I've learned to love the library all over again! Sometimes I want a quiet, distraction-free place…read moreto work where I don't have to buy a coffee (or...a cookie. Or muffin. And gain 5lbs. Haha!). I'd visited the Orleans library a few weeks prior with Noah K, and wasn't super impressed. I heard there was a second location attached to the Ray Friel Centre, and decided to check it out. I went in with low expectations, but I really loved this library! Attached to the Ray Friel Centre, as mentioned, I bet it's a great spot for families. It was really busy, even at 10 in the morning. I've also worked here around 2 p.m. and it was just as busy then. There's a great computer area here, and lovely section with comfy chairs and a beautiful stone mantle (I think the fireplace is fake though, ha!). There's a dedicated spot for ancestry research, and I noticed the Orleans Historical Society has a meeting room here. They have a fantastic selection of DVD rentals here, and a massive Children's Library. This is a much better location than the other Orleans library, and I absolutely recommend it if you need a quiet place to work, need to do some research, or love to read. As with all Ottawa Public Library locations, you need your library card and pin number to use the wifi.

Its an amazing experience it's calmness peacefulread more

For as long as I can recall, Carleton's library has been under construction. Ok I'm exaggerating-…read morefor the past 3 years I'll say. Well, where there's a need there's a wait. And as you can see by the recent pic, it's coming together quite nicely, albeit slowly. The interior is still a sham- good luck finding anything and don't expect comfort or quiet. While the exterior is a vast improvement, it sort of fails as a library of any kind right now. You are lucky to locate a stapler, it is tragically understaffed in the summer, most of the best research books I look for have to be ordered or purchased online... Just. A. Mess. I RECOMMEND: saving yourself a trip and checking online resources beforehand, incl. what's available at CU, affiliated libraries or otherwise. A TIP: Some of this feedback is department-specific so take with train of salt (I'm in English/Comparative Literatures).

The Carleton University Library, or more specifically, the Maxwell MacOdrum Library, was, hands…read moredown, my most valuable resource when I was a student there. There are five floors full of material. There are books, newspapers, magazines, journals, government documents, archives, manuscripts, data and research material, CDs, DVDs, and many other types of media, including digital files. There are floors and sections of literature with a very great selection, but, in my opinion, much of the material here is used for something course-related. By that I mean students will raid the library to find statistics, articles in peer-reviewed journals, class readings, theses, and anything else they need to complete assignments, take exams, or for more clarification on course content. I was all about their online journals - I took full advantage of this great resource! It's fast and easy to do searches for the articles and within the articles themselves, and even better when the weather is terrible out and you'd rather stay in and still do research. If you still can't find what you're looking for here or through their website for files digital format, you can always take advantage of their inter-library services, which allow you to borrow material from other libraries, like Ottawa U, for instance. The library also has study spaces and group study rooms, individual tables and chairs on each floor, photocopy machines, computer labs, and even a self-checkout machines. If you need to talk a little louder or want to have more casual discussions while studying, you can try to grab a table at tunnel level. Because the library right in the heart of the Quad on campus, it's always rammed with students. There is a cafe that sells coffee, tea, sandwiches, and snacks. It also has tables and couches, generally with every seat already taken but another student cramming for something.

This branch of the Ottawa Public Library is located at Ben Franklin Place, a beautiful building in…read moreCentrepointe. As Darren mentioned, this place is super helpful for Algonquin Students, which was why I ended up there in the first place - but not for the reason you might think! I needed to find a location for a photography assignment and my professor suggested Ben Franklin Place. "Really? A library?" was my first thought. Never doubt your photography teacher. This place is beautiful - a little oasis in the heart of Nepean. The building itself is beautiful, but the landscaping is fantastic (yes, I'll get to the books, I promise). There's a huge fountain that's turned into a skating rink in the winter, a lovely garden with beautiful flowers and plants and a shaded seating area. This first time I didn't even make it inside! I now visit this library every Saturday where I tutor a six year-old. Their children's section is outstanding - sweet librarians like you read about in books, a massive selection of books and crayons and colouring pages to keep little ones busy. The library also offers a ton of services for job seekers, new Canadians and those interested in learning about computers. The book selection is fantastic, and I love that you can rent e-books online. If you're looking for a quiet spot to study, a playgroup for the little ones or a place to learn something new be sure to drop by. The building also houses the Centrepointe Theatre, tons of meeting space and a beautiful inside fountain (you know, in case you need to make a wish). Happy reading Yelpers!

Great selection, friendly staff. Love the fact they're ope 7 days a week, just wish they had…read morelonger hours on Sundays!

Looking for an eclectic little nook with stacks of books, great coffee and a varied customer base?…read moreHere it is! Definitely a spot for book lovers visiting the area.

I stopped here one afternoon looking to kill some time between work and night class. There was…read moreample seating and really cute ambiance. Black squirrel is a used (with some new) and very carefully curated bookstore with two levels of exploring to do. At the front of the shop is an espresso bar that offers lots of tasty treats and alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages. I got a oat milk cappuccino and a small chocolate mint cookie. The cookie was only 1$ and so tasty, like an elevated and adult girl guide cookie!! Excellent prices and kind service. This will be my new go to when I have some time in Ottawa South.

This library is attached to the Greenboro Community Centre. It's extremely convenient for children,…read morestudents, and all members of the community. It has both an automated express check-out and a book-drop outside of the building. The library is two floors, with stairs, elevators, and numerous exits. They have private "quiet" rooms for reading or tutoring, meeting rooms, tables for studying and group work, little desks and chairs for individual reading, and even computer labs on both floors for Internet browsing and looking up book locations. Like other libraries, it has sections for books, videos, CDS and audio, and even a childrens section for group readings. The selection of books is actually quite large, especially considering the size of the library is no where near that of the Ottawa Public Library downtown. It's also very modernly designed, but still carpeted and not cold or stuffy in any way. If you're in the South Keys/Hunt Club area, it would definitely be a great resource for you and your children.

I was looking for a new place to study near me and decided to check out the Greenboro District…read moreLibrary. The library is attached to the Community Centre so there were quite a few people there. Despite the foot traffic, the library was pretty quiet, which I really appreciated. The space is actually pretty big and had nice big desks on the second floor. They also have designated quiet rooms and lots of computers. I will most likely come back here to study!!

This is my usual location for the Ottawa Public Library and have had a great experience here. Love…read morebeing able to put holds on books and have them delivered here for pickup. Relatively small library but with the holds, you can get any book you want. Often wait times can be quite long for books so it can be tough if you want to read something more urgently. High tech checkout self service computers. Staff are super friendly and helpful! So happy to have access to this great place

This is the library I frequent most. True, it's the closest one to me, but it doesn't hurt that it…read morehas a quaint location next to the Rideau Canal with a flower garden along the front. The Sunnyside location is small and I sometimes run into problems with getting available copies of certain books without having to resort to interlibrary loans. However, I've also found some great titles here, including fiction, non-fiction and films. I also enjoy that books can be renewed online if you're having troubles finishing that last book before the deadline. I just have two big beefs with this branch. It seems no one enforces the time limit on the computers. So if you go and all the computers are in use, you may be waiting a long time. I waited until closing one time when my Internet was down at home; needless to say, I didn't get a computer. Second beef: the staff is almost always grumpy. I've gone here many times so I find this track record weird. I've even had some of them pretend they didn't hear me when I was asking for help. Honestly, it's the worst I've ever seen to the point it's funny. But this is still a great spot. Come down and snuggle up with a book in a comfy chair by their big windows that face the canal.

Nice place overall. Not a welcoming entrance, but once you're past that it's very welcoming. Very…read moremuch a "find it for yourself" feel, rather than help you find what you need. However I'm sure if you ask, you'll be helped. Incredibly quiet, especially for the number of people in the building. Every floor is silent. There's big open seating areas as well as many computers and chromebooks to loan (in library only).

This library is huge! I used to love coming here as a child for storytelling in the children's…read moresection. Now, as an adult, it's kind of like a candy store for those that love to read. They have 3 levels of pretty much any kind of reading and research materials that you would need, including maps, academic journals, public records, dictionaries, encyclopedias, historical/special collections, fiction/non-fiction, children's books, comics, and audio tapes/CDs and videos. There is plenty of tables and seating for reading and studying, computer stations for Internet browsing and catalogue searching, and even a small coffee and tea shop with very reasonable prices. The library is fully accessible and easy to navigate around, and they have the most helpful staff. The 24-hour book drop and the fact that they take Interac are extremely convenient. The only problem I ran into was trying to get a library card. They have separate desks just to sign up for a library card, but they wouldn't let me because my ID didn't have an Ottawa address on it. I had just moved here and they were asking me for utility bills or a tenant's agreement, which, of course, I didn't have on-hand. So I decided to just sit and read inside the library, and before I knew it, I ended up spending hours there!

The most popular tourist spot in Ottawa, Parliament hill has a magnificent walking pathway in front…read moreof the Parliament house that starts from the Fairmont Chateau Hotel, through Centennial Flame and House of Commons and ends at Confederation building. A lot of the prettiness has been hindered by the on going renovation construction work at the Parliament house. Yes the area is maintained beautifully, all grass are trimmed, flower and gardens are picturesque. At the corner, there's a lookout area that overlooks the city of Gatineau, Quebec, across Ottawa river. There are restrooms under the lookout pavement. Lots of security personnel are assigned to keep the whole place safe and organized.

Amazing hill of the Parliament Buildings. Wonderful architecture. It was amazing to tour the…read moreinterim House of Commons on West Block. Looking forward to coming back when the construction is complete.

Very small, but busy library. This Rosemount branch is the oldest Ottawa Public Library branch…read morestill operating in its original building (which was built in 1918!) It did undergo renovations in 2021 though. It has a modern-looking entrance, but most of the library is still classic-looking. It has big glass windows and let's in lots of natural light. This library accepts used batteries for recycling. The recycling container is a long cylinder and it's located to the right when you enter the building. I almost missed it the first time I was looking for it. I was expecting a big box like at places like Lowe's or Home Depot, but it's a small-ish cylinder. Great neighbourhood library! (39)

This is my local OPL branch and even though it's small, it's still one if my favourite spots in the…read moreneighbourhood. The area immediately surrounding the library is currently under renovation which makes it a tad noisy, but that will be done in the coming months. There's a decent collection at this branch and I can almost always get a recent DVD or museum pass from the Express section. Jennifer, the librarian is great, as are all the staff that I've interacted with. They offer lots of programs, including baby, toddler and family storytime programs for kids that I have been bringing my son to for years. It's a great activity for the kids and a nice way to meet some other parents in the neighbourhood.