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 2026-09-27T11:12:51Z in 0.238 seconds.

total:

445158

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
ffc129afbe755f13c1e68982286090de
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014070807086
title:
Oras Nordland AS : 1946-2006
creators:
2 results
1. Oras Nordland
2. Solbakk, Erna
year:
2006
publisher:
Oras Nordland
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_2014070807086_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ffc129afbe755f13c1e68982286090de
id:
b5fa0bd18e33e2f5dac92ef21ee97477
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023011048089
title:
100 år med vann i rør og i spann : Sande vannverk AS
creators:
2 results
1. Aaserud, Lars
2. Sande vannverk AS
year:
2022
publisher:
Sande vannverk AS
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_2023011048089_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b5fa0bd18e33e2f5dac92ef21ee97477
id:
859ef7e7db0017682e0b34c1af4f0500
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013062038019
title:
Historien om Harald Nilsen AS : 1959-2009 : kvalitet gjennom 50 år
creators:
2 results
1. Mjøen, Jarle
2. Harald Nilsen AS
year:
2009
publisher:
Harald Nilsen AS
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_2013062038019_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/859ef7e7db0017682e0b34c1af4f0500
id:
d499062af8998bcdab5aec50fac6ee5b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2024012248074
title:
100 år med fisk : 1923-2023 : Nils Sperre AS
creators:
2 results
1. Høyvik, Knut Arne
2. Nils Sperre AS
year:
2023
publisher:
Nils Sperre AS
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Møre og Romsdal
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_2024012248074_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d499062af8998bcdab5aec50fac6ee5b
id:
2bf455dfb4e3e5ac628a3a3ed5a45cd5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025010380012_002
title:
BD nå : kundemagasin fra Brødrene Dahl AS. 2010 Nr. Mai
creators:
1 results
1. Brødrene Dahl AS
year:
2010
publisher:
Brødrene Dahl 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_2025010380012_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2bf455dfb4e3e5ac628a3a3ed5a45cd5
id:
33a5cf3055f421cc726e737a699f5726
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024111180023_001
title:
BD nå : kundemagasin fra Brødrene Dahl AS. 2009 Nr. Februar
creators:
1 results
1. Brødrene Dahl AS
year:
2009
publisher:
Brødrene Dahl 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_2024111180023_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/33a5cf3055f421cc726e737a699f5726
id:
33bea7593367c395e3fa5961a6c4b8f7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024111180023_002
title:
BD nå : kundemagasin fra Brødrene Dahl AS. 2009 Nr. Oktober
creators:
1 results
1. Brødrene Dahl AS
year:
2009
publisher:
Brødrene Dahl 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_2024111180023_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/33bea7593367c395e3fa5961a6c4b8f7
id:
6225f6dc4cdacc60fa531572024ba414
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025010380012_001
title:
BD nå : kundemagasin fra Brødrene Dahl AS. 2010 Nr. Februar
creators:
1 results
1. Brødrene Dahl AS
year:
2010
publisher:
Brødrene Dahl 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_2025010380012_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6225f6dc4cdacc60fa531572024ba414
id:
c0da6fc9fa2547abb40bd3d5fedab529
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021090348574
title:
Ole Moe AS : et allsidig engrosfirma på Sørlandet
creators:
1 results
1. Moe, Ole
year:
2021
publisher:
[Ole Moe]
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_2021090348574_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c0da6fc9fa2547abb40bd3d5fedab529
id:
87c0ee32a20e9b541cb53f4f15f5263e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025021483010_001
title:
BD nå : kundemagasin fra Brødrene Dahl AS. 2011 Nr. April
creators:
1 results
1. Brødrene Dahl AS
year:
2011
publisher:
Brødrene Dahl 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_2025021483010_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/87c0ee32a20e9b541cb53f4f15f5263e

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.