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.

ParameterRequirementJSON typeDescription
qrequiredstringFree-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
media_typeoptionalunionRestrict 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.
languageoptionalunionLanguage 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.
countyoptionalunionNorwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
year_fromoptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
year_tooptionalunionRestrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
digital_onlyoptionalbooleanOnly items that have been digitized.
sortoptionalunionOne of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
pageoptionalintegerZero-based page index.
sizeoptionalintegerResults per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).
limitoptionalintegerGateway page size; default 25, maximum 100.
offsetoptionalintegerNumber 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.

Type: string. Free-text query. Supports field-restricted terms too, e.g. "subject:fiske year:1970" combined with free text.
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.
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.
Type: string. Norwegian county name, e.g. "Troms", "Oslo".
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: integer. Restrict to items published/issued in this year range (inclusive).
Type: yes/no. Only items that have been digitized.
Type: string. One of date, title, otherid, firstDigitalContentTime, optionally suffixed ",desc" (default: relevance).
Type: integer. Zero-based page index.
Type: integer. Results per page, 1 to 100 (default 10).

Result

Source: National Library of Norway. Retrieved 2026-09-25T13:54:26Z in 0.191 seconds.

total:
232
page:
0
size:
10
items:

10 results

  1. id:
    e363b95254dc0acbc696003f8ba51ae4
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040280077_007
    title:
    It-karriere. 2008 Nr. 7
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2008
    publisher:
    IDG Magazines Norge
    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_2024040280077_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/e363b95254dc0acbc696003f8ba51ae4
  2. id:
    3e58929577a3c180dee96a7e4933df7f
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040280077_008
    title:
    It-karriere. 2008 Nr. 8
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2008
    publisher:
    IDG Magazines Norge
    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_2024040280077_008_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/3e58929577a3c180dee96a7e4933df7f
  3. id:
    9e49bdcbf216b52e3765de1f28557f8f
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024050880055_006
    title:
    Computerworld (Oslo : trykt utg.). Fredag August 2008 Vol. 26 Nr. 27
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2008
    publisher:
    Computer Communications
    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_2024050880055_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/9e49bdcbf216b52e3765de1f28557f8f
  4. id:
    86358bf898e608f45c857a52c9866d68
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040280077_006
    title:
    It-karriere. 2008 Nr. 6
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2008
    publisher:
    IDG Magazines Norge
    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_2024040280077_006_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/86358bf898e608f45c857a52c9866d68
  5. id:
    05bae26bdc3c24a82947f278bf690715
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040280077_003
    title:
    It-karriere. 2008 Nr. 3
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2008
    publisher:
    IDG Magazines Norge
    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_2024040280077_003_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/05bae26bdc3c24a82947f278bf690715
  6. id:
    ce165eb64946e7784b12c64517f5cdfb
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024032180047_005
    title:
    It-karriere. 2007 Nr. 5
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2007
    publisher:
    IDG Magazines Norge
    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_2024032180047_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/ce165eb64946e7784b12c64517f5cdfb
  7. id:
    866836d01f9493441f702c788190c1e8
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024040280077_004
    title:
    It-karriere. 2008 Nr. 4
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2008
    publisher:
    IDG Magazines Norge
    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_2024040280077_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/866836d01f9493441f702c788190c1e8
  8. id:
    f34eb5c9f485ecccf5a50f97a9dba4b2
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024032180047_004
    title:
    It-karriere. 2007 Nr. 4
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2007
    publisher:
    IDG Magazines Norge
    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_2024032180047_004_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/f34eb5c9f485ecccf5a50f97a9dba4b2
  9. id:
    284e75c20b300dc60d87e1109ed3bb4b
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024011780026_005
    title:
    It-karriere. 2005 Nr. 7
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2005
    publisher:
    IDG Magazines Norge
    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_2024011780026_005_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/284e75c20b300dc60d87e1109ed3bb4b
  10. id:
    ebcd8d1724768fab27b30f8326340cda
    urn:
    URN:NBN:no-nb_digitidsskrift_2024032180047_007
    title:
    It-karriere. 2007 Nr. 7
    creators:
    not reported by source
    year:
    2007
    publisher:
    IDG Magazines Norge
    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_2024032180047_007_0001/full/0,128/0/native.jpg
    viewer_url:
    https://www.nb.no/items/ebcd8d1724768fab27b30f8326340cda
limit:
25
offset:
0
returned:
10
has_more_results:
yes
truncated:
yes
next_offset:
10
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

  1. Replace the placeholders in the HTML GET template; remove optional parameters you do not need.
  2. Check types, units, limits and ID formats in the parameter table.
  3. 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.