Ottawa
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0N4
Telephone: 613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777
Online form: Ask us a question
Hours
Registration desk
| Day |
Opening hours |
| Monday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Tuesday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Wednesday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Thursday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Friday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Saturday |
No service |
| Sunday |
No service |
| Statutory holidays |
No service |
Textual documents and microform consultation rooms
| Day |
Opening hours |
| Monday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Tuesday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Wednesday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Thursday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Friday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Saturday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Sunday |
No service |
| Statutory holidays |
No service |
Reference and genealogy rooms
| Day |
Opening hours |
| Monday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Tuesday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Wednesday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Thursday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Friday |
9 am to 8 pm |
| Saturday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Sunday |
No service |
| Statutory holidays |
No service |
|
|
Restricted documents consultation room
| Day |
Opening hours |
| Monday |
9 am to 5 pm |
| Tuesday |
9 am to 5 pm |
| Wednesday |
9 am to 5 pm |
| Thursday |
9 am to 5 pm |
| Friday |
9 am to 5 pm |
| Saturday |
No service |
| Sunday |
No service |
| Statutory holidays |
No service |
Special collections room
| Day |
Opening hours |
| Monday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Tuesday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Wednesday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Thursday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Friday |
9 am to 4 pm |
| Saturday |
No service |
| Sunday |
No service |
| Statutory holidays |
No service |
Services
- Meeting with a reference specialist (Ask us a question)
- On-site consultations of local collections (Order your documents in advance)
- Genealogy services
-
Work stations to access:
- LAC databases
- genealogy databases
- specialized subscriptions databases
- Restricted publications
-
Equipment
- photocopiers, scanners
- microform printers, scanners
- accessibility workstations and magnifiers
- DigiLab
Collections
Don't forget to pre-order
You need to pre-order material for consultation, except for some self-serve books and microfilms.
Archival documents
- most government records (see Vancouver and Winnipeg for their specific collections of government records) and all private archives
Publications
- books
- periodicals
- newspapers
- government publications
- maps
- sheet music
Reference collection
- general reference works
- finding aids for archival material
- images on contact cards
- city directories
- telephone directories
- statutes
- regulations
Genealogy collection
- reference works
- family histories
- indexes to newspapers
- indexes to cemeteries
- indexes to church records
- specialized databases
Jacob M. Lowy Collection
Parking
A paid parking lot is located at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, on the west side of the building.
There are also paid public parking lots and metered street parking nearby.
Prepare for your visit
-
You must bring :
- Sign in at the first-floor Commissionaires’ desk
-
Put your personal items in a locker on the first floor:
- coats
- briefcases
- food and beverages
- umbrellas
-
You may bring these items in the public rooms:
- laptop computer, cell phone, camera (if you'd like to use a camera, you'll need to complete a Self-serve photography application form)
- pencils and paper (pens are not permitted)
- research material
Accessibility
- Accessible entrance and automatic door openers
- Two elevators
- Evacuation chairs
- Wheelchair-accessible pay phones on the ground, second and third floors
- Accessible public washrooms on the ground floor
- Computerized workstations (adjustable table)
- SuperNova magnifier and screen reader software
- Electronic magnifiers and viewers capable of enlarging characters of books and microfiches
Floor plan
First floor
- Lobby and Commissionaire’s desk
- Exhibition room (opening hours)
- Lockers for personal belongings
Second floor
- Orientation desk
- Registration desk
- Reference room
- Lowy collection
- Pellan room
Third floor
- Genealogy room
- Consultation room
- Document lockers
- Restricted documents consultation room
- Microform consultation room
- Special collections room
- Digilab