Barton, Binbrook, Carlisle, Concession, Freelton, Greensville, Locke, Lynden, Mount Hope, Parkdale, Stoney Creek, Waterdown and Valley Park Branches are closed All Day on Thursday, January 15, 2026 due to poor weather. Study Halls are open tonight with the exception of Waterdown and Valley Park Branches.
Branch Closures
Published:
Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 12:00pm
Bookmobile Stops Cancelled
All Bookmobile visits are cancelled today, Thursday, January 15 due to winter weather conditions. Stay tuned for updates on Friday, January 16.
Published:
Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 12:00pm
Delayed Branch Openings
The following Branches open at 1pm: Ancaster, Dundas, Kenilworth, Red Hill, Terryberry, Turner Park, Saltfleet, Westdale and Sherwood.
Extended Access is not available.
Published:
Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 11:00am
Central Library - Delayed Opening
Central Library opens at Noon today, Thursday, January 15. Thank you for your patience.
Published:
Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 7:00am
Cold Weather Alert for the City of Hamilton
Cold Weather Alert for the City of Hamilton January 14, 2025.
The temperature is expected to plummet below minus 15 Celsius. For warm place hours visit hpl.ca/hours.
For a list of shelters and health information visit www.hamilton.ca/cold.
Published:
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 - 4:00pm
Online Resources - Update
The following eResources have been recently discontinued in our HPL collections: Novelist, Summa, Summa Kids, and Northstar Digital Literacy. Please visit www.hpl.ca/articles/read-watch-listen for our full listing of online resources for your next read, watch, listen and/or learn.
Published:
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 - 11:00am
Waterdown Branch Accessible Door Out of Order
The accessibility door at Waterdown Branch is not working. We aim to fix it quickly.
Published:
Tuesday, December 30, 2025 - 12:00pm
Printing Updates
Daily print balances for black and white and colour printing change January 2, 2026. The new daily print balance is 40 cents. Members receive four free black and white copies or two free colour copies.
Large format and vinyl printing pricing also change on January 2. Visit https://www.hpl.ca/makerspaces for updates.
Published:
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 2:00pm
Replacement and Damage Fees
Bring back your borrowed library items within 28 days to avoid a replacement or lost fee. We'll remove the fee when you bring back your overdue items.
Published:
Thursday, September 11, 2025 - 3:00pm
Beckett Collection
Hamilton Street Railway, 1912
Hubert William Beckett (ca1892-1967) was born in Hamilton. After gaining some renown as an amateur photographer of children, he opened a professional studio in 1925, on James Street South, and was active as a portrait photographer until his deathin 1967 at age 75.
In November of 1972, his collection of negatives and filing cards was delivered to the Hamilton Public Library. This collection consisted of 35.4 metres of photographic negatives, with the corresponding index cards.
In 1977, approximately 14,000 of the negatives were found to be on a cellulose [acetate] nitrate base and therefore highly flammable. These negatives were duplicated and the originals destroyed.
There are approximately 26,000 negatives in the Beckett Collection.
Finding Aid: There is an in-house finding aid to this collection
