I'm having difficulties signing into Omni. What should I do?
Some troubleshooting tips are available here.
Can I create Permalinks to records in Omni?
Yes. Load the full record for the resource of interest (i.e. click on its title from the results list), click Permalink in the "Send to" section, and Copy the Permalink to Clipboard. The link can be inserted into Moodle or other web documents and will always return users to this record.
For more information about creating links for resources not in Omni, see Creating Permanent Links to York Libraries Resources.
How many books can I take out?
Undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff can borrow up to 500 library items, and can maintain a total of 500 library items on loan at any given time. Other patrons can borrow up to 15 library items.
How long can I keep my library items?
The Libraries maintain several different collections with varying loan periods. However, the vast majority of collections borrowed are from “Regular stacks” which have the following loan periods:
| Faculty | 120 days, unlimited renewals* |
| Graduate students | 120 days, unlimited renewals* |
| Undergraduate Students | 120 days, unlimited renewals* |
| Staff | 120 days, unlimited renewals* |
| YUELI SCS Education Professional Development |
14 days, 6 renewals* |
| External | 14 days, 2 renewals* |
*subject to recall
Do fines remain the same as before?
Fines have changed. For most regularly circulating items, there are no longer overdue fines. So if you return a regular stacks book a few days late, no worries! In summary:
| Overdue Stacks | No fines |
| Overdue Media (e.g. film, sound) | No fines |
| Overdue Bound Periodicals (not currently loanable) | No fines |
| YUL - Overdue Recalls | Regular stacks: $4.00/day to max $56 Media & Maps: $10/day to max $100 |
| YUL - Overdue Reserves | Regular reserves (24 hours): $5.00/day to max $100 Short reserves (<24 hours): $3.00/hour to max $100 |
| OHLL - Overdue Reserves | Core: $15.00/day to max $100 Reserve: $3.00/hour to max $100 Equipment/Accessories: $3.00/hour to max $100 |
Do note that regular stacks items overdue by 30 days will be considered lost, at which point an administration charge of $25 (non-refundable) and default replacement charge of $125 (refundable if item returned) will apply.
Will the changes affect course reserves and interlibrary loan service
Instructors can still request course reserves through the normal mechanism. By default, all reserves are for 24 hours. In cases with high demand, the Libraries will supplement resource availability with additional copies or, at its discretion, may shorten the loan period.
Will the changes affect interlibrary loan services?
Interlibrary loan services will be unaffected, although requesting will be easily facilitated by the Omni interface. Improved discoverability and requesting for resources beyond York will be enhanced sometime in 2020.
What happens to links that I’ve created to resources in the current catalogue, or to eresources?
Links to eresources and course reserves lists in the current catalogue will be automatically redirected to the resources or course reserves list in Omni.
Will there be guides, videos, or training to help faculty and students learn the new system?
Yes. A guide to using Omni is now available. Drop-in sessions are planned for January for anyone interested in learning about the new system. These will advertised on the library website and through other regular channels.
Does Omni integrate with citation management tools (e.g., Mendeley, Zotero and EndNote)?
Yes it does.
Will the old catalogue still be available?
No, the old catalogue will be unavailable once Omni launches. The old catalogue relies on software that is being decommissioned by the Libraries.
Who do I contact for further information?
If you have questions about using the new system, please use one of the contact options the Libraries provide.
Why is the new system being introduced in the middle of the exam period?
The orchestration involved with a major implementation of a library system with 14 institutions and a vendor is complex. Of the options available to the consortium, the time line for go-live on December 10 was deemed the most viable and least disruptive.