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 2026-09-26T22:15:46Z in 0.299 seconds.

total:

1948

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
4ffa827476937553bf6e6904327afc3e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025031880024_011
title:
Norsk VVS : tidsskrift for VVS, energi og inneklima. 1993 Vol. 36 Nr. 12
creators:
2 results
1. Norsk VVS-teknisk forening
2. Norsk VVS energi- og miljøteknisk forening
year:
1993
publisher:
Skarland press
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
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_2025031880024_011_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4ffa827476937553bf6e6904327afc3e
id:
049c8e5e535540f38191dad81db2930c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025040780002_001
title:
Norsk VVS : tidsskrift for VVS, energi og inneklima. 1987 Vol. 30 Nr. 1
creators:
2 results
1. Norsk VVS-teknisk forening
2. Norsk VVS energi- og miljøteknisk forening
year:
1987
publisher:
Skarland press
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
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_2025040780002_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/049c8e5e535540f38191dad81db2930c
id:
eb2b39082a8c39f3587389ffb2d76625
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025040780002_012
title:
Norsk VVS : tidsskrift for VVS, energi og inneklima. 1987 Vol. 30 Nr. 12
creators:
2 results
1. Norsk VVS-teknisk forening
2. Norsk VVS energi- og miljøteknisk forening
year:
1987
publisher:
Skarland press
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. eng
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_2025040780002_012_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/eb2b39082a8c39f3587389ffb2d76625
id:
9c159d060b7ede2a598ff1b8b3d2b915
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2026022680108_002
title:
Birkebeiner'n : offisielt magasin for Birkebeinerrennet AS og Birkebeinerrittet AS. 2003 Vol. 15 Nr. 2
creators:
2 results
1. Birkebeinerrittet
2. Birkebeinerrennet
year:
2003
publisher:
Sport media
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_2026022680108_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9c159d060b7ede2a598ff1b8b3d2b915
id:
bedae23ba92179f4642d19e44d6d40c9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025061383027_001
title:
Bygdalangs : eit magasin fra Hordaland folkeblad. 2020 Nr. 1 7
creators:
1 results
1. Hordaland folkeblad AS
year:
2020
publisher:
Hordaland folkeblad
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_2025061383027_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/bedae23ba92179f4642d19e44d6d40c9
id:
6b36f343cc6c948cb04365720b9743a5
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025060680061_001
title:
Bygdalangs : eit magasin fra Hordaland folkeblad. 2019 Nr. 1 5
creators:
1 results
1. Hordaland folkeblad AS
year:
2019
publisher:
Hordaland folkeblad
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_2025060680061_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6b36f343cc6c948cb04365720b9743a5
id:
48cf1584c4c7c4e111987dcb412c707d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_samningen_null_null_20211125_45_44_1
title:
Samningen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20211125
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_samningen_null_null_20211125_45_44_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/48cf1584c4c7c4e111987dcb412c707d
id:
14027103e49410ee1c19dddceef56f11
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_hordalandfolkeblad_null_null_20211102_148_86_1
title:
Hordaland Folkeblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20211102
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_hordalandfolkeblad_null_null_20211102_148_86_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/14027103e49410ee1c19dddceef56f11
id:
4186c921d377eeb9cd920941618142e9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_hordalandfolkeblad_null_null_20230505_150_35_1
title:
Hordaland Folkeblad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20230505
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_hordalandfolkeblad_null_null_20230505_150_35_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4186c921d377eeb9cd920941618142e9
id:
c66ec4ea7756047af33d9e090c3521dc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sognavis_null_null_20230511_0_55_1
title:
Sogn Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20230511
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:
LIBRARY
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sognavis_null_null_20230511_0_55_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c66ec4ea7756047af33d9e090c3521dc

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.