Nearly 23.5 million library resources are now at the fingertips of the Brock community. 

As of Tuesday, Aug. 3, the University’s students, staff and faculty have quick and easy access to physical library collections across the province through the academic search tool Omni. 

Implemented by Brock University Library in 2019, Omni is part of an innovative collaboration between 16 university partner libraries across Ontario with the goal of bringing users greater access to collections from participating libraries. 

Students, staff and faculty can request an item by logging into their library account and searching in the default ‘Brock Library + Omni Libraries’ search. If Omni finds an available copy at any of the 16 partner libraries, the user can place a request to have it sent to the Brock University Library at no cost. 

Physical resources from other libraries will be available for the same 120-day loan period as those available at the Brock Library. 

While delivery times may vary due to a variety of factors, most resources are expected to arrive within seven to 10 business days. The goal is ultimately to reduce the delivery time as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and the partner libraries return to business as usual. 

“We’re excited to be able to offer our staff, faculty, and students access to physical resources from across all Omni partner institutions,” says Monica Rettig, Head of Access Services. “The Omni partnership is one of many ways Brock Library is working to expand access to high-quality, academic research material for the University community.” 

RACER Interlibrary Loan is still available for requested physical resources not available at any of the 16 Omni partners, as well as all electronic resource requests. For users that wish to only search Brock Library materials, that option is available in the dropdown on the search bar.   

Questions regarding the new Omni service can be directed to libhelp@brocku.ca