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 2026-09-11T09:31:39Z in 0.354 seconds.

total:

761

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
9865d1f90b03cc53b35db8dff58b76b7
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Sebbelow stiftelse : et tilbud for spedbarnsmødre med problemer
creators:
2 results
1. Korbøl, Gerd
2. Larsen, Idalou
year:
1983
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. artikler
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
no
public_domain:
no
license:
copyrighted
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
not reported by source
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9865d1f90b03cc53b35db8dff58b76b7
id:
2a19a31bbe442f639874547b96661870
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011111606068
title:
"Kom ikke til meg med en lausunge" : om ugifte mødre som søkte tilflukt på mødrehjemmet Sebbelows Stiftelse i perioden 1892 til 1946
creators:
1 results
1. Fehn, Inger-Lise Stjernholm
year:
2003
publisher:
I.-L. Fehn
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_2011111606068_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2a19a31bbe442f639874547b96661870
id:
37b117579afb4c9957db055852e0d454
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009110200046
title:
"Kom ikke til meg med en lausunge!" : om ugifte mødre som søkte tilflukt på mødrehjemmet Sebbelows Stiftelse i perioden 1892 til 1946
creators:
1 results
1. Fehn, Inger-Lise Stjernholm
year:
2005
publisher:
Høgskolen i Oslo, Avdeling for økonomi-, kommunal- og sosialfag i samarbeid med Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet
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_2009110200046_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/37b117579afb4c9957db055852e0d454
id:
ed0e2033918830d508e97fb486d27f49
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015052709082
title:
Avdeling spedbarn - småbarn - familier : informasjonshefte
creators:
1 results
1. Aline spedbarnsenter
year:
1990
publisher:
Oslo kommune, Aline spedbarnsenter
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_2015052709082_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ed0e2033918830d508e97fb486d27f49
id:
086871239acbf8e72b98dd69dbbec2c6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_akersavisgroruddalen_null_null_20030108_76_2_1
title:
Akers Avis Groruddalen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20030108
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_akersavisgroruddalen_null_null_20030108_76_2_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/086871239acbf8e72b98dd69dbbec2c6
id:
452afaf5c7480a357c33dd7d263f9dbd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_akersavisgroruddalen_null_null_19921230_65_102_1
title:
Akers Avis Groruddalen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19921230
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_akersavisgroruddalen_null_null_19921230_65_102_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/452afaf5c7480a357c33dd7d263f9dbd
id:
c79892677d6de70570bbd827a23635e1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_jarlsbergoglarviksamtstidende_null_null_18580929_21_78_1
title:
Jarlsberg og Larviks Amtstidende
creators:
not reported by source
year:
18580929
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestfold
digital:
yes
public_domain:
yes
license:
publicdomain
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_jarlsbergoglarviksamtstidende_null_null_18580929_21_78_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c79892677d6de70570bbd827a23635e1
id:
f54e77973febd23646416ca5572b6258
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018021481490_001
title:
Sirene. 1983 Nr. 5
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1983
publisher:
Sirene
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2018021481490_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f54e77973febd23646416ca5572b6258
id:
21cd67a1f88c44118a81ceaa1d88ab71
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_akersavisgroruddalen_null_null_19850913_58_72_1
title:
Akers Avis Groruddalen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19850913
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_akersavisgroruddalen_null_null_19850913_58_72_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/21cd67a1f88c44118a81ceaa1d88ab71
id:
db1b1f6d18c1a97d4303e5b306b4d4dc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_christianssandstidende_null_null_19290704_47_152_1
title:
Christianssands Tidende
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19290704
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Agder
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_christianssandstidende_null_null_19290704_47_152_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/db1b1f6d18c1a97d4303e5b306b4d4dc

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.