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 2026-09-27T16:58:49Z in 0.189 seconds.

total:

9207

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
8c00c24a3c0ed19c64d1def0036230c2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023051583016_001
title:
Sogndal kyrkjelydsblad. 2023 Vol. 51 Nr. 1
creators:
5 results
1. Sogndal sokneråd
2. Sogndal kyrkjelege fellesråd
3. Kaupanger sokneråd
4. Sogndal og Leikanger kyrkjelege fellesråd
5. Norum sokneråd
year:
2023
publisher:
Sogndal kyrkjelege fellesråd
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2023051583016_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8c00c24a3c0ed19c64d1def0036230c2
id:
a314e47d66b878997fec94e1dbdfa0c4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023031083052_001
title:
Lagshefte. 2022
creators:
1 results
1. Sogndal musikklag
year:
2022
publisher:
Sogndal musikklag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2023031083052_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a314e47d66b878997fec94e1dbdfa0c4
id:
a83517262e09a068de222d639ca8c2ef
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_98719bbf-cbf5-48b1-9ead-f557175d15c9
title:
Lagshefte. 2025
creators:
1 results
1. Sogndal musikklag
year:
2025
publisher:
Sogndal musikklag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_plikttidsskrift_98719bbf-cbf5-48b1-9ead-f557175d15c9_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a83517262e09a068de222d639ca8c2ef
id:
405401362eb1048e0a21b9769a0ad386
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024030883054_001
title:
Lagshefte. 2023
creators:
1 results
1. Sogndal musikklag
year:
2023
publisher:
Sogndal musikklag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2024030883054_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/405401362eb1048e0a21b9769a0ad386
id:
d434ef9fec790ddbb4a5e151bacb779d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025090583152_001
title:
Lagshefte. 2024
creators:
1 results
1. Sogndal musikklag
year:
2024
publisher:
Sogndal musikklag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2025090583152_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d434ef9fec790ddbb4a5e151bacb779d
id:
4b206c1c58675a71c6c7c674ba1751d5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19981023_2_39_1
title:
Avisa Sogndal
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19981023
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
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_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19981023_2_39_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4b206c1c58675a71c6c7c674ba1751d5
id:
28f8f78fa017cc60edfbf52f2272326f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19971107_1_12_1
title:
Avisa Sogndal
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19971107
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
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_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19971107_1_12_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/28f8f78fa017cc60edfbf52f2272326f
id:
eebd142b88f2091bd22c73c5375b0196
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19990108_3_1_1
title:
Avisa Sogndal
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19990108
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
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_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19990108_3_1_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/eebd142b88f2091bd22c73c5375b0196
id:
1b1bb6ebdd937def6ed331da0c044e4d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19980320_2_12_1
title:
Avisa Sogndal
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19980320
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
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_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19980320_2_12_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1b1bb6ebdd937def6ed331da0c044e4d
id:
50c85778549ed37c8fa934588cf6743b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19980213_2_7_1
title:
Avisa Sogndal
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19980213
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
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_digavis_sogndal_null_null_19980213_2_7_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/50c85778549ed37c8fa934588cf6743b

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.