Orillia Public Library
36 Mississaga Street West L3V 3A6 Orillia, ON, Canada

Congratulations Emma, this year's Reading Resolution Gift Basket winner! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Book a one hour appointment with our Tech Librarian and get help with computers, tablets, phones, e-readers and more. If you need help getting started on a new gadget or have a nagging tech question you need answered, get in touch! Book your appointment now: https://bit.ly/3uGpmZD

We are getting back some amazing valentines from our Spread the Love Take & Make! Over 400 of these beauties will be distributed this weekend to seniors at care homes across Orillia. Our patrons have tons of creative flair!

Congratulations Emma, this year's Reading Resolution Gift Basket winner! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Hey teens, we want to show you some love this Valentine's Day! Stop by the Check Out Desk now and pick up a Teen Take & Make which includes ingredients to make delicious Candy Heart Oreo Bark and materials to create friendship bracelets! No registration required. Available while quantities last.

Register now for your Babytime @Home kit! Each kit comes with a variety of baby-friendly crafts, staff favourite rhymes and songs, and literacy tips geared to spread over 5 weeks. Bonus! Join Erin for an optional Zoom meet-up in week 5 to practice the songs and rhymes together while also connecting with other parents and caregivers. Visit our website to find out more and to register: https://bit.ly/3GxItr3 Hurry, quantities are limited!

We are getting back some amazing valentines from our Spread the Love Take & Make! Over 400 of these beauties will be distributed this weekend to seniors at care homes across Orillia. Our patrons have tons of creative flair!

Hey teens, we want to show you some love this Valentine's Day! Stop by the Check Out Desk now and pick up a Teen Take & Make which includes ingredients to make delicious Candy Heart Oreo Bark and materials to create friendship bracelets! No registration required. Available while quantities last.

What was your favourite of 2020?

With the region moving to the RED - Control Zone, the Library remains open for browsing, borrowing, computer use and more. View our Library Services Updates page to see what to expect on your visit: https://bit.ly/OPLServiceUpdates (The Mississaga St. entrance is now closed. Please enter through the West St. entrance.)

Curbside Update! Curbside Pickup is now available only at the Mississaga Street entrance. There is an accessible walkway from the West St parking lot beside the Opera House. See you soon at Curbside!

Wishing Happy Hanukkah to our local Jewish community! Dewey is proud of the menorah he designed on our 3D Printer!

All the decorations coming down makes the house seem so bare! Anyone keeping their tree up a little longer?

We have rescheduled Friends Trivia Night! Beat the blahs and meet us on Zoom this Friday night at 7 p.m. and test your knowledge on the gang and their antics. Visit our website to register to receive the Zoom link and be entered into the draw for door prizes! Everyone welcome. https://bit.ly/3et8NGM

Happy New Year from your OPL! Just a reminder we are closed today and open for Curbside Pickup tomorrow (Saturday) from 11-5.

Dewey has just finished taking our User Survey! We would really love to hear from you too! (If you are like Dewey, he loves to be entered into a prize draw after he completes a survey. He was very pleased to find we are drawing for an iPad!) Take the survey now: https://bit.ly/39xFUbW

The Genealogy Club is pleased to welcome Lynn Palermo, "The Armchair Genealogist" to their meeting this Thursday, November 19th at 2 p.m. on Zoom. Want to hit the road and become a family history traveller? Lynn will show you how to incorporate vacation time with family history research. Register now to receive the Zoom link: https://bit.ly/3pBPj7V

Be a Santa to a Senior this Christmas! "Santa for Seniors" gift tags will be available beginning Tuesday, December 1st at 11:00 a.m. on the OPL Christmas tree! Purchase as many items as you want off the tag and return each wrapped gift to us. The gifts will be distributed to isolated seniors in local Orillia nursing homes. It feels good to give!

Presenting our Top 10 books of 2020! What was your favourite? (Not hard to tell we have a lot of Louise Penny fans at the OPL!)

Beloved quiz-show host Alex Trebek has passed away. Place a hold on "The Answer Is...Reflections On My Life" as he looks back on his life and career: https://bit.ly/2JIMVLX

Missing the 3D Printer? We are now able to accept print requests by email. Get a jump on Christmas and make some unique stocking stuffers! Visit our website for more info: http://bit.ly/OPL3DPrinter

Congrats to Zako, winner of our Howl-o-Ween Pet Costume Contest! When this polish lowland sheepdog isn’t chasing chipmunks, he is delivering laughs and smiles! Thanks to everyone who entered!

September, where did you go?

We are taking our award-winning annual Remembrance Event online! Please join us for our Virtual Remembrance Event as we commemorate our shared history in a safe way. Learn memorable stories featuring local people as we pay tribute to those who lived through World War I and World War II. Remember with us on the OPL YouTube Channel beginning Tuesday, November 10th.

Just a reminder the Library is now open 11-6 on Tuesdays! If you are compromised due to COVID-19 and need to make special arrangments to pick up your holds, please give us a call at 705-325-2339. (Please note: the Family Department will be closed on Tuesday, November 3.)

Daylight Savings has begun! (Who's having Halloween candy for breakfast?)

We support Orange Shirt Day and the opportunity to create meaningful discussion about the effects of Residential Schools and the legacy they have left behind. Did you know this date was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to residential schools? Learn more at Orange Shirt Day - Every Child Matters.

Make a Twiddlemuff! We are currently accepting donations of Twiddlemuffs that will be distributed to local nursing home residents this winter. This knitted muff has tactile items attached so that people with dementia can keep their hands warm and busy. Visit our website for more information and for a copy of the pattern: http://bit.ly/OPLVolunteer (Photo taken pre-COVID!)

Congratulations Hayley! Three cheers for the winner of our Library Week contest in the Family Department! Hayley comes to visit us most Fridays and we are excited that she won the pizza dinner for her family! She is always happy to leave with an armload of books and loves the suggestions from our staff!

Missed our Virtual How-To Festival? You're in luck! Visit our OPL YouTube channel now to learn how-to become an expert on brewing beer, making bread, tasting chocolate and more! http://bit.ly/2020How-ToYoutube #CultureDays

Happy Halloween! Come in to shell-out for books today!

OPL Virtual How-To Festival presents: How-To Start Researching Your Family Tree with Jayne Turvey #CultureDays

OPL Virtual How-To Festival presents: How-To Do Yoga in 10 Easy Moves (while watching TV!) with Lee Kelly

Look who came by to put us in the Halloween spirit! These two are cuter than a barrel of monkeys! Join us on Facebook tomorrow (Saturday) at 10:30 a.m. for a Halloween Family Storytime! (Costumes optional!)

Don’t forget to take some pix of your furry (or not-so-furry) friends in their cute costumes this Halloween! Post your best photos and tag us by November 2nd or email them to [email protected] for your chance to win a $25 gift card to Sweet Time Bake Shoppe.

OPL Virtual How-To Festival 2020 presents: How-To Enjoy Lego as a Family with Samantha & Chanel! #CultureDays

Interlibrary Loan Service is back! Need a book we don't own? Need multiple copies of a title for a book group? Just ask! http://bit.ly/OPLILLO

Trick or Treat! Join us for an online Halloween storytime this Saturday at 10:30 a.m.! Can you guess what book we'll read?

OPL Virtual How-To Festival 2020 presents: How-To Be Tech Savvy with Keyboard Shortcuts #CultureDays

OPL Virtual How-To Festival 2020 presents: How-To Wrap a Baby with the Orillia Midwives! #CultureDays

OPL Virtual How-To Festival 2020 presents: How-To Bake Like a Kid with Kid Expert Sadie! #CultureDays

OPL Virtual How-To Festival presents: How-To Make an Easy After-School Smoothie with Kid Expert Ethan! #CultureDays

OPL Virtual How-To Festival presents: How-to Brew Beer with the Couchiching Craft Brewing Co. #CultureDays