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 2026-09-26T14:32:20Z in 0.233 seconds.

total:

2003877

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
81f61deb29466003cd31935d17b6897e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023081048014
title:
Fra J T Holst til Kristian Holst AS : en familiebedrift gjennom 160 år
creators:
2 results
1. Holst, Kristian
2. Kristian Holst AS
year:
2023
publisher:
Kristian Holst AS
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_2023081048014_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/81f61deb29466003cd31935d17b6897e
id:
50fc6658eb79f2a67fc74ee6f2466422
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023112183080_001
title:
Teatermagasinet : T. Høsten 2023
creators:
1 results
1. Rogaland teater
year:
2023
publisher:
Rogaland teater
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_2023112183080_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/50fc6658eb79f2a67fc74ee6f2466422
id:
c34cd361e5efdb9f8acf94d74226ee00
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016022448010
title:
På sporet av Gunnar T. Strøm
creators:
3 results
1. Strømøy, Tore
2. Topsøe-Strøm, Gunnar
3. Byggkjøp Gunnar T. Strøm
year:
2008
publisher:
Byggkjøp Gunnar T. Strøm
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_2016022448010_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c34cd361e5efdb9f8acf94d74226ee00
id:
b1e413a78f58e7356741740e69f6486d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015092448011
title:
Tal i arbeid T
creators:
1 results
1. Heir, Odd
year:
2009
publisher:
Aschehoug
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
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_digibok_2015092448011_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b1e413a78f58e7356741740e69f6486d
id:
7e1f96f965fd7612d56ea0defa78adcd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013070205063
title:
Tall i arbeid T
creators:
1 results
1. Heir, Odd
year:
2009
publisher:
Aschehoug
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_2013070205063_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7e1f96f965fd7612d56ea0defa78adcd
id:
f4be2a8fa058ae5890d06566ea656591
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025012280002_003
title:
Bygg Nytt : Informasjon til ansatte i Divisjon Bygg. 1998 Nr. 4
creators:
1 results
1. Fundia bygg
year:
1998
publisher:
MIP Info
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_2025012280002_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f4be2a8fa058ae5890d06566ea656591
id:
f46e2a3451cea5ba33d6d8cf3eb7eef6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011102808013
title:
Bygg- og anleggsteknisk forskning
creators:
1 results
1. NTNF's komité for bygg- og anleggsteknisk forskning
year:
1970
publisher:
NTNF
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_2011102808013_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/f46e2a3451cea5ba33d6d8cf3eb7eef6
id:
e38ae104f5570fec4a2a8c7c25fd1cb5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2016060708343
title:
Bygg- og anleggsteknisk forskning
creators:
1 results
1. NTNF's komité for bygg- og anleggsteknisk forskning
year:
1980
publisher:
NTNF
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_2016060708343_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e38ae104f5570fec4a2a8c7c25fd1cb5
id:
86c26f84db89115043aad8e8e12e3faa
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025012383032_001
title:
Miljørapport for Fundia bygg i Mo i Rana. 1997
creators:
1 results
1. Fundia bygg
year:
1997
publisher:
Fundia bygg
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_2025012383032_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/86c26f84db89115043aad8e8e12e3faa
id:
8e0253355dbb3bef267c9c5e6591744c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025012383031_001
title:
Miljørapport for Fundia bygg i Mo i Rana. 1996
creators:
1 results
1. Fundia bygg
year:
1996
publisher:
Fundia bygg
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_2025012383031_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8e0253355dbb3bef267c9c5e6591744c

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.