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 2026-09-25T20:31:15Z in 0.315 seconds.

total:

14255

page:

size:

items:

10 results

id:
290905b9988bf57366a55d185f6adfe1
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2009010804007
title:
Vestfold, Nedre Telemark
creators:
2 results
1. Høvik, Kjartan
2. Wall, Pia
year:
2002
publisher:
Aschehoug
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_2009010804007_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/290905b9988bf57366a55d185f6adfe1
id:
3dca71e9d15f328df4a2bb8725679f2b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fylkesavisenvestfoldblad_null_null_20130724_4_30_1
title:
Vestfold Blad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20130724
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestfold
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_fylkesavisenvestfoldblad_null_null_20130724_4_30_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3dca71e9d15f328df4a2bb8725679f2b
id:
9dd0b868ec3926e7fe1a9594765d91fa
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fylkesavisenvestfoldblad_null_null_20130410_4_15_1
title:
Vestfold Blad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20130410
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestfold
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_fylkesavisenvestfoldblad_null_null_20130410_4_15_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/9dd0b868ec3926e7fe1a9594765d91fa
id:
8c4d319765bf8a6b2d0d13dc7eaa06f4
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fylkesavisenvestfoldblad_null_null_20130529_4_22_1
title:
Vestfold Blad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20130529
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestfold
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_fylkesavisenvestfoldblad_null_null_20130529_4_22_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/8c4d319765bf8a6b2d0d13dc7eaa06f4
id:
5f44626599722288c2a48f167dae4116
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_fylkesavisenvestfoldblad_null_null_20120502_3_19_1
title:
Vestfold Blad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20120502
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestfold
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_fylkesavisenvestfoldblad_null_null_20120502_3_19_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/5f44626599722288c2a48f167dae4116
id:
a80f2c6811abc5c962c5d4cba1d25fce
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2014120507516
title:
Kystriksveien : en reiseguide langs Rv17 fra Steinkjer til Bodø
creators:
2 results
1. Breen, Olav
2. Kystriksveien reiseliv AS
year:
2007
publisher:
Cappelen
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_2014120507516_C1/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/a80f2c6811abc5c962c5d4cba1d25fce
id:
967f98f3618813dd04fdc32b950aa1fa
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2025061980075_017
title:
Coop medlem (trykt utg.). januar 2018 Nr. 1
creators:
not reported by source
year:
2018
publisher:
Coop Norge SA
media_types:
1 results
1. tidsskrift
languages:
3 results
1. nob
2. mul
3. nno
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_2025061980075_017_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/967f98f3618813dd04fdc32b950aa1fa
id:
3153a3c9ed1cbca4d9f9f6d8ea594d2b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2022082383290_001
title:
Årsrapport. 2021
creators:
1 results
1. Kontorbygg
year:
2021
publisher:
Kontorbygg
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_2022082383290_001_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/3153a3c9ed1cbca4d9f9f6d8ea594d2b
id:
46d68e5c6d52ddd8ba0c0f369c686f51
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sandefjordsblad_null_null_20100824_150_193_1
title:
Sandefjords Blad
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20100824
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestfold
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_digavis_sandefjordsblad_null_null_20100824_150_193_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/46d68e5c6d52ddd8ba0c0f369c686f51
id:
c136be35081f8058471bba465cc6ed6b
urn:
URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_oyene_null_null_20060119_7_3_1
title:
Øyene
creators:
not reported by source
year:
20060119
publisher:
not reported by source
media_types:
1 results
1. aviser
languages:
1 results
1. Norsk bokmål
county:
Vestfold
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_digavis_oyene_null_null_20060119_7_3_1-1_001_null/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
viewer_url:
https://www.nb.no/items/c136be35081f8058471bba465cc6ed6b

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.