Online Resources

Use our free online resources for consumer research, online classes, language learning, newspaper reading and more.

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  • Research

    FamilySearch Affiliate Library

    FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history.

    Ottawa Public Library is now a FamilySearch Affiliate Library, this designation means library clients will now have greater and more convenient access to the wealth of genealogical resources available through FamilySearch at our 33 branches.

    Benefits of an Affiliate Library

    • Due to contractual obligations, some images are only viewable online through FamilySearch centers and Affiliate Libraries
    • Through the affiliate program, OPL customers have access to over 350 million additional records that are otherwise restricted

    This resource is available for in-library use only.

    Please note that each individual client must log into FamilySearch using their own unique username and password. There is no institutional login. 

     

    Beginning April 30, 2026, clients will be required to sign in to access the FamilySearch Catalog. To help prepare for this change, a notification banner has been added to the top of the FamilySearch Catalog landing page for clients who are not signed in.

    This update is being implemented as part of ongoing efforts to improve website security and ensure appropriate access to records.

    Content Language
    English
    Help Guide(s)
    Why do historical records have access limitations?
    What are the image restrictions in Historical Records?
    Affiliate Library Additional Resources
    Frequently asked questions
  • Read

    Flipster eMagazines

    Access today's edition of popular magazine titles including Maclean's, Scientific American, Time, People, and others.

    • If you are experiencing difficulty accessing magazines, please check "Tips on how to access magazines from Flipster" under our Help Guide
    • Starting from May 18, 2023, Forbes is available on the Flipster eMagazine Platform
    • Starting from Oct.1, 2022, seven new eMagazines will be added to the Flipster platform. They are Backcountry; Sports Illustrated, Travel & Leisure; Fine Woodworking; Fine Gardening, Threads & Fine Homebuilding.
    • Effective on Nov.1, 2022, the following three magazines : Azure ; Canadian House and Home, and Hello! Canada will be available on Overdrive Magazines Platform and no longer available on Flipster eMagazine Platform
    • Martha Stewart Living, Do It Yourself, and Rachael Ray in Seasons are discontinued on Flipster by the publisher.  However, some back issues are still available for you to view.
    • Effective on Nov.1, 2023, Black Girl Magazine and  Teen Black Girl Magazine are no longer available on Flipster eMagazine Platform.  However, some back issues are still available for you to view.
    • Beginning in July 2025, no new issues of Allrecipes magazine will be published, However, you will still have full access to all back issues.
    Content Language
    Bilingual
    Help Guide(s)
    Getting Started with Flipster
    Introducing the New Flipster User Interface
    Flipster Fundamentals
    Flipster Help
    Privacy and Terms of Use
    Privacy Policy
    Terms of Use
  • Watch

    Kanopy

    Kanopy offers a large collection of high-quality films and documentaries from art-house classics to world cinema, all available to play on your PC, phone, tablet, and digital media player.

    Each client will have 8 tickets per month to watch films on Kanopy. Kanopy Kids is not included in the ticket system, and you can access its content without using any tickets

    • With this update, Next to the play button, clients will see how many tickets a title will use and how long they will have access to it before pressing play.
    • Episodic content will be labeled so clients know they are getting an entire bingeable season for the ticket value.
    • Ticket-free content, including titles in Kanopy Kids, will be labeled as 0 tickets

    Due to rising costs from increased usage and higher prices per item, we’re adjusting Kanopy’s borrowing limits to ensure sustainable access for all clients.

    The monthly ticket allowance for Kanopy has been reduced from 12 to 8 tickets per month.

    • The Kanopy app is available for both mobile and TV devices.
    • Kanopy can now be found in the Extras section of the Overdrive Libby app.
    • The Kanopy app and all the ways for you to browse, stream, and enjoy videos from Kanopy remain unchanged.

    Sometimes Kanopy requires the re-verification of a library card, but instead of the messaging that one would see in Libby (like being asked to re-enter a PIN), Kanopy blocks the card until the card can be checked again. 

    Please follow the instructions: reactivating a library membership 

     

     

    Content Language
    English
    French
    Help Guide(s)
    How Do I Update My Library Card in Kanopy?
    Getting Started with Kanopy
    Reactivating a library membership
    Verifying your email address
    Available Apps
    Apple
    Google
    Privacy and Terms of Use
    Privacy Policy
    Terms of Use
  • Research

    OPL Mobile

    All catalogue features are available via OPL's free apps:

    • Search for items and use geo-locator to find the closest location
    • Manage your account, renew items, place holds and view what you have checked out
    • Browse recent arrivals and read what others are saying
    Content Language
    Bilingual
    Available Apps
    Apple
    Google
  • Read

    Ottawa Citizen

    A searchable archive of 30 days which is part of the database Library PressDisplay.  Articles can be translated into German, Greek, Spanish or French. The viewer can also listen to individual articles in any of these languages. To access articles published more than 30 days ago, search the Canadian Newsstand database.

    Content Language
    English
    Privacy and Terms of Use
    Privacy Policy
    Terms of Use
  • Research

    Ottawa Citizen - ProQuest Historical Newspapers (1845 - 2010)

    This digitized full-images archives of the Ottawa Citizen provides genealogists, researchers and general public with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.

    This will allow Ottawans to digitally travel back through the centuries to become eyewitnesses to our local history.

    Coverage is from 1845 to 2010, but you can access more recent full text content from September 1985 until now from Canadian Major Dailies ProQuest (Formerly Canadian Newsstand).

    Content Language
    English
  • Read

    Overdrive Magazines (Formerly RBDigital Unlimited Magazines -Zinio)

    A package of over 3,000 popular titles (including Canadian Living, National Geographic, The New Yorker, and many more) with varieties of languages and up to three years of back issues are now available for unlimited simultaneous access with no circulation caps.

    Our online eMagazine provider OverDrive couldn’t make an agreement with The Economist. As a result, all editions of the Economist, as well as all back issues, are no longer available to clients effective February 1, 2023.

    We apologize for the inconvenience and invite you to check out the print edition of The Economist that is available at some of our OPL branches. Please search for “The Economist” from our online catalog for more information.

    Full-text remote access to The Economist is available from the following two databases:

    • Gale Academic OneFile, and
    • Gale OneFiile: Business
    Content Language
    English
    Help Guide(s)
    Visit Libby Help
    How to use Libby for Magazines
    Winding down the legacy OverDrive app on February 23, 2022 & FAQs
    Privacy and Terms of Use
    Privacy Policy
    Terms & Conditions
  • Research

    Oxford English Dictionary

    600,000 words … 3.5 million quotations … over 1000 years of English

    The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely acknowledged to be the most authoritative and comprehensive record of the English language in the world. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world.

    As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from dictionaries of current English, in which the focus is on present-day meanings. You’ll not only find present-day meanings in the OED, but also you’ll find the history of individual words, and of the language—traced through 3.5 million quotations, over 100 years of English.

    Every three months the OED Online database is updated.

    Content Language
    English
    Help Guide(s)
    How to use the OED
    Privacy and Terms of Use
    Privacy Policy
    Terms of Use
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