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 2026-09-27T00:24:14Z in 0.210 seconds.

total:

85817

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
a0575b4332e348e445713d7bcc2fa83e
urn:
not reported by source
title:
En ny verden : byggeprosjekter
creators:
1 results
1. Dale, Ole Harald
year:
2010
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/a0575b4332e348e445713d7bcc2fa83e
id:
45cee695c018e007d4a687ab2052bf5c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011011406024
title:
Hva er forsikring? : håndbok i forsikring for lærere
creators:
1 results
1. Opplysningskontoret for forsikring
year:
1970
publisher:
Opplysningskontoret for forsikring
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_2011011406024_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/45cee695c018e007d4a687ab2052bf5c
id:
ec4dd46291d45fbc961ee51ffa706503
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024030680021_003
title:
Samvirke (Samvirke forsikring) : blad for Samvirke-selskapenes medarbeidere. 1967 Nr. 3
creators:
1 results
1. Samvirke forsikring
year:
1967
publisher:
Samvirke forsikring
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_2024030680021_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ec4dd46291d45fbc961ee51ffa706503
id:
998571e62985be89f8de6a8f50ea40e6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024030680020_005
title:
Samvirke (Samvirke forsikring) : blad for Samvirke-selskapenes medarbeidere. 1969 Nr. 5
creators:
1 results
1. Samvirke forsikring
year:
1969
publisher:
Samvirke forsikring
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_2024030680020_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/998571e62985be89f8de6a8f50ea40e6
id:
94644930b061df992413f309eb8a7b55
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024030680020_001
title:
Samvirke (Samvirke forsikring) : blad for Samvirke-selskapenes medarbeidere. 1969 Nr. 1
creators:
1 results
1. Samvirke forsikring
year:
1969
publisher:
Samvirke forsikring
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_2024030680020_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/94644930b061df992413f309eb8a7b55
id:
c79cd28c6dd0a91f078cb245f39bfbfd
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024030680019_004
title:
Samvirke (Samvirke forsikring) : blad for Samvirke-selskapenes medarbeidere. 1970 Nr. 4
creators:
1 results
1. Samvirke forsikring
year:
1970
publisher:
Samvirke forsikring
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_2024030680019_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c79cd28c6dd0a91f078cb245f39bfbfd
id:
136e5dcf7a47737833b654f2b2eb594d
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023092880019_005
title:
Forsikring (Oslo). 1995 Vol. 99 Nr. 5
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1995
publisher:
Forsikringslitteratur
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_2023092880019_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/136e5dcf7a47737833b654f2b2eb594d
id:
57acda49e581d8fd2049c2d0b712d097
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023092880023_005
title:
Forsikring (Oslo). 1991 Vol. 95 Nr. 5
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1991
publisher:
Forsikringslitteratur
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_2023092880023_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/57acda49e581d8fd2049c2d0b712d097
id:
6d9769b8964205c64eef127d6c7adfb7
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023092880022_007
title:
Forsikring (Oslo). 1992 Vol. 96 Nr. 7
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1992
publisher:
Forsikringslitteratur
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_2023092880022_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/6d9769b8964205c64eef127d6c7adfb7
id:
ba213e560c4e16ea315692e89106931e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2023092880018_005
title:
Forsikring (Oslo). 1996 Vol. 100 Nr. 7
creators:
not reported by source
year:
1996
publisher:
Forsikringslitteratur
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_2023092880018_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/ba213e560c4e16ea315692e89106931e

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.