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 2026-09-27T18:48:58Z in 0.209 seconds.

total:

40257

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
26b1635f666c3e76b7753232fab80229
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170830_00020_NB_MIT_KNR_06331
title:
Skipnes
creators:
1 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Troms
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_digifoto_20170830_00020_NB_MIT_KNR_06331/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/26b1635f666c3e76b7753232fab80229
id:
7ed72f3611fd5d3c88b5611c227467c9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20170830_00034_NB_MIT_KNR_06330
title:
Skipnes
creators:
1 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Troms
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_digifoto_20170830_00034_NB_MIT_KNR_06330/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7ed72f3611fd5d3c88b5611c227467c9
id:
1f0c0a3a69fc5aa9281c922173e14a7a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digifoto_20190412_00464_NB_MIT_GNR_00869
title:
Skipnes i Vesterålen
creators:
1 results
1. Mittet & Co. AS
year:
not reported by source
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. bilder
languages:
No results.
county:
Nordland
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_digifoto_20190412_00464_NB_MIT_GNR_00869/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1f0c0a3a69fc5aa9281c922173e14a7a
id:
f1b18e03bfe03541244e05e25b61e47a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013022238062
title:
Fiskeværet Skipnes
creators:
1 results
1. Rørtveit, Johannes
year:
2007
publisher:
Svalbardrøye
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:
NONE
access_allowed_from:
NB
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013022238062_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f1b18e03bfe03541244e05e25b61e47a
id:
bf94a5ac4578ab957f51256afe93261b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014031708106
title:
Rødnebbterners (Sterna paradisaea) ankomst og etablering på hekkeplassene på Orskjæra (63°6'N, 7°15'E) og Inngripene (63°11'N, 7°39'E9), Møre og Romsdal
creators:
1 results
1. Skipnes, Kolbjørn
year:
2005
publisher:
Stavanger museum
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_2014031708106_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bf94a5ac4578ab957f51256afe93261b
id:
d2a96b8d3d97c3d6203d18f19820ff68
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011022306262
title:
Ornamental bruk av fjær og utviklingen av fuglevernet ca 1870-1930
creators:
1 results
1. Skipnes, Kolbjørn
year:
2000
publisher:
[Stavanger museum]
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_2011022306262_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d2a96b8d3d97c3d6203d18f19820ff68
id:
d1d34228947cb5995868f72aa06c93f9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011041205020
title:
Guanohandel på 1800-tallet
creators:
1 results
1. Skipnes, Kolbjørn
year:
2001
publisher:
[Stavanger museum]
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_2011041205020_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d1d34228947cb5995868f72aa06c93f9
id:
430d40b0055c1102a09a539f49ed1706
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015052709060
title:
Fugler i miljøovervåkingen
creators:
1 results
1. Skipnes, Kolbjørn
year:
1994
publisher:
Stavanger museum
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_2015052709060_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/430d40b0055c1102a09a539f49ed1706
id:
48ae363dafb86e4b17962c8cb30c9004
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013081208008
title:
Norske fugle- og pattedyrsamlere på begynnelsen av 1900-tallet, Johan Koren og Hans Thomas Lange Schaan[n]ing
creators:
1 results
1. Skipnes, Kolbjørn
year:
2003
publisher:
Stavanger museum
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_2013081208008_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/48ae363dafb86e4b17962c8cb30c9004
id:
7dec693691cece6bab8e0197f212f9da
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012073009035
title:
Blant kosmopolitter : om fuglenes vandringer
creators:
1 results
1. Skipnes, Kolbjørn
year:
1992
publisher:
Stavanger museum
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_2012073009035_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7dec693691cece6bab8e0197f212f9da

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.