Local history

New Curbside Returns and Holds Pick Up Service begins in June
29/05/2020
OPL will offer a new Curbside Returns and Holds Pick Up service at six branch locations: Main, Nepean Centrepointe, Cumberland, Beaverbrook, Greenboro, Ruth E. Dickson, during new hours of operation.
- On Monday, June 8, these locations will begin accepting returns; and,
- On Monday, June 15, holds pick up by appointment will start.
Find the details of this new curbside service here.

All OPL branches and Bookmobile stops remain closed to the public.
- Due dates for currently checked out materials have been extended and late fees suspended.
- All book drops remain closed.
For information about Library cards, virtual programs, and more, contact InfoService by phone or email
from Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.

Explore Ottawa's rich history on line or in person.

Stony Monday riot, the rabid Duke of Richmond, rowdy lumberjacks and eccentric geniuses. . . Ottawa's history is anything but boring! And OPL is the place to find out all about it. Our local history collections tell the stories of the people, customs, and institutions that built Ottawa and the surrounding communities.

Reference materials, including books, newspapers, directories, and municipal reports, can be consulted at Main, Nepean Centrepointe, or Beaverbrook branches. In addition, OPL is pleased to house the collections of 3 local history societies. And, of course, the most popular local history titles are available to borrow at many branches. Together, OPL's local history collections provide an extensive resource on Ottawa and the surrounding area, past and present.

Online resources

Ottawa Citizen - ProQuest Historical Newspapers (1845 - 2010)

This digitized full-images archives of the Ottawa Citizen provides genealogists, researchers and general public with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time. This will allow Ottawans to digitally travel back through...

Ottawa Citizen - ProQuest Historical Newspapers (1845 - 2010)