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 2026-09-24T23:27:04Z in 0.192 seconds.

total:

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
56df8d44de83221bf97aa7c02abc8de9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_finansavisen_null_null_20220624_31_143_1
title:
Finansavisen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20220624
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_20220624_31_143_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/56df8d44de83221bf97aa7c02abc8de9
id:
e88ff1c0a51042ded7b9c7a9fbe9821a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_stavangeraftenblad_null_null_20190318_127_0_1
title:
Stavanger aftenblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20190318
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_stavangeraftenblad_null_null_20190318_127_0_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e88ff1c0a51042ded7b9c7a9fbe9821a
id:
f2af9dd6e313db074462b7005fad29af
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_ea26ebbd-3a25-4bc4-99b6-b21b4efe0912
title:
Samleskinnen (Stavanger) : medlemsblad for Rogaland elektromontørforening. 2021 Vol. 26 Nr. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Rogaland elektromontørforening
year:
2021
publisher:
Rogaland elektromontørforening
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_plikttidsskrift_ea26ebbd-3a25-4bc4-99b6-b21b4efe0912_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f2af9dd6e313db074462b7005fad29af
id:
d31da713d4329b7cdbe7332d9ebc8dd9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_stavangeraftenblad_null_null_20220314_130_0_1
title:
Stavanger aftenblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20220314
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:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_stavangeraftenblad_null_null_20220314_130_0_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d31da713d4329b7cdbe7332d9ebc8dd9
id:
e71548b8955e38d92c518f77da3f27da
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_rogalandsavis_null_null_20200905_118_207_1
title:
Rogalands Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20200905
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_rogalandsavis_null_null_20200905_118_207_1-0_001_bilag/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e71548b8955e38d92c518f77da3f27da
id:
a3d70a4062fb2fefb7b15bddcf105877
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025072280041_008
title:
Elmagasinet (trykt utg.). 2016 Vol. 67 Nr. 8
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2016
publisher:
NELFO
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_2025072280041_008_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a3d70a4062fb2fefb7b15bddcf105877
id:
25eca22181a6f561ea737ad43ca4c2b0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_rjukanarbeiderblad_null_null_20200822_97_99_1
title:
Rjukan Arbeiderblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20200822
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk
county:
Telemark
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_rjukanarbeiderblad_null_null_20200822_97_99_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/25eca22181a6f561ea737ad43ca4c2b0
id:
2251fe083cc4e168392cc3770df60f69
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023021083025_001
title:
Våre veger. 2023 Vol. 50 Nr. 1
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2023
publisher:
Teknisk ukeblad media
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_2023021083025_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2251fe083cc4e168392cc3770df60f69
id:
6e0ee1624cdfb51177c583f624cdc11e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021121048622
title:
Ryfast : Norges største vegprosjekt
creators:
3 results
1. Kindingstad, Torbjørn
2. Statens vegvesen Region vest
3. Ellingsen, Øyvind
year:
2019
publisher:
Statens vegvesen
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021121048622_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6e0ee1624cdfb51177c583f624cdc11e
id:
d73197235bf4ed95b118ca99092cfb09
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025050680037_005
title:
Automatisering (Oslo : 2009 : trykt utg.). 2014 Nr. 5
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2014
publisher:
Teknisk ukeblad media
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_2025050680037_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d73197235bf4ed95b118ca99092cfb09

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.