SmartPay Service Not Available

HPL's online payment service is not working. We aim to restore it quickly. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Published:
Friday, May 22, 2026 - 2:15pm
Bookmobile Service Modification

Due to Driver availability, Bookmobile has the following schedule modifications for the month of June. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Bookmobile Service June Modifications 

Tuesday, June 2:                  

  • McMaster University - Cancelled

Friday, June 5:                    

  • Winona - Cancelled
  • Queen Victoria - Cancelled

Saturday, June 6:                 

  • All Regular Sites are Cancelled due to a Special Event
Published:
Friday, May 22, 2026 - 12:00pm
Bookmobile Service Update

With the cancellation of Touch-A-Truck, Bookmobile will instead visit its regularly scheduled Saturday sites at Stoney Creek Arena, Riverdale and Discovery Centre. www.hpl.ca/bookmobile

Published:
Thursday, May 21, 2026 - 2:30pm
Central Library - Fax Machine Out of Order

Please note that the fax machine is currently out of order. The estimated time of repair is unknown. Thank you for your patience.

Published:
Thursday, May 21, 2026 - 12:00pm
Staff Professional Development Day - All Branches Closed

All HPL Branches are closed on Friday May 29, for Staff Professional Development. Bookmobile is off the road and Extended Access service is not available. Regular service hours resume on Saturday May 30.

Visit our Virtual Branch at hpl.ca for our online resources and collections.

Published:
Thursday, May 14, 2026 - 12:00pm
Central Library: Children's Area Renovation on 2nd Floor

Renovations are currently underway for the 2nd Floor Central Children's Area. Programs are still being offered as scheduled and there is a temporary pop-up Children’s Area on the northeast side of the 2nd Floor (near the Piano Room), including access to collections and train tables. Construction is expected to be completed by late Spring. Thank you for your patience.

Published:
Monday, March 23, 2026 - 9:00am
Sherwood Branch: Renovations

As of Monday, March 2, Sherwood Branch's 2nd Floor is closed due to renovations. Makerspace, Children and Teen's collection are temporarily available on the 1st Floor. All programs will be held in the basement program room. Renovations are expected to be completed in late Spring. Thank you for your patience.

Published:
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 - 1:00pm

Flashbacks

Flashbacks uniquely explores the city's bygone days with stories, interviews, tours of landmarks, historical photos and each episode features one of Mark's songs about the theme of the show. Hosted by HPL Archivist Margaret Houghton and reporter Mark McNeil, Flashbacks is a collaboration between Cable 14, The Spectator and the Hamilton Public Library.  (source: Cable 14 website)

Mark McNeil won the 2016 Multimedia Journalism award during the 2016 Ontario Newspapers Award for his work on Flashbacks. "McNeil breathes new life into Hamilton history through skilful use of each platform’s strengths: crisply written narratives and engaging quizzes in print, interactive web storytelling, and compelling local television and on-demand video. Flashbacks truly makes the past come alive.” (62nd Annual Ontario Newspaper Awards)

Flashbacks episodes can also be viewed on the Hamilton Spectator Stories website along with the in-depth features that Mark has written about the episodes.

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5