
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmusikk_EAN_7071245082949_01_0004
    title:
    Postman Cheval
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Transfigured Night
    2. Byström, Atle
    3. Knudsen, Rikke
    year:
    20130524
    publisher:
    Byström
    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/e3111e63cf44533efb9f7963a39322c8
  10. id:
    82d7386173da9900d281e1795a73416f
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmusikk_EAN_7071245071356_01_0004
    title:
    Postman Cheval
    creators:

    3 results

    1. Transfigured Night
    2. Byström, Atle
    3. Knudsen, Rikke
    year:
    20130301
    publisher:
    Byström
    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/82d7386173da9900d281e1795a73416f
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
10
has_more_results:
yes
truncated:
yes
next_offset:
10
Will you use the result in generated code?

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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

  1. Replace the placeholders in the HTML GET template; remove optional parameters you do not need.
  2. Check types, units, limits and ID formats in the parameter table.
  3. 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.