Sonia Bebbington

Chief Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of Ottawa Public Library (OPL)

As Chief Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of Ottawa Public Library (OPL), North America's largest bilingual (English/French) public library, Sonia provides strategic leadership and practical guidance to all OPL's departments, programs, and services.

A deeply engaged leader and librarian who has worked in all areas of the profession throughout her career of nearly 25 years, OPL benefits from her thoughtful management style and her broad executive leadership experience, including more than a decade at the Library of Parliament (LOP), where she was responsible for all aspects of collection management, information management, and branch services. In addition, Sonia was responsible for the execution of the redesign of the LOP offsite collection facility and the collection move, which decanted the historic Main Library Building to support the Parliament of Canada Centre Block restoration.

Sonia holds a Master of Library and Information Science and a Bachelor of Arts in English/English Literature from Western University and a Master of Arts in English/English Literature from University of Waterloo. She is fluently bilingual.

Serving more than one million residents, OPL helps to build community and transform lives through its mission to inspire learning, spark curiosity, and connect people. Sonia leads significant initiatives across OPL's 34 physical and virtual branches and spearheads OPL's collaboration with Library and Archives Canada on Ādisōke, a joint landmark library facility and landmark city project that will welcome both Ottawa residents and visitors from around the world. Sonia represents OPL on several sector-specific associations and committees including Canadian Urban Libraries Council, Urban Libraries Council, and Chief Executives of Large Urban Public Libraries.