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 2026-09-15T06:03:25Z in 0.288 seconds.

total:

87614

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
380cae2f63b9de928c0de2c8ac512d9d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008110700034
title:
Qt's graphical development tools
creators:
1 results
1. Trolltech
year:
2001
publisher:
Trolltech
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_2008110700034_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/380cae2f63b9de928c0de2c8ac512d9d
id:
cd0b29aaf42e2f8c09b351597db8d073
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Differential interventions : images as operative tools
creators:
2 results
1. Hoel, Aud Sissel
2. Lindseth, Frank
year:
2016
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. artikler
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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/cd0b29aaf42e2f8c09b351597db8d073
id:
15c27393a499ca8fe81ebd7175d85557
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023110748090
title:
Modern software tools for scientific computing
creators:
4 results
1. Arge, Erlend
2. Langtangen, Hans Petter
3. International Workshop on Modern Software Tools for Scientific Computing
4. Bruaset, Are Magnus
year:
1997
publisher:
Birkhäuser
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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_2023110748090_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/15c27393a499ca8fe81ebd7175d85557
id:
baa5a59f813dab0ff750f17347fd38c1
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Strategy paper for Rogaland region : project "R3L" : Competence Centers and ICT as Tools of Learning Regions : "Learning Region Rogaland"
creators:
9 results
1. Frick, Jan
2. Rogaland
3. Competence Centers and ICT as Tools of Learning Regions (prosjekt)
4. Imsland, Ole
5. Rogaland kurs- og kompetansesenter
6. Müller, Ulrich
7. R3L (program)
8. Knudsen, Leif
9. ProArbeit
year:
2004
publisher:
Høgskolen i Stavanger, Faculty of Social Sciences
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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/baa5a59f813dab0ff750f17347fd38c1
id:
159a6beb48ef52841b106da101f5a737
urn:
not reported by source
title:
A tale about tails : tails as tools - tails as toys
creators:
1 results
1. Waadeland, Haakon
year:
2012
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. artikler
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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/159a6beb48ef52841b106da101f5a737
id:
17d6d015bbb5e4290bf12dd845fea80b
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Embedding biobanks as tools for personalised medicine
creators:
1 results
1. Kaye, Jane
year:
2012
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. artikler
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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/17d6d015bbb5e4290bf12dd845fea80b
id:
a3da68c6af88aadbc2f98f9f16e62672
urn:
not reported by source
title:
On target?: EU sanctions as security policy tools
creators:
1 results
1. Bazoobandi, Sara
year:
2015
publisher:
European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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/a3da68c6af88aadbc2f98f9f16e62672
id:
3aa08e268d7b0bc7e5abd46f2085e756
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Music as weapon: Heroic lyrical epics as tools in the PKK’s struggle
creators:
1 results
1. Mohammad, Moustafa
year:
2023
publisher:
Clingendael Institute
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. eng
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/3aa08e268d7b0bc7e5abd46f2085e756
id:
6cb61477bf972b72395def2801f6cfb1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009101404055
title:
Operational tools
creators:
1 results
1. Gudkovich, Zalman
year:
1995
publisher:
The Fridtjof Nansen Institute
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_2009101404055_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6cb61477bf972b72395def2801f6cfb1
id:
9ead1a78c77860e3953d90c284e1fd4c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010041205041
title:
Protected marine reserves as fisheries management tools : a bioeconomic analysis
creators:
1 results
1. Sumaila, Ussif Rashid
year:
1998
publisher:
Chr. Michelsen Institute
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_2010041205041_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9ead1a78c77860e3953d90c284e1fd4c

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.