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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.

  • Wednesdays, May 08, 2024 - Jun 05, 2024
    6:30pm
    60 minutes

    5 sessions remaining

    Do you already have some basic English language skills, and are you looking for a casual, friendly environment where you can practice your English speaking skills? All levels are welcome.

    Join our free English conversation group!

    Receive guidance from our leaders, meet new people and gain confidence in your ability to speak English.

    Every Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30 pm (no conversation group on April 17)

    Vous avez déjà une base en anglais et vous cherchez un endroit avec une ambiance décontractée et amicale pour pratiquer vos habiletés de converser en anglais? Tous les niveaux sont les bienvenus.

    Joignez-vous à notre groupe de conversation en anglais! C'est gratuit!

    Recevez des conseils, rencontrez de nouvelles personnes et gagnez de la confiance à converser en anglais.

    Tous les mercredis soirs de 18h30-19h30 (sauf le 17 avril)

  • 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.

  • Making love with the land image of Joshua whitehead on teal background
    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 for National Indigenous History Month featuring book of essays Making Love with the Land. 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.

    Borrow a copy today: 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.

  • webcard for Chess Club with black Queen defeating white King

    Wednesdays, May 08, 2024 - Jul 31, 2024
    4:00pm
    120 minutes

    13 sessions remaining

    Join us for open games of chess. Whether you're a beginner or more advanced, this is a relaxed environment where everyone is welcome. Bring your own board or borrow one of ours. 

  • Wednesday May 08, 2024 at 4:00pm
    60 minutes

    Teams of two teen volunteers will share their technology knowledge with one older adult per session.

    Volunteers will help older adults with basic use of devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones. Some subjects that can be addressed include internet applications like browsers, email, calendars, social media, games, and file and photo management, such as Google Suite, OneDrive, and iCloud.​

    Register in-branch at the 2nd floor hub.​

  • Man reading to children and woman.

    Wednesdays, May 08, 2024 - May 15, 2024
    4:00pm
    30 minutes

    2 sessions remaining

    Stories, rhymes and songs for children of all ages and a parent or caregiver.​​

  • Wednesday May 08, 2024 at 4:30pm
    60 minutes

    Following Storytime, join us to play and chat! There will be self-directed activities and toys for parents/caregivers and children.

  • Wednesdays, May 08, 2024 - Jul 31, 2024
    6:00pm
    150 minutes

    11 sessions remaining

    Join us in the auditorium every Wednesday for a free Wes Anderson film at 6 pm. 

    May 8 - Bottle Rocket (1996)

    Three friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run. | R, 91min

    May 15 - Rushmore (1998)

    A teenager at Rushmore Academy falls for a much older teacher and befriends a middle-aged industrialist. Later, he finds out that his love interest and his friend are having an affair, which prompts him to begin a vendetta. | R, 93min

    May 22 - The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

    The eccentric members of a dysfunctional family reluctantly gather under the same roof for various reasons. | R, 110min

    May 29 - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

    With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, Oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son. | R, 119min

    June 12 - The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

    A year after their father's funeral, three brothers travel across India by train in an attempt to bond with each other. | R, 91min

    June 19 - Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

    An urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation. | PG, 87min

    June 26 - Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

    Two 12-year-olds, who live on an island, fall in love with each other and elope into the wilderness. While people set out on a search mission, a violent storm approaching them catches their attention. | PG-13, 94min

    July 10 - The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

    A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge. | R, 99min

    July 17 - Isle of Dogs (2018)

    Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy's odyssey in search of his lost dog. | PG-13, 101min

    July 24 - The French Dispatch (2021)

    A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional twentieth century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in "The French Dispatch Magazine". | R, 107min

    July 31 - Asteroid City (2023)

    Following a writer on his world famous fictional play about a grieving father who travels with his tech-obsessed family to small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his world view disrupted forever. | PG-13, 105min