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 2026-09-24T02:36:25Z in 0.190 seconds.

total:

79649

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
ff8b6b79cd9ebbe2cc972fb400f1ec32
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024053080063_002
title:
Be great (hotels) : hotels, food & wine .... 2020 2
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2020
publisher:
TM 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_2024053080063_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ff8b6b79cd9ebbe2cc972fb400f1ec32
id:
15bf204f9e82fcc66ef3d61d5376eb0c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008102100001
title:
Når kastanjene blomstrer- : Rica Hotels 25 år : 1975-2000
creators:
1 results
1. Hoemsnes, Ole N.
year:
2000
publisher:
Europa forl.
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_2008102100001_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/15bf204f9e82fcc66ef3d61d5376eb0c
id:
8055d8bdcf3414bcc98071ca4c019700
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013062106022
title:
Vassfaret : natur, dyr, folk og historie
creators:
3 results
1. Akervold, Magne
2. Thon Hotels
3. Akervold, Ola K.
year:
2008
publisher:
Thon Hotels
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
1 results
1. nob
county:
Buskerud
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_2013062106022_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8055d8bdcf3414bcc98071ca4c019700
id:
fa339cc8510ecf4b15812de129e37770
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025061983188_001
title:
Choice journal (engelsk). 2009
creators:
1 results
1. Choice Hotels Scandinavia
year:
2009
publisher:
Choice Hotels Scandinavia
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
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_digitidsskrift_2025061983188_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fa339cc8510ecf4b15812de129e37770
id:
57a17f0087387a9529ec9ad08ce79293
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2013100106167
title:
Olav Thon : milliardær i anorakk
creators:
1 results
1. Berg, Hallgrim
year:
2009
publisher:
Kagge
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nno
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_digibok_2013100106167_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/57a17f0087387a9529ec9ad08ce79293
id:
6d915cad4493b024971d7512bee2b0cd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014052108127
title:
Olav Thon : milliardær i anorakk
creators:
1 results
1. Berg, Hallgrim
year:
2008
publisher:
Kagge
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. 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_2014052108127_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6d915cad4493b024971d7512bee2b0cd
id:
fdd455015f8584b4e0a7b3c2bee6fa26
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023100283069_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2021
creators:
1 results
1. Olav Thon eiendomsselskap
year:
2021
publisher:
Selskapet
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_2023100283069_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fdd455015f8584b4e0a7b3c2bee6fa26
id:
06303811757af02944ec5b0fc120ee4a
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023100283070_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2020
creators:
1 results
1. Olav Thon eiendomsselskap
year:
2020
publisher:
Selskapet
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_2023100283070_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/06303811757af02944ec5b0fc120ee4a
id:
7157fbc535288626769dcf4537726198
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023012083135_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2021
creators:
1 results
1. Thon holding
year:
2021
publisher:
Thon holding
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_2023012083135_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/7157fbc535288626769dcf4537726198
id:
9f80f2aa22e8c399fe4fbea67a7925d8
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2024071648095
title:
Norgesreisen
creators:
1 results
1. Bredal, Dag
year:
2024
publisher:
Gren forlag A/S
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_2024071648095_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9f80f2aa22e8c399fe4fbea67a7925d8

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.