Please contact library@uwo.ca with questions.
Omni is our new library search. It is a one-stop access point to Western & Affiliated University Libraries collections including print books, e-books, articles, and more.
Extensive Access:
Composed of materials and support from 16 Ontario university libraries, Omni allows you to search and explore a vast, shared collection of scholarly resources that includes books, databases, journal articles, videos, music, and more. The ongoing collaboration and diverse expertise of the Omni community enables our collection of shared materials to grow with purpose every day. It’s your best place to look for quality, academic resources, first.
Academic Confidence:
Because Omni is directly connected to Ontario university libraries, you can trust that the research material you’re accessing is high-quality, authoritative, and appropriate for use in your academic pursuits. Confidently develop your own conclusions and insights using valid materials, fully understand your areas of study, and succeed in your educational or research goals.
Intuitive Experience:
Fast, intuitive, and seamless, the Omni platform gives you access to the library resources you need quickly, so you can maximize your time. Whether you’re on campus, at home, on the go, or visiting a partner institution, your Omni experience remains consistent, easy to navigate, and responsive.
Omni lets you access research materials from 18 university libraries:
Western and the Affiliated College Libraries' previous library catalogue was 20+ years old and was primarily designed for discovery and management of physical collections. Omni makes it easier to work with our large and diverse print and digital collections.
By implementing Omni together with our Affiliated University Colleges and 15 other Ontario partner institutions, we can offer broader access to resources for our communities. We'll have the common infrastructure needed to work together in new ways, share expertise, and collaborate more efficiently in managing and preserving our collections.
Omni offers streamlined access to resources both in our local collection as well as in those of our Ontario partners. You'll gain access to millions of items currently available in the shared collections of the 15 other participating universities. Omni is also a modern search engine with powerful new features for both novice and advanced researchers to discover print and digital materials.
Access Omni from:
Some new features available in Omni include:
Citation trails are an exploration tool that help you find related articles and to explore the topic of an article further.
There are 2 types of citation trails:
Related Reading provides further reading recommendations for articles and books. Starting from an article of interest, it provides other relevant articles for the same topic. While the initial article serves as an entry point, the recommended material can provide new inspiration for learning and broaden the scope of research, going beyond the initial search query.
Related Reading will appear on the right side of the screen once an article has been selected.
Example:
