Maken Similarity Service Browser Extension

The Maken Similarity Service Browser Extension is a tightly scoped but genuinely useful tool for anyone who regularly works with the digital collections of the National Library of Norway (nb.no). It does one thing — adds a "Lignende gjenstander" ("Similar items") button to search results for books and images — and does it cleanly, without requiring configuration or accounts. For researchers, historians, students, and librarians who need to navigate the library’s vast archive, this extension transforms a standard search interface into a discovery engine that surfaces connections a conventional keyword query would miss.

Where it stands out is in its seamless integration. The button appears directly on the search results page of nb.no, and clicking it opens a dedicated section at the bottom of the screen showing thumbnails and links to related items. There is no redirect, no pop-up, no separate window — the experience stays entirely within the library’s own website. This design choice matters because it respects the user’s context: you can quickly preview similar materials without losing your place in the original search. The underlying Maken similarity service, developed by the AI Lab at the National Library, powers the suggestions, but the extension itself is lightweight and unobtrusive.

The kind of workflow it fits into is one of exploratory research rather than precise retrieval. If you know exactly what you are looking for — a specific book title or a known image — the extension adds little value. But if you are tracing themes, following visual patterns, or trying to uncover related documents that may not share obvious keywords, the similarity feature becomes a powerful shortcut. For example, a historian researching 19th-century Norwegian emigration can start with one photograph and quickly discover other images from the same period, location, or photographer. A librarian curating a digital exhibit on Norwegian folk costumes can use the tool to find thematically connected illustrations across the collection without manually browsing hundreds of records.

Who benefits most are power users of nb.no — researchers who already spend significant time in the archive and need to maximize the serendipity of discovery. The extension reduces the friction of moving between related items, which in a standard search interface would require multiple queries and manual note-taking. For genealogists tracing family names or locations, the similarity search can surface records that share metadata patterns, such as place names or archival series, that might not be obvious from a text search alone. Students working on projects about Norwegian culture also gain a broader view of available materials, which can deepen their research without requiring advanced search skills.

However, the extension has clear limits that a practical buyer or operator should weigh. It only works on nb.no, so its utility is confined to users of that specific library. There is no way to filter, sort, or customize the similarity results — you get whatever the Maken algorithm decides is related, with no control over the criteria. The quality of suggestions depends entirely on the underlying AI service, which may prioritize metadata overlap over semantic or visual similarity in ways that are not transparent to the user. Additionally, the extension currently appears to target Chrome-based browsers; users of Firefox or Safari may not have a compatible version.

For librarians and institutions, this extension is worth recommending to patrons who frequently use nb.no, as it enhances the discoverability of the library’s holdings with zero maintenance overhead. For individual researchers, it is a free, low-risk addition to their browser that can pay off in time saved during exploratory phases of research. The key is to treat it as a complement to, not a replacement for, traditional search — a tool that opens doors to unexpected connections rather than delivering precise answers. In the landscape of AI-powered discovery tools, the Maken extension is refreshingly focused and honest about its scope, making it a solid choice for its intended niche.