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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.

  • Tuesday May 07, 2024 at 6:30pm
    90 minutes

    Presented by Dying With Dignity Canada (Ottawa Chapter), End of Life Options (including MAiD) is a workshop to educate people about the options available to mitigate or end suffering at life's end, including palliative care, treatment options, and Medical Assistance In Dying (MAiD). Workshop includes the current legislation on MAiD, the process for applying in Ontario and explanation of the experience by a loved one.

    Registration is required as space is limited.

  • Wednesdays, May 08, 2024 - Jun 26, 2024
    1:30pm
    90 minutes

    8 sessions remaining

    Sorry this event and its waiting list are full

    Le groupe de conversation en français est un programme d'apprentissge de la langue avec un professeur et un mombre minime d'étudiants de même niveau. 

    Inscription requis

    valuation du niveau de langue requis

  • 2 mains jointes autour d'une tasse de café

    Wednesday May 08, 2024 at 6:15pm
    120 minutes

    Un café mortel, c'est une rencontre où on discute de la mort. Notre but est d'aider les gens à être à l'aise avec l'idée de la mort et leur finitude. 

    La bibliothèque publique d'Ottawa (BPO) offre ce programme en partenariat avec l'association "Home Hospice Association".

  • Wednesdays, May 08, 2024 - May 15, 2024
    6:30pm
    90 minutes

    2 sessions remaining

    2024 will be one of the most consequential years in the history of democracy. Elections have been or will be held in many countries ranging in size and power from El Salvador to India. The decisions of voters will determine whether the worldwide growth in authoritarianism over the past twenty years will continue or democracy will begin to make a comeback.

    The US Presidential and Congressional elections on Tuesday November 5 stand out as an especially critical democratic moment for two reasons: first because they will be a supreme test of American democracy; and second because they will send a powerful message to the rest of the world, including the dictatorships and wannabe dictatorships.

    The group will discuss the background and issues of Democracy on Trial and week by week follow the important democratic events and developments of 2024.

    Mr. Robert Miller will lead the discussion. He is the author of Canada and Democratic Development and, prior to his retirement, served as President and CEO of the Parliamentary Centre, Canada’s leading institution promoting and supporting international democratic development.

    Session #1 Wednesday, April 3: Is History Repeating Itself?

    Session #2, Wednesday April 10: Democratic Fatigue and the Appeal of the Strong Man

    Session #3, Wednesday, April 17: Big Countries and Small: The Cases of El Salvador and Rwanda, Russia and India

    Session # 4, Wednesday, April 24: The Fire Next Door: The Authoritarian Impulse in the United States

    Session #5, Wednesday, May 1: Donald Trump and the Invention of Trumpism

    Session #6, Wednesday, May 8: Can it Happen Here? If Trump wins, is Canada next? A discussion with John Ibbitson, Globe and Mail columnist and one of Canada’s leading authors on politics and public affairs.

    Registration recommended.   

  • Thursdays, May 09, 2024 - May 30, 2024
    1:00pm
    90 minutes

    4 sessions remaining

    Ready for more than conversation? These 4-week module classes will help build on your English language skills. Beginner and Intermediate sessions. Each session's registration will open three (3) weeks prior to the first class. 

    Everyone welcome! Register online.  

    You are registering for: Beginner classes : May 2, 9,16 and 23 2024

    Vous cherchez un peu plus qu'une conversation? Nos classes en format module de 4 semaines vous aideront à développer vos compétences linguistiques en anglais. Sessions au niveau débutant ainsi qu'intermédiaire. Ouverture des inscriptions trois (3) semaines avant la première classe pour chaque session. 

    Tous sont bienvenus ! Inscription en ligne.  

    Vous vous enregistrez pour: session débutant: les 2, 9,16 et 23 mai 2024

  • Thursdays, May 09, 2024 - May 30, 2024
    1:00pm
    90 minutes

    4 sessions remaining

    Ready for more than conversation? These 4-week module classes will help build on your English language skills. Beginner and Intermediate sessions. Each session's registration will open three (3) weeks prior to the first class. 

    Everyone welcome! Register online.  

    You are registering for: Intermediate classes : May 2, 9, 16 and 23 2024

    Vous cherchez un peu plus qu'une conversation? Nos classes en format module de 4 semaines vous aideront à développer vos compétences linguistiques en anglais. Sessions au niveau débutant ainsi qu'intermédiaire. Ouverture des inscriptions trois (3) semaines avant la première classe pour chaque session. 

    Tous sont bienvenus ! Inscription en ligne.  

    Vous vous enregistrez pour: session intermédiaire: les 2, 9, 16 et 23 mai 2024

  • Sleuth Hounds

    Thursdays, May 09, 2024 - Feb 13, 2025
    1:30pm
    90 minutes

    10 sessions remaining

    Come meet to enjoy and discuss a wide variety of books selected by book club members. All are welcome!

    Every second Thursday of the month from 1.30pm to 3.00pm.

    Here's what we're reading in 2024/2025:

    • March 14: Dead Wake by Eric Larson
    • April 11: Warlight by Michael Ondaatje 
    • May 9: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
    • June 6: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Start-Up by John Carreyrou
    • July 11: Mansions of the Moon by Shyam Selvadurai
    • August 8: Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall
    • September 12: On the Ravine by Vincent Lam
    • October 10: The Story of Us by Catherine Hernandez
    • November 14: Snow by John Banville
    • December 12: Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin
    • January 9: A Newfoundlander in Canada by Alan Doyle
    • February 13: The Drowning Woman by Robin Harding
  • How to Secure a Home Wireless Network

    Thursday May 09, 2024 at 6:00pm
    120 minutes

    Many wireless routers do not default to the most secure configuration. Make sure you are not the "low-hanging fruit" that someone will decide to attack. It is surprisingly easy to make sure your network is secure. Chris Taylor, President of the Ottawa PC Users' Group will show you just how easy it is.

  • Thursdays, May 09, 2024 - Jun 13, 2024
    6:30pm
    90 minutes

    6 sessions remaining

    Sorry this event and its waiting list are full

    Do you love to write? Is writing the air you breathe, or is there ink in your veins?

    The Stittsville Creative Writing Group is a collection of people who love to write.

    We meet weekly to read from text we have written on our own time during the previous week, and engage in other writing activities.

    This is not a class on writing, or a workshop for manuscripts. Instead, we are people who love to write and share our works. 

    There are those who mostly listen rather than write, those who write prolifically but only share with the group, and a broad spectrum in between.

    If your interest is in the love of writing, this group may be for you.

  • Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street

    Thursday May 09, 2024 at 7:00pm
     minutes

    Library and Archives Canada (LAC), the Ottawa International Writers Festival and the Ottawa Public Library invite you to the launch of Canadians Who Innovate: The Trailblazers and Ideas That Are Changing the World by Roseann O’Reilly Runte, president of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

    This remarkable new book profiles of some of the most inventive and creative Canadians and the ideas that are making Canada a leading nation in innovation. 

    This special occasion will include a discussion on innovation with the author and Nobel laureate, Art McDonald, and a performance by OrKidstra introduced by Tina Fedeski and Margaret Maria Toblowska. A number of innovators featured in the book will also be present.

    Featuring brilliant thinkers from coast to coast to coast and others from around the world who now call Canada home, Canadians Who Innovate paints a promising picture of a cleaner, healthier, more innovative future for us all.

    Seating is limited, please register.