Local history

Alerts 1

Provincial State of Emergency: Impact to OPL Services

19/01/2021

OPL services have not been impacted by the provincial announcement on Tuesday, January 12. Curbside returns and holds pickup services will continue at open branches.

Hours of operation will remain the same for most branches. Greely, North Gower, and Richmond branches will shift their hours to close by 8 p.m., and all Bookmobile stops will close by 8 p.m.

For details about current services, please visit this page.

HOLDS: If you would like to pause, cancel, or manage your holds, you can do so in your online account.

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.

Programs and Events

Ottawa in the 1930s

Take a walk back in time during Heritage Week to learn about life in Ottawa in the 1930s. The 1930s was a difficult time for...

Online

Thursday Feb 25, 2021 at 7:00pm
February 2021 marks the 26th Anniversary of Black History Month in Canada, and Ottawa Public Library has chosen the t Find out more

Tracking Black Canada

Join us online for a virtual performance that combines video, music, Slam Poetry, Hip Hop, stand up comedy to focus on the often forgotten histories...

Online

Thursday Feb 11, 2021 at 11:00am

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)