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 2026-09-26T18:31:10Z in 0.182 seconds.

total:

6200

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
5f99c7c31e8a3f0009fdce9243e8e379
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000084914
title:
Byplanoppgjøret : verktøykasse for gode steder
creators:
1 results
1. Selberg, Knut
year:
2026
publisher:
Knut Selberg
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_pliktmonografi_000084914_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5f99c7c31e8a3f0009fdce9243e8e379
id:
0d94932dde0c15358272b2fe765e247d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026012883007_001
title:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge : årbok .... 2006
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2006
publisher:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
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_2026012883007_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0d94932dde0c15358272b2fe765e247d
id:
2941109ae7d07f44a41837abb732dae7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026012883003_001
title:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge : årbok .... 2011
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2011
publisher:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
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_2026012883003_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2941109ae7d07f44a41837abb732dae7
id:
c15ea34c3cc7991ef2abb7e3cb99e37a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026012883004_001
title:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge : årbok .... 2010
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2010
publisher:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
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_2026012883004_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c15ea34c3cc7991ef2abb7e3cb99e37a
id:
d8102635d0631876f0bb4b2f89ec8b94
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026012883005_001
title:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge : årbok .... 2009
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2009
publisher:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
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_2026012883005_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d8102635d0631876f0bb4b2f89ec8b94
id:
526e692403a1dcde5ce6eb87ef196b44
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026012883002_001
title:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge : årbok .... 2012
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2012
publisher:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
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_2026012883002_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/526e692403a1dcde5ce6eb87ef196b44
id:
7170f318ca95890a8483fd8d88ca902d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026012883006_001
title:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge : årbok .... 2008
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2008
publisher:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
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_2026012883006_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7170f318ca95890a8483fd8d88ca902d
id:
e7abc0a5f0691eb9c49150418df4a379
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022102483224_001
title:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge : årbok .... 2014
creators:
2 results
1. Norges praktiserende arkitekter
2. Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
year:
2014
publisher:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
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_2022102483224_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e7abc0a5f0691eb9c49150418df4a379
id:
47d1bc1a1c10aae38c10526a62945648
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014071005027
title:
Gaten som by- og stedsformer : om utforming av gater og veger
creators:
2 results
1. Selberg, Knut
2. Statens vegvesen
year:
2002
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:
bokhylla
viewability:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NORWAY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014071005027_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/47d1bc1a1c10aae38c10526a62945648
id:
1f4d96daaecd126ee13a482f0e0fef22
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026012883001_001
title:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge : årbok .... 2013
creators:
2 results
1. Norges praktiserende arkitekter
2. Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
year:
2013
publisher:
Arkitektbedriftene i Norge
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_2026012883001_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1f4d96daaecd126ee13a482f0e0fef22

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.