Omni includes content from the various research databases to which Queen's University Library subscribes but not everything is included. If you are looking for information on a very specific topic, or a topic that is subject specific, it is recommended that you search databases that specialize in that subject area for more thorough results.
A link to database search is available from the library homepage or consult the relevant library research guide to determine the recommended databases in your discipline.
Omni is our academic search tool for finding books, journals, articles, videos and more. Use it to search most of Queen's resources simultaneously. The default search scope in Omni is Queen's + Omni libraries meaning that Queen's and the other Ontario university library partners will also be searched.
See Omni Search Tips for details. Omni enables direct borrowing using Get It from Ontario partner libraries and interlibrary loans is freely available for unlisted items.
Basic search supports Boolean operators: AND, OR or NOT, and they must be entered in uppercase (e.g. cassatt OR morisot). Use quotations for phrases, otherwise AND is assumed between each word. (example: "art deco").
Use advanced search to limit terms to:
| Use AND to tell the database that ALL search terms must be present in results. Narrows your search results | painting AND artists AND canada |
| Use OR between words for synonyms. Broadens your search results | victorian OR 19th OR nineteenth |
| Use NOT to exclude terms | sculpture AND degas NOT rodin |
| Use quotation marks around phrases | "installation art" |
| ? for single character wildcard (useful for variable spellings) | wom?n for woman, women |
| * for truncation (multiple character wildcard). Useful for variant endings of a root word. | exhibit* for exhibit, exhibits, exhibition, exhibitions |
| brackets to group terms (nested searching) | sculptur* AND (inuit OR "first nations" OR metis OR indigenous) |
Omni offers a number of useful tools that you can use to organize, save, and cite your research. Log into Omni to get the maximum use out of tools.
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Citation icon | Select one of ten different citation styles and generate a citation to the item. Be sure to check citations for accuracy |
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Envelope icon | Email a record to yourself |
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Pushpin icon | Save this item to your list of Favourites in Omni |
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Citation trails | Lead to sources that cite the work or to references cited in the item |
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Ellipsis icon | Shows action options including citation, email, permalink, export to citation managers and print record |
In the upper right-hand corner of Omni, you will see the option to sign in. Signing enables saving results in Favourites where you can label and collate personal collections and export citations to a citation manager. You can also check loans and requests, renew materials, access full text, view search history, and create alerts.
Related Reading
Starting from an article of interest, related reading provides other relevant articles for the same topic.
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Virtual Browse
Discover other books at Queen's on the same topic by browsing a virtual book shelf. Available in Omni records for print monographs, scroll to the bottom of the book's record to discover other print monographs that would be shelved with the item.
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