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 2026-09-25T02:29:43Z in 0.323 seconds.

total:

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
cbdc3ee519652267c5a587f8a9320788
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_finansavisen_null_null_20100422_19_91_1
title:
Finansavisen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20100422
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Oslo
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_digavis_finansavisen_null_null_20100422_19_91_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/cbdc3ee519652267c5a587f8a9320788
id:
68b22e4b4e55f5885fc03db3e6ff24fe
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023060280034_001
title:
AGI Norge : aktuell grafisk informasjon. 1996 Nr. 1 24
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1996
publisher:
Aktuel viden
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_2023060280034_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/68b22e4b4e55f5885fc03db3e6ff24fe
id:
e5d8947dd6c7c6a420350054a55bcaaf
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_ofotenstidende_null_null_19061206_9_133_1
title:
Ofotens Tidende
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19061206
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Nordland
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_ofotenstidende_null_null_19061206_9_133_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e5d8947dd6c7c6a420350054a55bcaaf
id:
c49c7f2df46f2c9cee5c72768dfbae3c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_agderposten_null_null_19530715_80_160_1
title:
Agderposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19530715
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Agder
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_digavis_agderposten_null_null_19530715_80_160_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c49c7f2df46f2c9cee5c72768dfbae3c
id:
bb98049c31519b4a65e7e127ef542e29
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sortrondelag_null_null_19900523_82_95_1
title:
Sør-Trøndelag
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19900523
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
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_digavis_sortrondelag_null_null_19900523_82_95_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bb98049c31519b4a65e7e127ef542e29
id:
a9a457c1a8939120fed03a6b499d9d1b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_haugalandarbeiderblad_null_null_19520701_41_150_1
title:
Haugaland Arbeiderblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19520701
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Rogaland
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_digavis_haugalandarbeiderblad_null_null_19520701_41_150_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a9a457c1a8939120fed03a6b499d9d1b
id:
b94842d03569f83d83b0ddd4e013fc1e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025120383022_001
title:
Sign og print : for deg som publiserer & produserer informasjon. 2025 239
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2025
publisher:
AGI Publishing House
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_2025120383022_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b94842d03569f83d83b0ddd4e013fc1e
id:
d0c01b4c2fad283a91634af037a6d078
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024092783026_001
title:
Kretsløpet (Oslo : 1995) : tidsskrift for avfall og gjenvinning. 2024 Nr. 4
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk kompetansesenter for avfall og gjenvinning
year:
2024
publisher:
Kretsløpet
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_2024092783026_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d0c01b4c2fad283a91634af037a6d078
id:
604641137ba0e77fa3356af0fd095ead
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_valdres_null_null_20160823_114_98_1
title:
Valdres
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20160823
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Innlandet
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_valdres_null_null_20160823_114_98_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/604641137ba0e77fa3356af0fd095ead
id:
97ba3d8ea7dfa9c96df4356ac5e4e636
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_valdres_null_null_20121120_110_179_1
title:
Valdres
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20121120
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Innlandet
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_valdres_null_null_20121120_110_179_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/97ba3d8ea7dfa9c96df4356ac5e4e636

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.