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 2026-09-26T15:30:47Z in 0.254 seconds.

total:

16831

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
6fd9e350d67faacdd39c3714fa9e445b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023103183056_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2020
creators:
1 results
1. Taxisentralen i Bergen
year:
2020
publisher:
Taxisentralen i Bergen
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_2023103183056_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6fd9e350d67faacdd39c3714fa9e445b
id:
efd16e92fcab12863dd7abbf130d1b10
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023103183057_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2021
creators:
1 results
1. Taxisentralen i Bergen
year:
2021
publisher:
Taxisentralen i Bergen
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_2023103183057_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/efd16e92fcab12863dd7abbf130d1b10
id:
957cc96a2f551c1a62a2c65d0ddad452
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011090108106
title:
Lillehammer motorcentral as 75 år
creators:
2 results
1. Pedersen, Jan Vidar Lie
2. Lillehammer motorcentral
year:
1997
publisher:
Lillehammer motorcentral
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_2011090108106_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/957cc96a2f551c1a62a2c65d0ddad452
id:
e9751094d1ceaa47d84626bf1b0304a3
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2019052007004
title:
Den kongelige egyptiske automobilklubben
creators:
2 results
1. al-Aswānī, ʿAlāʾ
2. Kjosaas, Linda
year:
2015
publisher:
Gyldendal
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_2019052007004_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e9751094d1ceaa47d84626bf1b0304a3
id:
20b1ec62c1b1b235f3e9c568e4be00d0
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018071707524
title:
Den kongelige egyptiske automobilklubben
creators:
2 results
1. al-Aswānī, ʿAlāʾ
2. Kjosaas, Linda
year:
2015
publisher:
Gyldendal
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_2018071707524_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/20b1ec62c1b1b235f3e9c568e4be00d0
id:
2d9d04d12c33da546d53fea665b558c9
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019120981086_001
title:
Blikk (trykt utg.). 2003 Nr. 9
creators:
2 results
1. Rosa trekant
2. Blikk AS
year:
2003
publisher:
Blikk AS
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
not reported by source
digital:
yes
public_domain:
no
license:
ccbyncnd
viewability:
ALL
access_allowed_from:
EVERYWHERE
thumbnail:
https://www.nb.no/services/image/resolver/URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2019120981086_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/2d9d04d12c33da546d53fea665b558c9
id:
5f117ddfe169d3d177627026d4dceaaf
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020112748502
title:
Med kjøtt på beinet : slakterhistorien for Kristiansund og Nordmøre 1800-2017
creators:
3 results
1. Sandvik, Andreas
2. Busken AS
3. Nordmøre museum
year:
2017
publisher:
Busken 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_2020112748502_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5f117ddfe169d3d177627026d4dceaaf
id:
e33b756627a50bba65e1c9c838f553ed
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aasavis_null_null_20150813_10_30_1
title:
Ås Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20150813
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Akershus
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_aasavis_null_null_20150813_10_30_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/e33b756627a50bba65e1c9c838f553ed
id:
8da9475d9f61a445bdee9616ab1d09d2
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aasavis_null_null_20250327_20_13_1
title:
Ås Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20250327
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Akershus
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_aasavis_null_null_20250327_20_13_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8da9475d9f61a445bdee9616ab1d09d2
id:
3114a9e63947dd457d2902d46a33b2dc
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_aasavis_null_null_20240118_19_3_1
title:
Ås Avis
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20240118
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Akershus
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_aasavis_null_null_20240118_19_3_1-1_001_hovedavis/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3114a9e63947dd457d2902d46a33b2dc

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.