Search Omni to find books, journals, videos and other materials owned by the Library. You can search by keywords, author, title or subject headings.
Basic Searching
The default search in Omni is basic search. Enter one or more keywords into the Omni search box, choose the scope you wish to search. Pease note, if you are starting your search from the library homepage, the scope is automatically set to Queen's, then click the search button.
Basic search supports the use of Boolean operators: AND, OR or NOT, and they must be entered in uppercase. For example: health AND exercise
To search for a specific phrase, type quotation marks around the phrase, otherwise AND is assumed between each word. For example: "health promotion"
Advanced Searching
Use the advanced search option for more precise searching. Using the drop-down options within the Advanced Search screen you can limit your search to specific fields and/or a combination of fields (Author, Title, Subject, Call number). You can also specify that your search words must be contained in the search field ("contains", "starts with" or "is (exact)."
Specific dates and languages can be selected. Resource type will limit your search to a specific format or material type, such as book or e-books.
For a comprehensive look at searching Omni, please consult the library's Omni Search Tips guide.
Keyword searching enables you to search using a single word or a combination of words which you consider to be the "key" or main focus of your topic. A keyword search checks authors, titles, and subject headings for key words on a topic. Identify main or key concepts about your topic.
To find books on steroid use in sports, search by Keyword Boolean. Keyword boolean searching allow you to combine search words and phrases (using AND and OR).
For example: steroids AND sports
Think of related words and perform additional keyword searches. By substituting related words for the main concepts, many other searches can be generated.
For example: drugs AND athletics
E-books come in a variety of formats (PDF, EPUB, HTML, etc.) with various features depending on the publisher and/or the digital platform where the e-book resides.
Access to e-books varies based on licensing or platform. Some e-books can be viewed by only one user at a time, while others can be viewed by multiple users at once.
The Library subscribes to a large number of e-book packages. There are many different ways to find e-books at Queen's.
Most collections have individual book records in Omni, but you can also search e-book collections directly through searching through the Database page.