Essential information
The library is located at 1104 Somerset Street West in Hintonburg. Our hours are: Monday 3 to 7 pm, Tuesday 12 pm to 5 pm, Wednesday 3 pm to 7 pm, Thursday 3 to 7 pm, Friday Closed Saturday 12 to 5 pm and Sunday Closed.
Click here to browse the library’s online catalogue.
Holiday Hours
Hey all!
We want to communicate the following closures for this holiday season. We will be closed on:
- December 24
- December 25
- December 31
- January 1
Otherwise our hours are unchanged! Check our events calendar for any changes/cancellations for events this holiday season.
Soup Night at the OTL
Soup Night at the Trans Library~
Come join us for some warm soup and warmer people. Please sign up so we have an idea of how much soup to make. Feel free to bring soup or snacks as well. Bring your own bowl or to-go container
https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/soup-night-at-the-trans-library
Art at the OTL
Self-portrait, prints and drawings by Aline Bee on exhibit until November 30th.
The Ottawa Trans Library is thrilled to host a selection of Aline Bee’s wonderful artwork. Up until the end of November, Bee’s work is intimate, skillful and critically challenging. Swing by to check it out while the work is with us!
The Good Bones part of the exhibit is a five part drawing series that interrogates the transmysogynist cliché: “In 500 years, the archeologists who dig you up will know you were really a man.” These studies investigate what visible markers a transition—feminizing surgeries in particular—might leave on a trans person’s mortal remains.
On exhibit until November 30th.
We did it!
Thanks to your generous support, Maker House matched your donations up to $1,000. Yours exceeded that total! A big thank you to our friends at Maker House. We appreciate the support we receive from our Hintonburg neighbours! Most of all, thank you for supporting the Ottawa Trans Library!
Biblioterre and the OTL
Our new friends at Biblioterre in Alcove, Quebec have kindly offered to share proceeds from their Tail Feathers Dance Party, August 9th.
For more info on Biblioterre visit https://www.biblioterre.ca/. See also ‘A space for trans, nonbinary and gender creative folk’ https://www.biblioterre.ca/transevent
Summer break July 20 to August 3
We’re taking a much needed 2-week break from regular operations to rest and recharge!
However, the following events are still on: Youth Group, Friday July 25; and the Zine/Art Launch Sunday July 27. Poetry Night, August 2nd from 5:30 to 7:30.
Unfortunately, the regularly scheduled Folk Spectrum Collective Music Jam is cancelled Tuesday, July 22nd. Back again in two weeks.
Art Book launch: Transference by Eli Howey & Zanette Singh, July 3rd 6 to 9 pm
The OTL is hosting a book launch July 3rd from 6 to 9 pm featuring out of town queer art punks Zannete Singh & Eli Howey celebrating the release of their new art book Transference! The launch will feature artist talks from the creators speaking about their process. The talk, moderated by OTL librarian Lain, will start about an hour into the event, and will be followed by a chance to ask questions.
Books will be available for purchase along with prints and art objects. All proceeds will go towards supporting the duo’s artist initiative Terrarium studio in Tkaronto, which provides studio arts residencies for trans, two spirit and gender non-conforming artists.
About the book: Transference brings together over 5 years of artistic research to present collective knowledge within the trans* and two-spirit community, addressing existential topics of authenticity, freedom, choice, death, freewill, guilt and meaning. Transference is the 132 page, full-colour art book cataloguing this process, including artwork, essay transcriptions and critical essays to further delve into the experiment.
More info about the authors can be found at the event link. You may also indicate your interest in attending, as the OTL capacity is around 25.
Arquives – Of Kin and Other Impossible Homes
From May 29th to July 31st, the Ottawa Trans Library is pleased to display our collection of books by queer & trans Asian authors in partnership with the ArQuives’ exhibition Of Kin and Other Impossible Homes, focusing on transgender Canadians from across the Asian diaspora. Come view the display at the library and the peruse the books digitally here.
New arrival at the Ottawa Trans Library!
The gripping true story that is The Trans Agenda! A masterful work that will leave you breathless! The formidable force that has terrorized MAGA billionaires and Canadian Conservatives has finally been 
revealed in this new non-fiction work by Cara Tierney. It is… a donation box! That’s right. The powerful wizard moving levers behind the curtain of the gender ideology movement is nothing more than a receptacle for your quarters, twonies and five dollar bills. How can this be? How can so little money deposited into The Trans Agenda cause a worldwide revolution? Visit the Ottawa Trans Library to discover this artful work and marvel at its hidden power! For just pennies a day, you too can inflict terror on the forces of hate. Take advantage of this modest device and support the Ottawa Trans Library in its mission. We hope to see you, but if you cannot visit the library, please do take advantage of its virtual PayPal cousin. It may look like a donation box, but the Trans Agenda is everywhere!
Collaborative zine making is back!
Come work on zines with us Saturday, May 3rd from 2 to 5 pm. Write, draw, scan, cut, and paste with us as we work on the next issue of The Dragon Flyer, the Ottawa Trans Library’s community zine. Work on your own project, or just come hang out with us. We are collecting stories, jokes, poems, art, and more from friends, families and the trans and non-binary community in Ottawa. The zine workshop is a collaborative event to discuss, share, and work on zines together.
Come tell your story. No experience necessary. All ages welcome, children under age 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
The Trans Joy Quilt
The Trans Joy Quilt Project was initiated by the Friendly Local Quiltqueers who proposed our patrons contribute squares on the theme of trans joy, and they would kindly assemble them all together into a glorious quilt. It’s a wonderful example of the creativity in our community and it is on permanent display behind the table at back of the library. Thanks to the folks from Friendly Local Quiltqueers for making this possible. More photos.
