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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, Apr 24, 2024 - Jun 26, 2024
    1:30pm
    90 minutes

    10 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

  • Wednesdays, Apr 24, 2024 - May 15, 2024
    6:30pm
    90 minutes

    4 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.   

  • Thursday Apr 25, 2024 at 1:00pm
    90 minutes

    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 : April, 4, 11, 18 and 25 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 4, 11, 18 et 25 2024

  • Thursday Apr 25, 2024 at 1:00pm
    90 minutes

    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 : April, 4, 11, 18 and 25 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 4, 11, 18 et 25 2024

  • books with headphones ocean fish

    Thursday Apr 25, 2024 at 1:30pm
    90 minutes

    Listen to a curated list of podcast episodes (see list and links below) on a particular topic or theme and then we meet at the Rockcliffe Park branch for a moderated discussion led by Heather Goldik.

    It’s the perfect discussion for time-starved folks. No long books to read! Listen to the podcasts while you commute, do chores or go for a walk. Listening to podcasts is such a great way to learn something new and then further reinforce that knowledge by discussing with others.

    This month's theme is Oceans!

    In April we’ll be diving deep into the history of the oceans, its animal life and sounds and conservation.

    1) Podcast: BBC History Extra

    Episode: How Oceans Shaped Human Civilization (25 minutes)

    Physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski discusses the impact of oceans on human civilisations through history, from providing food to connecting trade routes. Plus, she explores how our relationship with the oceans has changed throughout the ages.

    2) Podcast: NPR Ted Radio Hour

    Episode: An SOS From the Ocean (48 minutes)

    For centuries, humans have relied on the oceans for resources and food… but even the deepest sea has its limits. This hour, TED speakers discuss how we can save our seas to save our planet.

    3) Podcast: Overheard at National Geographic

    Episode: She sails the seas without maps or compasses (35minutes)

    A Hawaiian navigator describes how she sails the seas without maps or modern instruments to keep Polynesian wayfinding traditions alive.

    4) Podcast: Twenty Thousand Hertz

    Episode: 20,000 DBS Under the Sea (26 minutes)

    71% of the Earth is covered by water. And most of us imagine it to be a serene, almost silent world. But why should we have all the fun up here? Discover what sound is like just below the surface and all the way down to the ocean’s depths. And see how mankind might be making it unpleasant for everyone and everything that calls the oceans home.

    About Heather

    Heather has worked in libraries for over 15 years. As Adult Service Coordinator at the Nelson Public Library in BC—and inspired by her love of learning through books, podcasts, and conversation — Heather started a podcast club. Now living in the Ottawa area, Heather is happy to be sharing her interests with Rockcliffe Park.  This is her second podcast club event at Rockcliffe Park.

  • end of life

    Thursday Apr 25, 2024 at 2:00pm
    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.

    Présenté par Mourir dans la dignité (section d’Ottawa), l’atelier Options de fin de vie (y compris l’aide médicale à mourir) vise à fournir de l’information sur les options offertes pour atténuer ou faire cesser les souffrances en fin de vie, dont les soins palliatifs, les options de traitement et l’aide médicale à mourir (AMM). On y abordera la législation actuelle en matière d’AMM, le processus pour la demander en Ontario et l’expérience pour les proches.

  • Thursday Apr 25, 2024 at 2:00pm
    120 minutes

    Sorry this event and its waiting list are full

    Make your own Dahlia Paper Wreath. We will upcycle pages from a book for our petals which will produce a stunning end result. The finished wreath is approximately 22 inches in diameter. All supplies are provided.

  • Thursday Apr 25, 2024 at 6:15pm
    90 minutes

    Join Marlene Marrow from the Home Hospice Association for a group-directed discussion of death. This event doesn’t have any particular objectives or themes aside from increasing everyone’s awareness of death and exploring our relationships with death, dying and grief. As we grapple with what life looks like today, having a safe and non-judgmental space to talk about difficult subjects is so important and can have a significant impact both on how we live and how we die.

  • Thursdays, Apr 25, 2024 - Jun 13, 2024
    6:30pm
    90 minutes

    8 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 Apr 25, 2024 at 7:00pm
     minutes

    On April 25, join author Dimitri Nasrallah and CBC’s Alan Neal for a conversation about the One eRead 2024 book: Hotline. Universal human themes - belonging, identity, isolation, and connection - make Hotline a perfect story to read and discuss with thousands of fellow Canadians as part of this year's One eRead /Un livrel program. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a question & answer session at the end of the discussion.  

    This is a hybrid event: the program is in-person, but we will also stream live on OPL's YouTube page. Registration is for the in-person portion of the event, an Eventbrite account is not required to register. A recording of the event will be provided on YouTube afterwards. A One eRead Canada French language event is being hosted by BAnQ in Montreal on April 23 at 7:00pm (livestream available). 

    The Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC) is excited to bring you Canada's largest bilingual book club, while highlighting the need for equitable access to digital books in Canadian libraries. Throughout April, public libraries across the country will participate in One eRead / Un livrel Canada, during which thousands of readers will borrow digital copies of Dimitri Nasrallah's novel Hotline from their public libraries with no waitlists.  

    Longlisted for the 2022 Giller Prize, and a Canada Reads selection in 2023, Hotline is the story of Muna, a mother starting a new life in Montreal after escaping devastation in war-torn Lebanon with her 8-year old son in the 1980s. Even as she struggles to find acceptance, healing, and purpose in a new city where she doesn't feel welcome, Muna finds herself providing solace and a sympathetic ear to fellow Montrealers via her job as a hotline operator for a weight-loss center.  

    Dimitri Nasrallah is the author of four novels. He was born in Lebanon in 1977, and lived in Kuwait, Greece, and Dubai before moving to Canada. His internationally acclaimed books have garnered nominations for CBC Canada Reads, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal, and won the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and the McAuslan First Book Prize. He is the fiction editor at Véhicule Press. 

    Alan Neal is the award-winning host of the afternoon show All In A Day, heard 3 to 6 p.m. on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen. He has lived in Ottawa almost his entire life, and is known for his carefully researched interviews of authors and musicians.

     

    This program is presented by the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, Ottawa Public Library, Library and Archives Canada and the CBC.  

    Accessibility: 
    The Pellan Room at Library and Archives Canada is accessible via elevator. There are gendered washrooms with barrier free stalls on the main floor of the building. There are additional gendered washrooms available on the same floor as the event. There are no universal individual washrooms available at this venue.  

    Related booklist: If You Love Hotline - One eRead Canada 2024 | Ottawa Public Library | BiblioCommons