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 2026-09-23T22:42:06Z in 0.243 seconds.

total:

30621

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
d4951dd77ed04a1bc8dac0d7b8da618a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023061383042_001
title:
Anbudet : informasjonsblad for Nordnorske entreprenørers service organisasjon BA. 2023 Vol. 29 Nr. 2
creators:
1 results
1. Nordnorske entreprenørers service organisasjon
year:
2023
publisher:
NESO
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_2023061383042_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d4951dd77ed04a1bc8dac0d7b8da618a
id:
38964513c33c2dbfaec9c3b4738e3f3f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2020021481057_001
title:
Nye bonytt : norsk spesialblad for hus, hjem og boliginnredning. 1971 Vol. 31 Nr. 9
creators:
1 results
1. Bonytt A/S
year:
1971
publisher:
Bonytt A/S
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_2020021481057_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/38964513c33c2dbfaec9c3b4738e3f3f
id:
83ac04cb274b9fe5c85fb194b856355d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2020032683204_001
title:
Nye bonytt : norsk spesialblad for hus, hjem og boliginnredning. 1978 Vol. 38 Nr. 5
creators:
1 results
1. Bonytt A/S
year:
1978
publisher:
Bonytt A/S
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_2020032683204_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/83ac04cb274b9fe5c85fb194b856355d
id:
6d5d1f53f890227d858f2effa8d39878
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2020032683218_001
title:
Nye bonytt : norsk spesialblad for hus, hjem og boliginnredning. 1976 Vol. 36 Nr. 8
creators:
1 results
1. Bonytt A/S
year:
1976
publisher:
Bonytt A/S
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_2020032683218_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6d5d1f53f890227d858f2effa8d39878
id:
d741ec977d6b5dacbeae3f573fc9b942
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017091107023
title:
Cappelens verdensatlas
creators:
1 results
1. Esselte Map Service
year:
1989
publisher:
Cappelen
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_2017091107023_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d741ec977d6b5dacbeae3f573fc9b942
id:
18124814e1c539c0eed4cb4376f3d859
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022042080031_001
title:
Nye bonytt. 1972 Vol. 32 Nr. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Bonytt A/S
year:
1972
publisher:
Bonytt
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_2022042080031_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/18124814e1c539c0eed4cb4376f3d859
id:
139e721819325063ad4aa2bd3f1e2d22
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2020021481016_001
title:
Nye bonytt. 1970 Vol. 30 Nr. 3
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1970
publisher:
Bonytt
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_2020021481016_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/139e721819325063ad4aa2bd3f1e2d22
id:
0e90a8209aed7fa5f8e25c9ab58d3d47
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2020021281139_001
title:
Nye bonytt. 1975 Vol. 35 Nr. 5
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1975
publisher:
Bonytt
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_2020021281139_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0e90a8209aed7fa5f8e25c9ab58d3d47
id:
6d508d4cc977134440d6e7b25f328ee3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014110448218
title:
Cappelens verdensatlas
creators:
1 results
1. Esselte Map Service
year:
1989
publisher:
Cappelen
media_types:
1 results
1. kart
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_2014110448218_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6d508d4cc977134440d6e7b25f328ee3
id:
67b816f2d96420da1c756f31c35011a1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021090148039
title:
Cappelens verdensatlas
creators:
1 results
1. Esselte Map Service
year:
1984
publisher:
Cappelen
media_types:
1 results
1. kart
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_2021090148039_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/67b816f2d96420da1c756f31c35011a1

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.