New catalogue featuring Omni search tool now live at McMaster libraries

After years of planning and preparation, a new library services platform is now live at McMaster University Libraries.

The new library catalogue is expected to better meet the needs of McMaster’s academic community thanks, in part, to a search tool called Omni which is now in use at 18 university libraries across Ontario.

“This is an exciting milestone for our libraries as we work to find new and improved ways to serve our users,” said Vivian Lewis, McMaster University Librarian. “We know there are many benefits to the search tool, Omni, and are pleased to offer it at McMaster.”

Jennifer McKinnell, director of McMaster’s Health Sciences Library, added: “This project has been a long time coming, and one that would not be possible without the work of our dedicated staff. We know our users will enjoy a better experience with the new library catalogue, and we are proud to support our academic community in this way.”

Highlights of Omni include the ability to:

• Find books, eBooks, articles, chapters, documents, videos and more
• Narrow a search using filters or browse a virtual shelf
• Pin and tag materials in your favourites file for easy retrieval
• Cite, email, and export to a citation tool to manage your information
• Discover and access collections at McMaster, 17 Ontario partner institutions and beyond
• The ability to place requests directly in Omni for items held at partner institutions (coming soon in summer 2022)

The search tool is one outcome of the Ontario Council of University Libraries’ Collaborative Futures project which seeks to develop a shared vision of future access to library resources across Ontario’s academic libraries – a vision that articulates new possibilities and builds on a decade-long history of collaboration and cooperation.

McMaster joins a number of participating university libraries using Omni including:

• Algoma University
• Brock University
• Carleton University
• University of Guelph
• Lakehead University
• Laurentian University
• Nipissing University
• OCAD University
• University of Ontario Institute of Technology
• University of Ottawa
• Queen’s University
• Trent University
• University of Waterloo
• Western University
• Wilfrid Laurier University
• University of Windsor
• York University

Questions?

If you have any questions or need help using Omni, please contact library staff. Mills and Thode libraries staff can be reached at library@mcmaster.ca. The Health Sciences Library team can be contacted at hslib@mcmaster.ca.