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 2026-09-28T10:43:20Z in 0.286 seconds.

total:

381

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
ed2c27ce0a418bf0c8ad72081c82b2e3
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Sykehusenes rolle i eldreomsorgen
creators:
1 results
1. Lamvik, Torarin
year:
1987
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. artikler
languages:
1 results
1. nob
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/ed2c27ce0a418bf0c8ad72081c82b2e3
id:
fa6d2508ea893e9ce5ea99bc1e7002bd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_byavisatrondheim_null_null_20130917_1_34_1
title:
Byavisa Trondheim
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20130917
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
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_byavisatrondheim_null_null_20130917_1_34_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fa6d2508ea893e9ce5ea99bc1e7002bd
id:
077fb03bc8e2d132987130a62d6bebb4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025111983142_001
title:
Trav og galopp-nytt. 2020 Vol. 72 Nr. 77årsrevyen
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2020
publisher:
Trav og galopp-nytt
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_2025111983142_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/077fb03bc8e2d132987130a62d6bebb4
id:
4161237a15166a19a172155c93fa7d5f
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022083180088_003
title:
Gerontologisk magasin : om aldring og eldre. 1987 Vol. 4 Nr. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Norsk gerontologisk institutt
year:
1987
publisher:
Instituttet
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_2022083180088_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/4161237a15166a19a172155c93fa7d5f
id:
036f726014169503d2d95dfb2bd873cb
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_gaula_null_null_20240104_24_1_1
title:
Gaula (Melhus: 2001-)
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20240104
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Trøndelag
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_gaula_null_null_20240104_24_1_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/036f726014169503d2d95dfb2bd873cb
id:
3a472423b2593fc75839c265cad6163d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025050983071_001
title:
Byneset Leinstrand menighetsblad. 2025 Vol. 71 Nr. 1
creators:
2 results
1. Byneset menighetsråd
2. Leinstrand menighetsråd
year:
2025
publisher:
Menighetsrådene
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_2025050983071_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3a472423b2593fc75839c265cad6163d
id:
260a723de343ed33eb9da28f521ae524
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024012980102_002
title:
Pulsen (St. Olavs hospital) : avis for St. Olavs hospital. 2003 Vol. 7 Nr. 2
creators:
1 results
1. St. Olavs hospital
year:
2003
publisher:
Hospitalet
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_2024012980102_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/260a723de343ed33eb9da28f521ae524
id:
b05c9f1631b71857e45bba5656a914aa
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025062480107_007
title:
Trav og galopp-nytt. 2018 Vol. 70 Nr. 95
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2018
publisher:
Trav og galopp-nytt
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_2025062480107_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b05c9f1631b71857e45bba5656a914aa
id:
abb1a445c7e672a04c01a39d4be8b31d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2010082403061
title:
At det også skulle hende meg
creators:
1 results
1. Wiig, Esther-Marie
year:
1996
publisher:
E-M. Wiig
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_2010082403061_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/abb1a445c7e672a04c01a39d4be8b31d
id:
7f2f60b481051545682e510a490f3be8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2023070348039
title:
Developmental dysplasia of the hip joints of children enrolled in a screening program with selective ultrasound examination : association with foot deformity, need of follow-up and the incidence of late detected DDH
creators:
3 results
1. Håberg, Øyvind
2. Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet Institutt for nevromedisin og bevegelsesvitenskap
3. Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet
year:
2023
publisher:
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
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_2023070348039_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7f2f60b481051545682e510a490f3be8

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.