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 2026-10-05T20:00:00Z in 0.213 seconds.

total:

1419

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
a655cced28c38953341f646d4d7d569d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025012880004_007
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2010 Vol. 22 Nr. Birkebeinerrittet
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2010
publisher:
Sport 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_2025012880004_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a655cced28c38953341f646d4d7d569d
id:
612c524765245a0b87291acb4361eba0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017030148029
title:
Historiske glimt fra betongindustrien i Sør-Rogaland. 1
creators:
4 results
1. Tjelta, Ivar
2. Skjærpe, Reid
3. Thoring, Erik
4. Rugland, Egil
year:
2001
publisher:
Ivar Tjelta
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_2017030148029_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/612c524765245a0b87291acb4361eba0
id:
216031ab7470f65cb113effbd34e55d2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024022980023_003
title:
BD i dag. 2003 Nr. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Brødrene Dahl AS
year:
2003
publisher:
Brødrene Dahl
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_2024022980023_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/216031ab7470f65cb113effbd34e55d2
id:
4ca2dafc08147f359ceadbe6c7a92d5c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024061980031_005
title:
Ditt hus. 2009 Nr. 5
creators:
1 results
1. Ditt hus AS
year:
2009
publisher:
Ditt hus 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_2024061980031_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4ca2dafc08147f359ceadbe6c7a92d5c
id:
9015223afcf8869a2ab561aaf9b0e367
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digiebok_2874
title:
Kompetanseutvikling drift og vedlikehold : samling av prosjektnotater = Development of expertise in road maintenance
creators:
5 results
1. Reitan, Knut Magne
2. Sivilingeniør Reitan AS
3. Larsen, Øystein
4. Vegdirektoratet. Trafikksikkerhet, miljø- og teknologiavdelingen
5. Statens vegvesen
year:
2012
publisher:
Vegdirektoratet
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_digiebok_2874_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9015223afcf8869a2ab561aaf9b0e367
id:
6c0d55314b68447120fdea658e5680f7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025071780055_002
title:
Norsk energi. 2001 Nr. 2
creators:
2 results
1. Kjelforeningen - norsk energi
2. Norsk energi
year:
2001
publisher:
Skarland Press
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_2025071780055_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6c0d55314b68447120fdea658e5680f7
id:
1a1e163f39fe2161a31ffdeb92d1fbd8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025071780055_004
title:
Norsk energi. 2001 Nr. 4
creators:
2 results
1. Kjelforeningen - norsk energi
2. Norsk energi
year:
2001
publisher:
Skarland Press
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_2025071780055_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1a1e163f39fe2161a31ffdeb92d1fbd8
id:
a3182f6a60abbb0774608a4034b08aef
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025071780055_003
title:
Norsk energi. 2001 Nr. 3
creators:
2 results
1. Kjelforeningen - norsk energi
2. Norsk energi
year:
2001
publisher:
Skarland Press
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_2025071780055_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a3182f6a60abbb0774608a4034b08aef
id:
4b9d65d3a2fb1e2a236a4d0917374afb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sandnesposten_null_null_20180322_28_25_1
title:
Sandnesposten
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20180322
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_sandnesposten_null_null_20180322_28_25_1-01_001_seksjonsnavn/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4b9d65d3a2fb1e2a236a4d0917374afb
id:
9da12023bf52d12a2e2a254cc018b94a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2020082181002_001
title:
Kuldehåndbok. 2007
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2007
publisher:
Skarland Press
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_2020082181002_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9da12023bf52d12a2e2a254cc018b94a

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.