Reflecting on 50 years of community connections as the Stittsville library celebrates its golden anniversary

The Stittsville branch of the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) will celebrate its 50 anniversary with a special event on Nov. 23.

The library, located at 1637 Stittsville Main St. is the 15th of the OPL’s 33 branches, first opened at the Stittsville Public School in 1973 and moved to the village municipal office location – where it currently resides – in 1974.

Celebrations will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a themed story time for children. In the latter part of the morning, attendees can enjoy family-friendly activities including face-painting, button making, puppet theatre and games.

Attendees can hear addresses from the Chair of the Ottawa Public Library Board, Matt Luloff, and Chief Librarian and CEO of OPL, Sonia Bebbington. Cake and refreshments will be available.

The event will conclude with a Rock the Arts Puppet Show titled “Superhero Showdown”, a show for all ages.

But the golden anniversary also showcases impacts the library has had outside its four walls. In 2018, the branch opened a hydroponic grow tower and has donated over 23 kilograms of fresh produce to the Stittsville Food Bank over the past six years.

The branch has also brought together aspiring authors from throughout the community for the Stittsville Creative Writing Group. Over the past decade, the group has collectively authored more than 100 books.

As a rapidly growing community within the greater Ottawa area, the branch has also launched multiple services to support newcomers such as language groups and employment support.

“This branch stays relevant in its community by reaching out to local community partners and providing programming and services that keep up with the evolving demographics,” Gemini Cheng, supervising librarian at the Stittsville branch, told CityNews.

The Stittsville branch also pioneered the OPL’s Memory Café, an innovative program for people with dementia and their care partners. This program is now available at other branches across the city.

Local library enthusiast and volunteer known in the community as ‘Uncle Wally’ shared that that the branch is “fondly remembered”.