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 2026-09-28T12:09:37Z in 0.249 seconds.

total:

2309374

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
5a0ae5f8c1fe32573552a871f215a1d9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020091707662
title:
Ho tok av seg blusen og sa ho var bibliotekar : roman
creators:
2 results
1. Sortland, Bjørn
2. Torseter, Øyvind
year:
2013
publisher:
Piggsvin forl.
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_2020091707662_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5a0ae5f8c1fe32573552a871f215a1d9
id:
8911355decc7501e2e6399650ef11fcf
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018102307007
title:
Ho tok av seg blusen og sa ho var bibliotekar : roman
creators:
2 results
1. Sortland, Bjørn
2. Torseter, Øyvind
year:
2012
publisher:
Piggsvin forl.
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_2018102307007_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8911355decc7501e2e6399650ef11fcf
id:
0548c9ef4ed485c874f9d80f0bf7e1e5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2007092504034
title:
Lær deg regnearket : as-easy-as-
creators:
1 results
1. Gaarder, Einar
year:
1991
publisher:
NKI
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_2007092504034_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0548c9ef4ed485c874f9d80f0bf7e1e5
id:
d966a503afe97e2274400c23388f5e9d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013082006028
title:
Mørenot AS : 60 år
creators:
2 results
1. Rørhus, Rolv
2. Mørenot AS
year:
2008
publisher:
Mørenot
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_2013082006028_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d966a503afe97e2274400c23388f5e9d
id:
e08a4c99a327b43dfa4f300a245f7e1a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014062307211
title:
Nils S. Hansen AS gjennom 40 år
creators:
2 results
1. Rørhus, Rolv
2. Nils S. Hansen AS
year:
2008
publisher:
Nils S. Hansen AS
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
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_2014062307211_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e08a4c99a327b43dfa4f300a245f7e1a
id:
27c8247758a6b62906416a298ec43aca
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013050705104
title:
Kristian Holst AS : en bedriftshistorikk fra 1863 til i dag
creators:
2 results
1. Holst, Kristian
2. Kristian Holst AS
year:
2010
publisher:
Kristian Holst
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_2013050705104_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/27c8247758a6b62906416a298ec43aca
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:
032efd4897159ee35a1d99c4ff21b29f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018031948027
title:
A. Friestad AS : glimt fra historien om et handelshus : 1888-2013
creators:
2 results
1. Ramsland, Lars Martin
2. A. Friestad AS
year:
2013
publisher:
A. Friestad AS
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Utlandet
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_2018031948027_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/032efd4897159ee35a1d99c4ff21b29f
id:
d8ac4d03bcb4dbbee1af43218ec13aee
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012120738025
title:
Sandberg AS : 50 år med direkte markedsføring : 1958-2008
creators:
2 results
1. Nordli, Øyvind
2. CDG Sandberg
year:
2008
publisher:
Sandberg
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_2012120738025_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d8ac4d03bcb4dbbee1af43218ec13aee
id:
6477b49003cb6fa9b9857cad04060aa7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013070205068
title:
Peer Gynt as 2009
creators:
2 results
1. Peer Gynt AS
2. Peer Gynt-stemnet
year:
2010
publisher:
Peer Gynt as
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2013070205068_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6477b49003cb6fa9b9857cad04060aa7

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.