The Ottawa Branch needs volunteers to help with our many community service activities. You don’t need to be a member of the Ontario Genealogical Society for most of the volunteer positions.

Volunteers are needed for…

Library

As a Partner of the City of Ottawa Archives, our volunteers provide assistance to the Reference Room staff by serving as monitors, giving limited advice to visiting researchers about the genealogical collections housed with the Archives, and re-shelving books. If you are interested in helping to provide this valuable but not onerous service for a shift per week or month, please contact the librarian at [email protected].

The Archives is open Tuesday to Friday, 9 am to 4 pm and Saturday 10 am to 5 pm. We need one volunteer for the morning, 10 am to 12:30 pm, and another in the afternoon, 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm. On Saturday shifts run 11:00 am to 1:30 pm and 1:30 pm to 4 pm. Please contact the librarian at [email protected] to discuss any arrangement that will fit within your schedule. There will be an orientation prior to you starting.

If you are a Library Volunteer, here is the Library Volunteer Schedule.

Branch Operating Committee (Council)

The Branch Operating Committee is responsible for managing, supervising and coordinating the activities and programs of the Branch. This includes the setting of policy, approving library and other purchases, supporting research projects and managing the preparation and publication of the branch newsletter and other publications. The Operating Committee normally meets once a month for two hours with remote access available via Microsoft Teams. Members should also attend the monthly general meeting on a regular basis. There currently are several vacancies for important positions on the Operating Committee. Training and mentoring are available for all positions. If you are interested in serving please contact the Chair of Ottawa Branch .

A full description of  the Operating Committee roles is available here.

Events

There is a need for people to help with our monthly educational events and presentations. These responsibilities include greeting newcomers and guests, introducing and thanking the speakers, helping with refreshments, etc.. If you’re interested contact the chair .

Gene-O-Rama

We hold an annual exhibition in early spring each year and need helpers to organize, set up and run the event.  Anyone who would like to volunteer to help, contact Gene-O-Rama.

The Ontario Name Index (TONI)

Ottawa Branch is participating in OGS’ The Ontario Name Index (TONI) by adding the genealogies, family histories, scrapbooks and other relevant publications found in the Branch Library and the City of Ottawa Archives. As of the end of Mar 2023, we have added 758,000 names. Volunteers are needed to input data into the files that will be loaded into TONI. You can find more about the project at https://ottawa.ogs.on.ca/researching/indexes/the-ontario-name-index-toni/. For more information on this project or to volunteer please email the Provincial TONI coordinator at [email protected].