map of Ontario indicating partner universitiesA new service will allow library patrons to pick up materials from any of 16 partner institutions across the province.

Leddy Library launches pickup partner service

Leddy Library in collaboration with 16 partner institutions is offering Pickup Anywhere, a new service extending the Omni academic search tool that will allow for users to pick up materials they request at any of the partnering libraries.

When Omni launched at Leddy Library in 2020, it created access for students, faculty, and staff to borrow books from 16 university libraries across Ontario. The new Pickup Anywhere service will allow UWindsor members to request items from a participating institution with the option to choose any one of the 16 Omni partner institutions across Ontario as the pickup location.

“Imagine you are a UWindsor student working in London for the summer and need a book for your online course,” said University Librarian Selinda Berg. “You can now place the request in Omni and choose a partnering university library in London to pick it up, such as Western University.”

The service will also allow UWindsor members to walk into any partnering library in Ontario to borrow a book from the shelves using their UWinCard.

Items borrowed from partner collections can also be returned to partner libraries.

“Convenience is key and library services continue to evolve to help meet the needs of our users,” said Dr. Berg. “The Omni search tool is a one-stop shop for finding and requesting books from across Ontario and the new Pickup Anywhere feature is a welcome upgrade from the multi-step interlibrary loan process.”

The expanded access is the next step for the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) Collaborative Futures initiative, launched in December 2019. The list of participating libraries has grown year over year to include the following OCUL member institutions:

  • Algoma University
  • Brock University
  • Carleton University
  • University of Guelph
  • Lakehead University
  • Laurentian University
  • Nipissing University
  • University of Ontario Institute of Technology
  • University of Ottawa
  • Queen’s University
  • Trent University
  • University of Waterloo
  • Western University
  • Wilfrid Laurier University
  • University of Windsor
  • York University

As membership grows so too will the collections. In a world where we may not always be working and studying nearby our home institution, Pickup Anywhere will make it easier to access required materials.

For more information, visit the Leddy Library website.