Bookmobile has the following schedule modifications. Thank you for your patience.
Monday, September 15
Tuesday, September 16
Wednesday, September 17
Thursday, September 18
To avoid a replacement or lost fee, please return library materials due October 1st or later within 28 days. Replacement fees are intended to encourage Members to return items on a timely basis so everyone in the community can enjoy them.
From Thursday, September 11, until 5 am on Monday, September 15, road closures for SuperCrawl will be in effect in and around James Street North from King to Wilson/York to Cannon to Barton Street. Additional closures will take place on King William, Rebecca, Vine, Mulberry, Colbourne and Murray Streets. If you are planning to visit Central Library over the next few days, we suggest taking HSR for a convenient route to downtown Hamilton. www.hpl.ca/central
Central Library's Fourth Floor is closed on Tuesday, September 16, from Noon to 6 pm due to a special event. Makerspace and Newcomer Learning Centre will remain open. Floors 1-3 are available as study and work spaces. www.hpl.ca/central
Due to roof repair maintenance, the Branch is temporarily closed from September 2 until October 10. Please visit the Red Hill, Parkdale, and Barton locations as your nearest branches for your library needs. On August 28-29, there may be some noise disruptions and limited parking spots while the roof repair set-up begins. Thank you for your patience.
The Hamilton Public Library is one of the oldest public libraries in Ontario. In January of 1889, the citizens of Hamilton voted to fund a free public library in the city and the first Hamilton Public Library Board was appointed. The first Main Library opened in September of 1890. In 2015, HPL celebrated its 125th anniversary.
Origins of the Local History & Archives Department
Right from the beginning, one of the mandates of the library system was to emphasize and make available material regarding Canadian and local history. The staff actively collected books, pamphlets and other local materials, which included a large donation of items from Hamilton native, Emerson Bristol Biggar.
The Hamilton Public Library opened a new Main Library in 1913 with funding from Andrew Carnegie. In March of 1914, the newly named Canadiana Room housed a separate and distinct collection of Canadian and local historical materials that were available to the general public in a secure setting, but did not circulate.
The collection continued to grow, expanding to include books, photographs, scrapbooks, clipping files, pamphlets, microfilm, periodicals, historical memorabilia, and archives on a wide range of local history topics, including sports events, places of worship, notable local people, heritage buildings, and landmarks. In October of 1974, the Special Collections department opened in the Reference Library (in the Bank of Montreal building at the corner of Main and James Street) amalgamating the Local History Collection, the Canadiana Collection, the Archives and the Rare Books Collection.
The Special Collections department was relocated to its current location when the new Central library opened in October of 1980. In 1981, the public access room in the department was named after former Chief Librarian Freda Waldon (1898-1973). The acquisition of several large archival collections (including the Hamilton Spectator negative collection [2 million images], the Ellen Fairclough papers and, most significantly, a large collection of 19th and early 20th century records of the city of Hamilton and the old County of Wentworth) led to the changing of the name of the department in 2008 from Special Collections to Local History & Archives.
