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CLST 205: Ancient Humour

CLST 205: Ancient Humour

When Should I Search Omni?

  • You are starting your research and want to assess the resources available on your topic
  • You want to find resources in a variety of formats (i.e. books and articles)
  • You are searching for articles on an interdisciplinary topic, where information could be found in various databases
  • You are looking for an exact known item
  • A comprehensive article search is not required

When Should I Search Specific Databases?

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.

What is Omni?

Omni is the Queen's library's academic search tool that enables you to search for books, journals, articles, videos and much more, all from one interface. 

Omni enables you to search different scopes of information collections: locally at Queen's, consortially with 18 other partner libraries, and beyond.

Books that are not available at Queen's but are available at one of our partner libraries can be requested directly through Omni.

The Omni search box is featured on the Queen's Library homepage

Omni: Basic and Advance Searching

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 (please note, if you are starting your search from the library homepage, the scope is automatically set to search Queen's + Omni Libraries (this can be adjusted once you've executed a search), 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:

  • monuments OR buildings
  • Aristophanes AND comedy

To search for a specific phrase, type quotation marks around the phrase, otherwise AND is assumed between each word.  For example:

  • "ancient Rome"

Once you have your initial search results, you can fine-tune them by using the filters on the left side of the screen.

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 ebooks.

Basic Search Tips

  • AND is assumed between words (AND must be in capitals). For example:  Etruscan AND vases
  • OR between related words (OR must be in capitals). For example: comedy OR comedic
  • NOT to exclude terms (NOT must be in capitals). For example: temples NOT monuments
  • Quotations for phases. For example: "ancient Rome” “classical mythology”
  • Asterisk for alternate word endings. For example: myth* for myth, myths, mythology, mythologies
  • Question mark for single character wildcard. For example: wom?n for woman, women
  • Brackets to group terms. For example: "ancient Greece" AND (humour OR comed*)  

Sign In

In the right hand corner of Omni,  you will see the option to sign in.

Signing into Omni will help optimize your search, and you will have access to special features, such as saving your favourite results. From your Favourites, 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. 

Results Filtering

Apply filters to fine-tune your search results.  Filters are located on the left hand side of the Omni search page, after you have performed a search.  

To select a filter, move your mouse to the left of the filter you wish to select and a check box will appear. You can then select it (or deselect it by moving your mouse to the right hand side of the filter). After selecting a filter, be sure to click the green "Apply Filters" button to activate the filter.

Search Scopes

Omni enables you to search different scopes of information collections: locally at Queen's, consortially with partner libraries, and beyond, via the vendor's vast database of electronic resources.

Books that are not available at Queen's but are available at one of our partner libraries can be requested directly through Omni. Physical items can be requested and delivered to Queen’s University Library for pickup. Articles and book chapters can be requested and delivered to your Queen's University email.