Ottawa Public Library
45°25′12″N 75°41′43″W / 45.42000°N 75.69528°W
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Ottawa Public Library Bibliothèque publique d'Ottawa | |
---|---|
Location | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
Type | Public Library system in Ottawa |
Established | 1906 |
Branches | 34 |
Collection | |
Items collected | business directories, phone books, maps, government publications, books, periodicals, genealogy, local history |
Size | 2.3 million items |
Other information | |
Website | biblioottawalibrary |
The Ottawa Public Library (OPL; French: Bibliothèque publique d'Ottawa) is the library system of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[1] The library was founded in 1906 with a donation from the Carnegie Foundation.
Services
- Information and reference services
- Access to full text databases
- Community information
- Reader's advisory services
- Programs for children, youth and adults
- Delivery to homebound individuals
- Interlibrary loan
Information technology
The library originally provided
Later, they added Wi-Fi hotspots at their branches.
It is also possible to obtain free downloadable e-books, Zinio magazines, audiobooks and MP3 music from the library.
Origin of the OPL
Prior to the twentieth century, Ottawa had a few reading rooms in hotel lobbies, and also some small fee-based libraries for working men such as the
Only in 1901, when letters were mailed to Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie replied that he would offer $100,000 to the city to build the library if they provided a site and a pledge of $7,500 a year to maintain it. They eventually agreed in January 1903, and within a few years the library was built and open to the public.
The day after its official opening, in 1906, the original Carnegie library opened several hours later than expected, because the mass of people who had come to the opening day left the entire library in complete disarray, and had walked off with many items.
Present day OPL
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The Main Library is located in Downtown Ottawa at the corner of Metcalfe Street and Laurier Avenue West, at the same spot as the original Carnegie library, although nothing remains of the original building but a stained glass window. Several of the Corinthian columns from the old Carnegie library survive in the Rockeries in Rockcliffe Park, a rock garden maintained by the National Capital Commission. The library now has thirty-three branches spread throughout urban and rural Ottawa.
Before the City of Ottawa's
Patrons throughout the new city have greatly benefited from the 2001 merger as they can now easily order almost items from another branch, and return books to any branch in the city. Ordering items via the library website for pickup at a local branch has been very popular, with over 5 million visitors to the website in 2007. The new system is very
The current CEO of OPL is Sonia Bebbington as of October 31, 2022. The OPL is governed by a board of nine part-time members appointed by the City of Ottawa, five city councillors and four members of the public.[3] The Library is funded mainly by the city through local tax revenues. Some revenue also comes from the province, and traditional library sources of fees, fines, and fundraising.
The library system has 2.3 million items, 91.7% percent of which are books. The library also has a large audio-visual collection including
The Library's two bookmobiles, which operated out of the Sunnyside branch for almost 50 years, stop at regularly scheduled places throughout the city in an effort to reach areas without library branches. Many of these neighborhoods are poorer, more remote, or simply too far from a branch. During a funding crisis in 2004, the older bookmobile was nearly decommissioned, but it was kept in service with a second, new bookmobile added in 2005. The Bookmobile headquarters was moved to the new Greenboro District Library in June 2006.
The large new Greenboro District Library, built in the city's rapidly growing South end, opened on June 7, 2006, replacing the Blossom Park Branch established by the former City of Gloucester.
New central library
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In recent years, numerous cities such as Vancouver, Seattle and Salt Lake City, have had great success in constructing new central libraries as part of downtown revitalization efforts. These urban landmarks have created new civic spaces that both create community and are key component of an information society. Accordingly, there is pressure for Ottawa to have a great design and follow other Canadian cities such as Calgary and Halifax, who have erected new libraries in recent years.
City of Ottawa Central Archives and Ottawa Public Library Materials Centre
The City of Ottawa Central Archives and Ottawa Public Library Materials Centre
See also
- Ask Ontario
- Bytown Mechanics' Institute
- List of Carnegie libraries in Canada
- List of public libraries in Ontario
- List of national and state libraries
References
- ^ "About OPL". Ottawa Public Library. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- ^ "Preview Winter 2005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- ^ "2022 Annual Report". Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- ^ Laucius, Joanne (2020). "Take a first peek at what Ottawa's new 'super library' will look like". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Location". OPL-LAC Joint Facility. City of Ottawa. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Background". OPL-LAC Joint Facility. City of Ottawa. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "James Bartleman Archives and Library Materials Centre | Ottawa Public Library / Bibliothèque publique d'Ottawa". Biblioottawalibrary.ca. 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
- ^ "Doors Open Ottawa". Ottawa.ca. Retrieved 2013-07-10.