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Downtown Ottawa Aug 2026Photo: Harleyd613 · CC BY 4.0
Libraries · Ottawa

At 7.6 loans per person served, Ottawa Public Library lends more than 91% of Ontario’s town libraries

The 1,083,550 people Ottawa Public Library serves have 38 branches to choose from. In 2024 it logged 3.4 visits for every person it serves. Ontario counts visits over one typical week and multiplies by 52, so the yearly figure is an estimate.

–Civic lifeNot graded
DirectionsLibrary websiteAll its libraries
Visits a year
3,680,508
3.4 per person served
Borrowed a year
8,205,895
7.6 per person served
Cardholders
30%
328,464 cards
Libraries
38
Charities
1,975
1.7 per 1,000 residents
Civic life grade

What a civic life grade would weigh in Ottawa

Not graded: a city is graded through its neighbourhoods, each on its own figures.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Ottawa’s overall grade.
–Library visits3.4 per resident · Ontario towns 4.5–Charities1.7 per 1,000 · Ontario towns 1.4 · Canada 1.4–Volunteering32.1% of residents · all of Ontario, 2023

Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.

Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.

Places to belong

Ottawa mailing addresses hold 1,975 registered charities

That is 1.7 per 1,000 residents, against 1.4 in the typical Ontario town and 1.4 across Canada. Charities are placed by mailing address, which flatters service towns whose post office serves a region and undercounts suburbs and rural municipalities.

Volunteering

32.1%

Volunteering here is a provincial number: 32.1% of people across Ontario in 2023, likely 31.0% to 33.2%, set in a ten-province range of 25.2% to 40.3%.

Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.

How it compares

Ahead of most of Ontario’s town libraries on 2 of 3 measures

Each figure is per person served, set against 195 town libraries in Ontario’s statistics for 2024.

Visits per person served 3.4 visits · typical 3.4Lower than 51%
Loans per person served 7.6 items · typical 4Top 10%
Cardholders 30% of people served · typical 27%Higher than 61%
Fewer per personMore per person
Who is compared

Town libraries only; regional systems left out.

A year at the library

A typical week brings about 70,779 visits

The year 2024 at Ottawa Public Library, in the library’s own counts.

3,680,508
in-person visits
3.4 per person served
8,205,895
items borrowed
7.6 per person served
328,464
cardholders
30% of people served
Every day22,482items borrowed
1,083,550 people served
The libraries

Ottawa’s 38 public libraries

In order of distance from the centre of Ottawa, as the crow flies.

0.5kmBookmobile StopDirections →2.1kmOttawa Public Library - Emerald Plaza BranchDirections →3.8kmGreenberg Families LibraryDirections →4.1kmOttawa Public Library - Alta Vista BranchDirections →4.3kmOttawa Public Library - Sunnyside BranchDirections →4.7kmOttawa Public Library - Nepean Centrepointe BranchDirections →4.7kmOttawa Public Library - Rosemount BranchWebsite →5.1kmOttawa Trans LibraryWebsite →5.2kmOttawa Public Library - Carlingwood BranchDirections →5.7kmOttawa Public Library - Greenboro BranchWebsite →5.8kmOttawa Outdoor Gear LibraryWebsite →6.6kmOttawa Public Library - Main BranchWebsite →6.9kmLibrary of Parliament (interim main branch)Library of ParliamentDirections →7.8kmOttawa Public Library - Elmvale Acres BranchWebsite →7.9kmOttawa Public Library - Rideau BranchDirections →9.6kmOttawa Public Library - St-Laurent BranchDirections →10kmOttawa Public Library - Vanier BranchDirections →10kmOttawa Public Library - Ruth E. Dickinson BranchDirections →10kmOttawa Public Library - Rockcliffe Park BranchDirections →10kmOttawa Public Library - Centennial BranchWebsite →12kmOttawa Public Library - North Gloucester BranchDirections →14kmOttawa Public Library - Blackburn Hamlet BranchDirections →15kmOttawa Public Library - Manotick BranchDirections →15kmOttawa Public Library - Beaverbrook BranchWebsite →16kmOttawa Public Library - Hazeldean BranchDirections →16kmOttawa Public Library - Greely BranchDirections →18kmOttawa Public Library - Orléans BranchDirections →20kmOttawa Public Library - Stittsville BranchDirections →21kmOttawa Public Library - Cumberland BranchWebsite →22kmOttawa Public Library - Richmond BranchDirections →24kmOttawa Public Library - Metcalfe Village BranchDirections →25kmOttawa Public Library - Osgoode BranchDirections →25kmOttawa Public Library - North Gower BranchDirections →27kmOttawa Public Library - Carp BranchWebsite →28kmOttawa Public Library - Munster BranchDirections →29kmOttawa Public Library - Vernon BranchWebsite →34kmOttawa Public Library - Constance Bay BranchDirections →41kmOttawa Public Library - Fitzroy Harbour BranchDirections →
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Library locations. A library listed by both OpenStreetMap and Statistics Canada appears once; campus, school and private ones are left off.

Questions about the library and civic life in Ottawa

Does Ottawa have a public library?

Yes, 38: Ottawa Outdoor Gear Library, Ottawa Public Library - Beaverbrook Branch, Ottawa Public Library - Carp Branch, Ottawa Public Library - Centennial Branch and 34 more.

How busy is Ottawa Public Library?

Its 2024 report counts 3,680,508 visits in person and 8,205,895 items lent.

Library statistics: Ontario Public Library Statistics, 2024. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).