Barton Branch - Re-opening March 21 at 9 am
Barton Branch will reopen on Friday, March 21, at 9 am. Due to the roof repair project, noise and parking disruptions will continue until April 8. Thank you for your patience.
Maintenance Work
Members will not have access to eResources, such as OverDrive, or be able to place holds or renewals from March 22 at 11pm to March 23 at 6:30am, due to network maintenance work. Thank you for your patience.
Turner Park - Roof Repairs
From March 26 until June 30, the Turner Park Branch will undergo a roof repair. There may be parking lot and noise disruptions. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Central Library - 4th Floor Temporary Closure
The Blk Owned Vendor Market is running on the 4th Floor of Central Library on Saturday, March 22, If you are looking for study spaces, use Floors 1-3. The 4th Floor Makerspace and Newcomer Learning Centre are open.
Mount Hope Branch - Photocopying and Scanning Temporarily Not Available
As of Tuesday, March 18, photocopying and scanning are temporarily not available at the Mount Hope Branch. The estimated time of disruption is unknown. Thank you for your patience.
Phishing Scheme
Please be aware of online phishing attempts impersonating Hamilton Public Library and Library Staff. HPL does not solicit paid freelance opportunities through social media or other messaging applications. HPL does not request personal or banking information through social media or require financial compensation when reviewing job applications. Please report phishing schemes to communications@hpl.ca. If you think you are a victim of fraud, please call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
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Genealogy: Research Your Family
Local History & Archives has many resources to help you research your family history.
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History of the Local History & Archives Department
A brief history of the LH&A Department of Hamilton Public Library
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Maps
These plans are valuable maps for building research. They are large scale maps that show shape, size and exact location of individual buildings. They provide detail about the construction materials, outbuildings and neighbourhoods.
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Government Documents Collection
Access more than 70,000 free Canadian Government publications, digitized by Internet Archive Canada.
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Research Your House
Research your house with our wealth of resources useful in historical building research.
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Tax Assessment Records
Tax assessment records can help in accurate dating of the construction of the building as well as disclosing the original owner and a list of occupants.
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Historical Records of the City of Hamilton
Historical records for the City of Hamilton
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City Directories
City Directories show an alphabetical listing of street addresses which can be cross-referenced with an alphabetical listing of surnames.
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Local History and Archives on Historypin
Historypin is an image-mapping project using archival photographs
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Rare and Unusual
There are many rare and wonderful treasures in Local History and Archives.
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The "Where-to-Look" Index
This amazing resource is an up-to-date source for finding information about Hamilton in Local History and Archives
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Local History and Archives Rules of Use
Local History and Archives Rules of Use: an outline of member's responsibilities in partnering with staff to preserve the Local History and Archives collection
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Where is LHA?
Visit Local History and Archives at Central Branch, 3rd floor.
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Parks Police
In the early 1940's, vandalism and other occurrences began to increase in frequency in the parks. Fred Marshal, one of Hamilton's parks superintendents, worked to reverse this trend.
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History of Gore Park
Gore Park has been a meeting place for Hamiltonians since the early 1800s.
