The Unlock Potential Campaign is helping bring to life Ottawa Public Library’s (OPL) Central Branch at Ādisōke.
Take a sneak peek at our virtual tour of Ādisōke and watch the Unlock Potential video.
With your support, this once-in-a-generation project will create a space that strengthens connection, creativity, and opportunity across Ottawa. This vision is already taking shape, thanks to generous donors like you:
Indigenous programming
BMO has donated $100,000 dollars over five years towards Indigenous programming at the new OPL Central Branch at Ādisōke.
"We are thrilled that BMO recognizes the importance of public libraries as providers of critical resources, programs, spaces, and tools for everyone,” said Councilor Matthew Luloff, Chair of the OPLBoard. “Developing Indigenous services and programs are a major focus for Ottawa Public Library as we continue to work with theAlgonquinAnishinābe Host Nation and the urban Indigenous community to advance reconciliation."
Find out more about our collaboration with the Anishinābe Algonquin Nation
Riccardo Campagna, Regional Vice President, BMO Bank of Montreal, and Sonia Bebbington, CEO and Chief Librarian, OPL.
Accessibility services and technology
Ms. Jane Beaumont, a long-time advocate for library services for people with vision loss and print disabilities, and past Chair of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind’s (CNIB) National Board of Directors and the CNIB Library Board, has donated $250,000 through the Cajole Inn Fund established within the Ottawa Community Foundation.
Ms. Beaumont’s generous gift will support accessibility services and technology for people with vision loss and print disabilities at Ādisōke.
“This is an exceptionally generous gift and a meaningful contribution to our community. Libraries are for everyone, and OPL plays a critical role in providing accessible services and resources,” said Councilor Matthew Luloff, Chair of the OPL Board. “With Ms. Beaumont’s gift, we will be able to provide leading edge accessible services and technology for people with print disabilities and vision loss. We are so grateful.”
"OPL has a long history of supporting library services to persons with print disabilities and was an important supporter of the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) from the start,” said Ms. Jane Beaumont. “I am delighted to support the plans to ensure the Central Library at Ādisōke continues that tradition.”
[left to right] Ms. Jane Beaumont, with guest Sam Fulton and his seeing-eye dog Etta, and Sonia Bebbington.
Restoration and installation of public art pieces at Ādisōke
The Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA) has made a generous commitment of $750,000 to the Unlock Potential Campaign.
“We are proud to be commemorating more than 20 years of friendship with OPL and contributing to the development of this important community space in the capital,” said Kathleen O’Connell Renaud, President and CEO of FOPLA.
The gift will fund, in part, the restoration and installation at the Central Branch at Ādisōke of several OPL public art pieces, including the stained-glass window from the Main branch on Metcalfe Street. The window honours literature, writers, and readers, and is the only remaining piece of the original Carnegie-funded library that opened in Ottawa in 1906.
FOPLA is OPL’s longest-standing corporate donor, and this most recent gift to the Unlock Potential Campaign is one of the largest FOPLA have ever made to OPL.
Top photo: [left to right] Kathy Fisher (Board Member; Vice-Chair), Councillor Matt Luloff (Board Member; Chair), Kathleen O'Connell Renaud (FOPLA), Harvey A. Slack (Trustee), Sonia Bebbington, Alison Crawford (Trustee), Councillor Rawlson King (Trustee), and Councillor Catherine Kitts (Trustee).
Bottom photo: Removal of stained-glass window at Main branch on Metcalfe street.
Increasing access to digital technology
The Crabtree Foundation made a generous donation to the Unlock Potential Campaign to the amount of $500,000, bringing the Foundation’s total cumulative contribution to $1 million.
The Foundation’s most recent contribution focuses on expanding access to digital technology at Ādisōke in honour of Ms Dorothy L. Davidson.
Ms. Davidson, a founder of the Crabtree Foundation, was a long-time regular client of the Main branch of Ottawa Public Library. In her later years, she would take the city bus from Sandy Hill to borrow large print books. She saw these visits as a way to stay connected to her community. While she had the means to hire a car, she preferred the independence and connection her trips to the Main branch provided.
“We are deeply grateful to the Crabtree Foundation for their continued generosity and their vision for access in all its forms,” said Sonia Bebbington, CEO and Chief Librarian of OPL. “This milestone gift strengthens our ability to ensure that everyone, regardless of circumstance, can benefit from the technology, resources, and learning opportunities available at the new Central Branch at Ādisōke.”