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 2026-09-22T07:28:55Z in 0.314 seconds.

total:

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
0cef626e3ddf130a9d14ff3e44c3442e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009080504003
title:
Discrete predator-prey relations
creators:
1 results
1. Lindström, Torsten
year:
1997
publisher:
Matematisk institutt, Universitetet i Oslo
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2009080504003_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/0cef626e3ddf130a9d14ff3e44c3442e
id:
d047b3b12463c79caee57a276c4046d2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_dagenbergen_null_null_19990602_81_122_1
title:
Dagen (Bergen)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19990602
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestland
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_dagenbergen_null_null_19990602_81_122_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d047b3b12463c79caee57a276c4046d2
id:
98ef1736593b73ce7cf060560e185d1e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026011980009_002
title:
Sykkelmagasinet. 2012 Vol. 20 Nr. 2
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2012
publisher:
Sykkelmagasinet
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_2026011980009_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/98ef1736593b73ce7cf060560e185d1e
id:
abd2e246782a478531fd005920464cfe
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026011980012_001
title:
Sykkelmagasinet. 2013 Vol. 21 Nr. 1
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2013
publisher:
Sykkelmagasinet
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_2026011980012_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/abd2e246782a478531fd005920464cfe
id:
986739f924a863fb1d82c5f60ad38c37
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2017042048029
title:
TopSim simulator : software architecture
creators:
3 results
1. Horn, Geir
2. Waadeland, Thomas
3. Linge, Svein
year:
1995
publisher:
SINTEF, Instrumentation
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2017042048029_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/986739f924a863fb1d82c5f60ad38c37
id:
20fc81aa282125a5b7bf04259a2269fe
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024101780014_004
title:
Byavisa (Flatåsen :trykt utg.) : Byavisa magasin. 2007 Nr. 4
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2007
publisher:
Norsk avisdrift
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
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_2024101780014_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/20fc81aa282125a5b7bf04259a2269fe
id:
1ae0fa97b71248d99091db10adb41c9c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025041480014_009
title:
Computerworld (Oslo : trykt utg.). 2016 Vol. 34 Nr. 32
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2016
publisher:
Computer Communications
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_2025041480014_009_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/1ae0fa97b71248d99091db10adb41c9c
id:
ac63323093879f4c2adddf51edb48199
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sarpsborgarbeiderblad_null_null_19760719_49_163_1
title:
Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19760719
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Østfold
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbync
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sarpsborgarbeiderblad_null_null_19760719_49_163_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ac63323093879f4c2adddf51edb48199
id:
d043b2e7a3df2ed37738a69d5c6c66da
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020091407555
title:
Sjokkdoktrinen : katastrofekapitalismens fremmarsj
creators:
2 results
1. Klein, Naomi
2. Dimmen, Guro
year:
2007
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_2020091407555_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d043b2e7a3df2ed37738a69d5c6c66da
id:
8f730ffa9186e9bac52c8af0ce4fe57c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_mossdagblad_null_null_19760719_64_163_1
title:
Moss Dagblad (Moss: 1960-2009)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
19760719
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Østfold
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbync
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_mossdagblad_null_null_19760719_64_163_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8f730ffa9186e9bac52c8af0ce4fe57c

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.