Me & My Library

What does Ottawa Public Library mean to you?

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  Library Commentary

  by A.C, 29 days ago

  I probably can be called an avid reader. Beginning at about age five and still reading at age ninety-three, my experiences with many types of libraries are legion. Although the first sixty years of experiences are interesting historically, there is little which applies to the current situation. Therefor, these words are concerned only with the past twenty-five or thirty years.

  Sometime about 1995, I complained to my wife that there was nothing good in the house to read. She quickly responded and said, “ well then,go back to your den and write a book, but get out of my kitchen”.... Continue reading
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  A perfect partner for authorship!

  by Jason Oliver, 30 days ago
  Having recently published my debut book in the non-fiction / self-help / critical thinking & awareness space, I give a big "assist" to the OPL in helping me reach that goal. Since Dec. 2022 up to June 2023, I spent many tireless days going into the OPL to digest various pop psych and behavioural economics books, taking notes for citations and the like. If there was a certain title I was looking for, they were almost certain to stock it and have it fairly readily available. I hope this will inspire some budding authors to turn to the OPL to... Continue reading
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  An after school staple

  by k.c, about 1 month ago

  I always went to the library as a kid sometimes for hours or just an afternoon pickup for something for March Break. But once I got to high school it felt like it fully cemented itself in my head as a true staple of any community. Me and my friends would always meet at the library to do projects throughout the year. Or when it was exam season we would rent a study room and study for law or history (I swear we were actually studying). Or when we finally learned to drive, and my friend would see me making... Continue reading
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  Now audio books keep me calm driving home

  by HiDiDi, about 1 month ago
  I started going to the library again last spring (15 years since my last visit) when it was getting too expensive to read my favourite author (J.D. Robb).

  
  I was thrilled to find many of the series at the library. Some were digital versions only so that started me with Libby… and the rest is history! I can gobble a book down in a day if I need some R & R. I love that I can read anywhere with my phone.
  
  While using the search filters I saw the audio option. I have a half hour + drive home... Continue reading
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  Lifeline During Pandemic and Little Bookworm Maker

  by Sarah, about 1 month ago
  My family loves the Ottawa Public Library!

  
  I've always been a big Libby user, but the Library became a bit of a lifeline for my family during the pandemic. My daughter was only 11 months old when everything shut down so it was a really isolating time, and we often felt like we were crawling the walls. The Library was such a great place to go when everything else was either shut down or felt unsafe. It got us out of the apartment and was a great indoor activity during the winter and hotter/rainy months. Even when the Library itself... Continue reading
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  My library - my refuge.

  by Kishory Devine, about 1 month ago

  For me, libraries have always been a refuge, where the outside world fades and the stories within books come alive. Reflecting on my lifelong learning, I can pinpoint moments when libraries played a key role, especially in my journey to acquire new skills.

  When I moved to Ottawa, I felt isolated, but the Cumberland library became my sanctuary, particularly in retirement. Here, I found resources for language learning and joined the French Conversation group, where the supportive environment helped me practice and gain confidence. One of my proudest moments was holding a conversation in French, a milestone I reached thanks... Continue reading
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  Childhood

  by 5996, about 1 month ago

  From the first time my mom brought me and my sister as kids to our local library (Nepean Centrepointe) I knew I’d found something special and very important to me. As a kid that found it very hard to fit in at school I escaped into books and still do as an adult. Every week I would borrow multiple books and beg my mom to go back a few days later when I’d finished them to get more. Once I was old enough to go myself I would hop on my bike most days and almost every day during the... Continue reading
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  quotation from Susan Orlean's "The Library" (2018)

  by Bibliophile, about 1 month ago

  "I was struck by ... how necessary, and how full of hope it is, to collect these books and manuscripts and preserve them. It declares that all these stories matter, and so does every effort to create something that connects us to one another, and to our past, and to what is still to come ... This is why I wanted to write this book, to tell about a place that I love that doesn't belong to me but feels like it is mine, and how that feels marvelous and exceptional. All the things that are wrong in the world... Continue reading
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  Helping me fulfill a lifelong passion

  by M. MacDonald, about 1 month ago

  For years, I have wanted to write a novel based on growing up in the 1960s in Toronto. Our chaotic but seemingly perfect family was shattered when my mother died unexpectedly. Playing out in the background, were the constant images of change and upheaval from the late 60s which filtered through the television into our family room. These images and events were the backdrop of my early life, and frame my memory of my mother's death and our family's tragic circumstances.

  It's challenging to write a novel heavy on historical research without the tools to make this happen. The Ottawa... Continue reading
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  A Comforting Encounter with Roch Carrier

  by r.ottawa, about 1 month ago

  In 1954, my family moved across the river from Hull to Ottawa. We left behind a modest suburban home in Wrightville in favour of a far larger rural farm house near Hog’s Back. The property we rented was owned by the National Capital Commission. It was a hundred acres in size, came complete with a barn and other out-buildings, and boasted an apple orchard and fields planted with asparagus and rhubarb. It was wonderful. My two younger brothers and I were enrolled in the Catholic School Board’s Ecole St.Thomas d’Aquin on Bank Street We travelled to and fro twice a... Continue reading