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 2026-09-26T03:22:20Z in 0.174 seconds.

total:

173003

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
791bc0aeb87ad4d3b850eac58c86f028
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Friluftskart for Steigen kommune
creators:
2 results
1. Steigen
2. Salten kartdata
year:
2002
publisher:
Kommunen
media_types:
1 results
1. kart
languages:
4 results
1. eng
2. ger
3. nob
4. mul
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/791bc0aeb87ad4d3b850eac58c86f028
id:
64d023495199e2d0900f13644481c58f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018092581240_001
title:
Årbok for Steigen. 2015 Vol. 40
creators:
1 results
1. Steigen historielag
year:
2015
publisher:
Steigen 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_2018092581240_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/64d023495199e2d0900f13644481c58f
id:
74f237609a344eaa0e46d598c112fc33
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018092581234_001
title:
Årbok for Steigen. 2011 Vol. 36
creators:
1 results
1. Steigen historielag
year:
2011
publisher:
Steigen 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_2018092581234_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/74f237609a344eaa0e46d598c112fc33
id:
c6e90701d67626c7c0ce597400064999
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019013181387_001
title:
Årbok for Steigen. 2009 Vol. 34
creators:
1 results
1. Steigen historielag
year:
2009
publisher:
Steigen 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_2019013181387_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c6e90701d67626c7c0ce597400064999
id:
c1149d1809d02de0fd6734ea1da76518
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019013181389_001
title:
Årbok for Steigen. 2008 Vol. 33
creators:
1 results
1. Steigen historielag
year:
2008
publisher:
Steigen 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_2019013181389_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c1149d1809d02de0fd6734ea1da76518
id:
e00f02e7fea21912dde204c04f328cde
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018092581242_001
title:
Årbok for Steigen. 2016 Vol. 41
creators:
1 results
1. Steigen historielag
year:
2016
publisher:
Steigen 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_2018092581242_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e00f02e7fea21912dde204c04f328cde
id:
7bfa7abf87e576171315fd485513c70a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018092581236_001
title:
Årbok for Steigen. 2012 Vol. 37
creators:
1 results
1. Steigen historielag
year:
2012
publisher:
Steigen 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_2018092581236_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7bfa7abf87e576171315fd485513c70a
id:
b94aab840fc09a3284144c5a2607c35b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018092581232_001
title:
Årbok for Steigen. 2010 Vol. 35
creators:
1 results
1. Steigen historielag
year:
2010
publisher:
Steigen 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_2018092581232_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b94aab840fc09a3284144c5a2607c35b
id:
3186eb7f8c4b4e1101ce71edf29574e4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2018092581238_001
title:
Årbok for Steigen. 2014 Vol. 39
creators:
1 results
1. Steigen historielag
year:
2014
publisher:
Steigen 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_2018092581238_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3186eb7f8c4b4e1101ce71edf29574e4
id:
c77cc27b0e5a7c180d445c3c2f93bca6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010120106028
title:
Steigen sagaspill
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1999
publisher:
[Sagaspillet]
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_2010120106028_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c77cc27b0e5a7c180d445c3c2f93bca6

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.