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 2026-09-23T15:58:34Z in 0.341 seconds.

total:

162964

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
11cd1c87ff328da7da1e4c4cb514754a
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Vaksdal kommune
creators:
1 results
1. Vaksdal
year:
1972
publisher:
Vaksdal kommune
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
languages:
3 results
1. nno
2. nob
3. mul
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/11cd1c87ff328da7da1e4c4cb514754a
id:
80e078f2165c854430686e6ed21a4a0f
urn:
not reported by source
title:
Vaksdal kommune : slik minnest me krigstida 1940-1945
creators:
1 results
1. Vaksdal kommune
year:
2018
publisher:
Kommunen
media_types:
1 results
1. bøker
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/80e078f2165c854430686e6ed21a4a0f
id:
c44c3de743dddec4a3a69c2e077c6c6e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2011102508183
title:
Vaksdal kommune : 1870-1970
creators:
2 results
1. Ytre-Arne, Dagfinn
2. Vaksdal
year:
1970
publisher:
not reported by source
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_2011102508183_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c44c3de743dddec4a3a69c2e077c6c6e
id:
043a897f70972bd79c35b47c5e5d8292
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_pliktmonografi_000035013
title:
Prøvefiske i 2 innsjøer i Vaksdal kommune, Hordaland, høsten 2011
creators:
1 results
1. Hellen, Bjart Are
year:
2012
publisher:
Rådgivende Biologer 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_pliktmonografi_000035013_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/043a897f70972bd79c35b47c5e5d8292
id:
927278d8368d2a10a544ed6b9c78376c
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024092780006_001
title:
Årbok (Vaksdal historielag) : historisk årsskrift for Vaksdal historielag. 2018
creators:
1 results
1. Vaksdal historielag
year:
2018
publisher:
Vaksdal historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. 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_digitidsskrift_2024092780006_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/927278d8368d2a10a544ed6b9c78376c
id:
968260686fcef77c10e964298aefbe8e
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024092780006_002
title:
Årbok (Vaksdal historielag) : historisk årsskrift for Vaksdal historielag. 2019
creators:
1 results
1. Vaksdal historielag
year:
2019
publisher:
Vaksdal historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. 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_digitidsskrift_2024092780006_002_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/968260686fcef77c10e964298aefbe8e
id:
d38e0ae575a2a9e8b7a848da9b0d7ade
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024041783149_001
title:
Årbok (Vaksdal historielag) : historisk årsskrift for Vaksdal historielag. 2021
creators:
1 results
1. Vaksdal historielag
year:
2021
publisher:
Vaksdal historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. 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_digitidsskrift_2024041783149_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/d38e0ae575a2a9e8b7a848da9b0d7ade
id:
82dffd6bca7286cc521fb851570ac1d1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_plikttidsskrift_3a669f01-879e-4d51-bfbe-0127a164bae4
title:
Årbok (Vaksdal historielag) : historisk årsskrift for Vaksdal historielag. 2025
creators:
1 results
1. Vaksdal historielag
year:
2025
publisher:
Vaksdal historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. 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_plikttidsskrift_3a669f01-879e-4d51-bfbe-0127a164bae4_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/82dffd6bca7286cc521fb851570ac1d1
id:
b9ee03c7ba11e96dcb1663c3c98aac36
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024122083076_001
title:
Årbok (Vaksdal historielag) : historisk årsskrift for Vaksdal historielag. 2024
creators:
1 results
1. Vaksdal historielag
year:
2024
publisher:
Vaksdal historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. 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_digitidsskrift_2024122083076_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/b9ee03c7ba11e96dcb1663c3c98aac36
id:
fc08583fbbfecb167a086f46c5dc5fc6
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2021051881048_001
title:
Årbok (Vaksdal historielag) : historisk årsskrift for Vaksdal historielag. 2015
creators:
1 results
1. Vaksdal historielag
year:
2015
publisher:
Vaksdal historielag
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
1 results
1. 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_digitidsskrift_2021051881048_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/fc08583fbbfecb167a086f46c5dc5fc6

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.