The library offers a range of helpful services. All of our appointments are free of charge and confidential.
Omni is simple to use, so you can get started by typing into the quick search box. This page will provide an overview of some of Omni’s more advanced search features.
First, we recommend checking out this short video entitled "How to search Omni".
Use Advanced Search to conduct a more complex and precise search.
In advanced search you can:
Use the Modify your results panel to tweak your search results.
Toggle on Add results beyond Guelph’s collection when you want to conduct a more comprehensive search. By toggling it on, you will expand your search to include items from other libraries.
Requests for a full book from another library will be delivered physically to your preferred pickup location. Most requests will be filled in 7-10 business days.
Requests for a single chapter of a book, an article from a journal, or an excerpt of up to 10% of a work will be emailed to you usually within 1 business day.
Toggle on Add results by searching in full text when you want to expand the scope of Omni’s search. Omni will search your keywords within full text articles, as well as abstracts and tables of contents. Full text searching is more robust using most subject specific databases.
The Sort by dropdown orders the results according to your preference (relevance, date-newest, date-oldest, title, author).
Add filters to further refine your results. These filters will change depending on your initial search results. For example, if your search returns only resources we have in print, you will not see “Available online” under the “Availability” heading. Select your filter(s) then click APPLY FILTERS at the bottom of the filter panel.
You can exclude certain filters from your search results. Hover over the filter and a red check box will appear. Click that check box to exclude results. In this example, click the red check box to exclude reviews from your results.
Once you have applied a filter(s) you can lock it in place so it will apply if you’re doing multiple new searches. Look for the Active filters at the top of the filters panel. Hover over the active filter you want to lock and a lock icon will appear. Click on the lock.
If you’re searching for an author, you may have better luck using Browse by Author. Click Browse in the top navigation bar and enter the author's name (last name, first name).
Search for newspapers using the Newspapers search link in the filter panel. After entering a search term, expand the Resource Type menu and select Newspapers search.
To search for journal titles select Journal Search in the top navigation banner.
This search includes journals, magazines, newspapers, and other serial publications (e.g. annual reports) available at U of G (print and online) and other Omni Libraries (print).
You can also search journals by subject area using the “Journals by Category” panel on a journal search page.
Once you’ve found your journal, click the journal title to see the full record view.
From the journal's full record, look for the Search inside box:
When you click on a record of a physical item, you can virtually browse other items sitting next to it on the "shelf". Either scroll to the bottom of a physical item record or click Virtual Browse located in the "Skip To" menu on the left hand side.
Use the "Related Reading" feature, located on the right side of electronic article records, to discover other similar items. "Related Reading" list is harvested from usage data from academic institutions around the world. Related items may be from different journals, publishers, and platforms.
You can "pin" (save) records of interest to My Favourites as you discover them.
Create an alert when you want to be informed of new items added to Omni that match your search. Omni will conduct your search automatically and email you the results once a week.
To turn on an alert:
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