Ottawa Public Library

This branch of the Ottawa Public Library is located at Ben Franklin Place, a beautiful building in Centrepointe. 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 Unilocalers!

I was never impressed with the library at Algonquin College (it’s pretty well equivalent to the selection in my old high school’s library) so I was quite relieved to learn that there was a nearby public library.
I got my first OPL card at this location and the staff were pleasant and made the entire process quite painless.
The library itself is bright and spacious with a good selection.
The only downfall is that it was easy to access on foot from Algonquin but by car you have to access Centrepointe and that can sometimes be a traffic mess.