The Ottawa Public Library has a new brand. The old one was a familiar friend. It didn’t take me long to decide I like the change.
The rebranding reminds us that public libraries are the quintessential third place, sanctuaries where presence alone is enough. Unlike cafes that expect purchases or malls designed to encourage spending, libraries welcome everyone through their doors. There’s no economic barrier; most of the funding comes from property taxes already paid.
There’s so much to enjoy. Public libraries offer free access in-branch to major databases such as Ancestry.ca and serve as FamilySearch affiliates. Other commercial resources may be available free online. Collections of local historical records, city directories, old newspapers on microfilm, and regional history books that may be out of print or unavailable elsewhere are likely available at a central library. Interlibrary loan systems allow access to materials from across the country.
Do you take advantage?
Thanks for your support – public libraries offer so much for everyone in a community. Our library has Ancestry LE, is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library, offers one-on-one genealogy help (with me), a monthly genealogy group meeting, an Epson scanner which handles both photos and slides, as well as an overhead scanner for documents and books.
Our collection of genealogy books is small, but current (we have the 4th ed of EE) and we also have public use computers and free wifi.
I take advantage of the Affiliate Library status pretty much every day on my breaks.
Oh, right – and it will take a while to get to OPL’s new brand, but I certainly don’t DISlike it…
Yes. I always have. It turned out that early on, it was clear that my family would not u-support me for any higher education. My brother Glen Turner got it all.
So I discovered that I could read as much as I liked, freely, at libraries. So I used them all the time.