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Some in-branch programs require registration with your library card. Please log in with your library account or follow this link to apply for a card online. You can also apply for a card in person at any of our 33 locations.

  • Notepad, camera, and magnifying glass on old map

    Tuesdays, May 21, 2024 - Jun 18, 2024
    1:30pm
    60 minutes

    2 sessions remaining

    All aboard for the final leg of our tour around the world, with Sweden, Nigeria, and Spain! Join us the third Tuesday of each month where we will discuss a title set in a different country and/or written by a foreign author.

    When you register, we will reserve a copy of the book for you - no need to place a hold, unless you would like to enjoy the book in a different format. This is the last chance to get your Reader's Passport stamped before the summer!

  • Open book on an off-white background, with blooming magnolias resting on the open book

    Thursdays, May 23, 2024 - Jun 27, 2024
    7:00pm
    60 minutes

    2 sessions remaining

    Our final book club sessions before the summer break!

    Come join us the 4th Thursday of every month for lively discussion on a variety of English-language books. Everything from non-fiction to fantasy to gentle reads, there's something for everyone - and you may find a new genre that appeals to you!

    When you register, we will reserve a copy of the book for you - no need to place a hold, unless you would like to enjoy the book in a different format.

    For June, we'll be having a BYOB party... Bring Your Own Book Party, that is! Whether it be an old favourite, or something new and amazing that recently crossed your path, we want to see what you recommend everyone should read and hear why you loved it. A list of the recommended titles will appear on the website after the event.

  • Asian heritage month with picture of Chef Joe

    Tuesday May 28, 2024 at 6:30pm
     minutes

    Learn all about Indian cuisine and culture with Chef Joe Thottungal. In this online event presented by Ottawa Public Library, Joe will explore Indian recipes, spices, and other ingredients through a cooking demo in his very own restaurant, Coconut Lagoon. Please register to receive a list of ingredients prior to the event so you can cook along with Chef Joe.

    To explore Joe’s cookbooks from OPL’s catalogue, follow this link

  • Rossy Pavilion

    Tuesday Jun 11, 2024 at 7:00pm
     minutes

    In partnership with the National Arts Centre (NAC), the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is hosting an Indigenous Book Club featuring Making Love with the Land, a book of essays. On June 11 at 7pm, join us for this conversation with author Joshua Whitehead (Oji-Cree - Peguis First Nation) to discuss the book and connect directly with the author and other readers.

    In celebration of National Indigenous History Month, the eBook and eAudio versions of Making Love with the Land are available to all OPL readers and listeners from May 17-June 30. Check out a copy from the Ottawa Public Library (physical or digital) before June 11 to participate in the NAC Book Club, Making Love With the Land | Ottawa Public Library | BiblioCommons

    About the Book
    Making Love with the Land is a startling, challenging, uncompromising look at what it means to live as an Indigenous person “in the rupture” between identities. In these ten unique, heart-piercing non-fiction pieces, award-winning writer Joshua Whitehead illuminates the com­plex moment we’re living through now, in which Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples are navigating new and old ideas about “the land.” He asks: What is our relationship and responsi­bility towards it? And how has the land shaped ideas, histories, words, our very bodies?

    About the Author
    Joshua Whitehead (he/him) is a Two-Spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary where he is housed in the departments of English and International Indigenous Studies (Treaty 7).

    He is the author of full-metal indigiqueer (Talonbooks 2017) which was shortlisted for the inaugural Indigenous Voices Award and the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry. He is also the author of Jonny Appleseed (Arsenal Pulp Press 2018) which was long listed for the Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award, the Governor General's Literary Award, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction, the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction and Canada Reads 2021. Whitehead is the editor of Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction, which won the Lambda Award in 2021.

    This is a hybrid event: the program is in-person, but will be streamed live: https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/36739. A recording of the event will be provided on the OPL YouTube page afterwards.

    Registration is for the in-person portion of the event- Registration required. This event is free but seating is limited.

  • Woman clutching her hair in frustration, looking at her laptop

    Saturday Jun 22, 2024 at 2:00pm
    120 minutes

    The average time it takes for an unprotected computer to be compromised after connecting to the Internet is under 15 minutes. Don't let it be yours!

    Chris Taylor, President of the Ottawa PC Users' Group, will show you the simple steps you need to take to keep your PC from being hacked.

    And best of all, it can be done for free!

    **Please note that you are not required to bring your laptop for the session.

  • Two children sit on grass, reading together near two planters growing flowers and vegetables.

    Sunday May 19, 2024 at 2:30pm
    60 minutes

    Stories, rhymes, and songs for children ages 0-6 accompanied by a parent or caregiver. Registration recommended. Please only register as many spots as there will be children attending. 

    The first half hour will be an interactive storytime program. During the last half hour, we will explore activities like planting our own “magic” beans! Come dressed for a messy craft.

  • Tuesdays, May 21, 2024 - Jun 04, 2024
    10:15am
    30 minutes

    3 sessions remaining

    Stories, rhymes and songs for babies and a parent or caregiver. 0-18 months. 30 min. Registration required.

  • 2 kids sitting under a tree, silhouette with vibrant sky

    Tuesday May 21, 2024 at 4:00pm
    60 minutes

    Join us as we kickoff the 2023-2024 RP Rebel Readers Bookclub at Rockcliffe Park.  For the first meeting our book is "Children of the Fox" by Kevin Sands.

    Click here to place a hold for Children of the Fox for the physical book, eBook or audiobook.

    This bookclub is for kids ages 9-12 and will be in English.  Registration is required as space is limited.

    For our first meeting on 26 Sept at 4:00PM, bring at least one suggestion of a book to suggest to the group to read.  We will create our list of books for the remaining meetings.  

    We will meet once a month, on a Tuesday from 4-5PM on these dates:  You can click the link on the book titles below to place a hold.

    26 Sept, 2023

    24 Oct, 2023

    28 Nov, 2023

    19  Dec, 2023

    23 Jan, 2024 : The School of Good and Evil - book 1

    20 Feb, 2024 : The Land of Stories - The Wishing Spell - book 1

    26 Mar, 2024 : Keeper of Lost Cities - book 1

    23 April, 2024: The Revenge of Magic - book 1

    21 May, 2024 :The Blackthorn Key - book 1

    June date to be determined

  • Tuesdays, May 21, 2024 - May 28, 2024
    6:30pm
    120 minutes

    2 sessions remaining

    Sorry this event and its waiting list are full

    Interested in playing D&D?  Then join us on for a D&D adventure.  Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy role playing game in which your characters explore the world, solve puzzles and fight monsters. For ages 13-17.  Spaces limited.

  • Ready, Set, Kindergarten!

    Wednesday May 22, 2024 at 2:00pm
    45 minutes

    A school readiness program for children 3–4 years old, who will be entering kindergarten in September 2024, and their adult co-learner.

    Stories and child-centered learning stations with a focus on the foundational concepts of letter recognition, numeracy, colors, shapes, measurement, rhyming, and retelling.