Did you know that Francophonie is one of the six core values of the University of Ottawa Library? In our 2025–2030 Strategic Plan, we’ve committed to supporting the creation, dissemination and celebration of French-language knowledge, as well as Francophone cultural expression.
In this series of articles, we’ll look at different practical initiatives carried out by the Library in the following areas:
- Support of teaching with open educational resources in French
- Development of French-language collections
- Open science and knowledge dissemination in French
- Support services in French
- The Library as a hub for Francophone culture on campus
Part 5: The Library as a hub for Francophone culture on campus
The Library has set a goal of activating its spaces by hosting Francophone cultural events, performances and immersive experiences that bring language, literature, and artistic traditions to life.
If you visit Morisset Hall, be sure to view our two Francophonie-themed murals by Franco-Ontarian graffiti artist Mique Michelle. The first, French Kiss, is on the first floor of the Morisset Library, while the second, Faire fleurir la francophonie, is across from the Centre de recherche sur les francophonies canadiennes (CRCCF) and the Library’s Archives and Special Collections (Morisset Hall, Level 0). These works, created following consultation with Francophones and Francophiles at uOttawa, represent Francophonie’s past, present and future, with particular importance given to Francophone diversity. An interactive diagram has also been created to help the public decode the Francophone references in French Kiss.
To mark the Mois de la francophonie, the Library released a new episode of its podcast “Trésors d’archives”, which highlights various French-language documents from its Archives and Special Collections.
Joined by guests Marie Noël, archivist at the uOttawa Library, and Isolda Gavidia, curator of decorative arts and design at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, we take a closer look at the first edition of Alain Grandbois’ Les Îles de la nuit, illustrated by Alfred Pellan (1944), one of the first free verse poetry collections published in Québec, as well as Faire naître (1949), the poetry collection that enabled Roland Giguère to launch Éditions Erta, a new surrealist and experimental publishing house dedicated to handcrafted books. We’ll also discover the surprising collection of Québec Artist’s Books, which reflect the creativity and growing interest in engraving and printmaking among avant-garde Québec, artists from the post-war period to the 1970s. Listen now on Spotify.
You can also listen to previous episodes of “Trésors d’archives”focusing on our collection of French manuscripts and the novel Mademoiselle Merquem by the great French Romantic writer George Sand (episode 1), or on our pamphlet collection and the popular novel Roxane by Emma-Adèle Bourgeois Lacerte, a Francophone author from Ottawa (episode 2).
In March 2025, as part of our desire to offer Francophone cultural programming, we hosted Québec novelist Christian Guay-Poliquin for an author’s talk organized with uOttawa’s Département de français. This discussion, hosted by Professor Claudia Bouliane, allowed the University community to discover the work of this award-winning author, winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Prix littéraire des collégien, the Prix littéraire France-Québec and the Prix Ringuet. Christian Guay-Poliquin has published Le fil des kilomètres(Running on Fumes) (2013), Le poids de la neige(The weight of snow) (2016) and Les ombres filantes (Falling shadows) (2021), all with Éditions La Peuplade.
Finally, the Library launched a French-language comic book club in fall 2025. Throughout the 2025–2026 academic year, the club has explored different topics (feminism, the environment, 2SLGBTQIA+ Pride, Indigenous voices, Black History Month), drawing on a rich selection of graphic novels available in French.
We concluded this first edition of the French-language comic book club with two special “Mois de la francophonie” themed sessions during which we discussed graphic novels from the Francophone communities of Ivory Coast, Québec, and Ontario, as well as a book on the inner workings of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. We also had the privilege of welcoming Benjamin Boutin, a young researcher with the University’s Collège des chaires de recherche sur le monde francophone, honorary president of Francophonie sans frontières and co-author of the comic book À la découverte de la Francophonie(Éditions du Signe, 2024).
Find out more
- Watch the presentation “La Bibliothèque : votre partenaire pour la recherche et l’enseignement en français” (in French) (September 25, 2025)
- Download the University of Ottawa Library Strategic Plan 2025–2030