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 2026-09-28T08:19:31Z in 0.536 seconds.

total:

22252

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
7e63d422c0ac47e998e4f3f7127b0581
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020081107169
title:
Barns deltakelse i institusjonelle samtaler : en studie av samtaler mellom enslige asylbarn og miljøarbeidere på omsorgssenter
creators:
3 results
1. Kjelaas, Irmelin
2. Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet Institutt for språk og litteratur
3. Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet
year:
2016
publisher:
Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Det humanistiske fakultet, Institutt for språk og litteratur
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_2020081107169_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7e63d422c0ac47e998e4f3f7127b0581
id:
ab993476e6c4453766d0dbdc1fbf9808
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020051248105
title:
Eid : roman
creators:
1 results
1. Solstad-Nøis, Ingvild
year:
2019
publisher:
Oktober
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_2020051248105_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ab993476e6c4453766d0dbdc1fbf9808
id:
164b930733ffda836f6c5013fb027e0d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018072007131
title:
Samisk språkundersøkelse : 2012
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2012
publisher:
Nordlandsforskning
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_2018072007131_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/164b930733ffda836f6c5013fb027e0d
id:
c2d93e4be9cf34d821a9da1bc290806d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026030983028_001
title:
Årbok ... for Malangen og Balsfjord. 2021
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2021
publisher:
Balsfjord og Malangen historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
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_digitidsskrift_2026030983028_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c2d93e4be9cf34d821a9da1bc290806d
id:
6b3d578bc0e9944a45278ddc36ee297a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021030248529
title:
Budstikkas store Asker og Bærum-leksikon
creators:
1 results
1. Asker og Bærums budstikke
year:
2008
publisher:
Kunnskapsforl.
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_2021030248529_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6b3d578bc0e9944a45278ddc36ee297a
id:
62766e59663b308d48a684897dbe84b9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025081480049_006
title:
Fagbladet (Fagforbundet. Seksjon helse og sosial) : for medlemmer i Fagforbundet, Seksjon Helse og sosial. 2016 Nr. 6
creators:
1 results
1. Fagforbundet Seksjon helse og sosial
year:
2016
publisher:
Fagforbundet, Seksjon Helse og sosial
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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_2025081480049_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/62766e59663b308d48a684897dbe84b9
id:
30812fe9ee226b6ef9d4f187add786ee
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021102048064
title:
Kunnskapsoppsummering om enslige mindreårige asylsøkere og flyktninger
creators:
2 results
1. Svendsen, Stina
2. NTNU samfunnsforskning Mangfold og inkludering
year:
2018
publisher:
NTNU samfunnsforskning, Avdeling for mangfold og inkludering
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_2021102048064_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/30812fe9ee226b6ef9d4f187add786ee
id:
28c9dd6179339f8c16e56950faec7ec4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2021080248113
title:
Yttersia. I : Laukvik, Skulsfjord, Lyfjord og Bårdsvik : til ca 1960
creators:
2 results
1. Bjørklund, Nils Erik
2. Slekts- og lokalhistorisk forening i Tromsø
year:
2016
publisher:
Slekts- og lokalhistorisk forening i Tromsø
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_2021080248113_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/28c9dd6179339f8c16e56950faec7ec4
id:
27bcc60d8f3321a187075794424443ba
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025081980002_016
title:
Fagbladet (Fagforbundet. Seksjon samferdsel og teknisk) : for medlemmer i Fagforbundet. 2016 Nr. 6
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2016
publisher:
Fagforbundet, Seksjon samferdsel og teknisk
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_2025081980002_016_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/27bcc60d8f3321a187075794424443ba
id:
bd692379fc6b82a62dc9b900a4e36d69
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2012053008119
title:
Statlege utval, styre og råd m.v. 1. januar-31. desember 1997
creators:
1 results
1. Norge Arbeids- og administrasjonsdepartementet
year:
1998
publisher:
Departementet
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nno
county:
not reported by source
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_digibok_2012053008119_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bd692379fc6b82a62dc9b900a4e36d69

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.