Due to day-long IT maintenance (7am-5pm), the following branches are closed on Sunday, June 22: Central Library, Dundas, Red Hill, Terryberry, Turner Park, Valley Park and Waterdown. Sunday service hours resume on Sunday, June 29.
Please note that the HPL catalogue, Library accounts, and online resources will not be available during this time frame. We apologize for the inconvenience.
The following Bookmobile visits are cancelled today, Wednesday, June 4. Service is expected to return next week. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Due to Staff training, the Westdale Branch will open at 10am on Monday, June 16. You may visit Central Library and the Dundas Branch as your next nearest locations for your library needs. Thank you for your patience.
The accessible washroom at Red Hill Branch is not working. We aim to get it fixed quickly.
The parking lot elevator at Terryberry Branch is not working. Members will need to use the accessible ramp at the Mohawk entrance and the inner elevator. We're working to get it fixed quickly.
Please note that the audio volume levels on our public computers are having issues. The estimated time of disruption is unknown at this time. Thank you for your patience.
As the 1st floor renovation wraps up, the Sherwood Branch will be closed on Thursday, June 5, to reset the spaces. Service hours will resume on Friday, June 6. Thank you for your patience.
The accessibility ramp at Mount Hope Branch is damaged. The handrail is not available. The ramp will not be available while being repaired. We aim to fix it quickly.
Due to the ongoing roof repair project, noise and parking disruptions are expected to continue until the end of June. Thank you for your patience.
The digital microfilm machines at Central Library are not working. A single analog machine is available, but it doesn't print. We aim to have the digital devices repaired as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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.
In June of 1978 John G. Doherty, Executive Editor of the Spectator, arranged with the Special Collections Department [now Local History & Archives] of the Hamilton Public Library to transfer their reference files of photographic negatives and news clippings from January 1955 to December 31, 1973 to the Special Collections Department. It was suggested at that time that it would be a good idea to arrange a yearly transfer of photographic negatives so that the Spectator only had the most recent five years worth of negatives at the paper. This was not done, however, and the negatives from 1974 to 1983 did not arrive completely until the summer of 1988. It was specifically noted by Mr. Doherty that this transfer involved not only custody of the negatives but also ownership of the negatives.
"The Hamilton Public Library...now own these negatives and accept full responsibility for their use."
[Note: This ownership does not include copyright rights which were not included in the original agreement]
The transfer in the summer of 1988 also involved some of the S Files of Special Subject and Event negatives dating back as far as the Royal Visit of 1939.
There was a further transfer in 1990 of negatives from January 1, 1983 to December 31, 1984, books from the Spectator Library, the McCullough Collection, the Murdoch Collection and further S Files.
In January of 1995 the daily negatives from September 5, 1987 to September 28, 1990 as well as some later S files were transferred. Included was a box of miscellaneous negatives from differing dates (some undated and unidentified) as well as some files that had been missed from earlier transfers.
The Regular Files are arranged strictly chronologically. To find a specific negative it is necessary to know the exact date that the photograph appeared in the Spectator. The file for that date can then be pulled and the negatives checked for this photograph. The only negatives contained in these files are those taken specifically by Spectator photographers. Photographs provided by outside sources are not included (i.e.: wire photographs, prints from private photographers, etc.). Also, some negatives are still held by the Spectator in the S Files that they have retained for their own use. The S Files held by Special Collections are arranged according to the titles, etc. that were on the files when they arrived from the Spectator. They have been left as they were originally organized. A detailed index to these files has been prepared and is found at the end of this finding aid.
In 2000 the daily negatives from September 29, 1990 to December 31, 1998 were transferred.
There is no detailed index to the Regular Files.
Transfers of negatives from the Hamilton Spectator to Local History & Archives [then Special Collections] at the Hamilton Public Library.
1978, 1988, 1990, 1995, 2000
Regular File By Date. Black & White negatives, coloured negatives
S File By Date. 1939-1947, 1948-1949, 1950-1953, 1954-1959
S File 1940's - 1950's By Title
S File Baseball. n.d., 1949-1969, 1971-1973
S File By Title. A-Ch, Ci-E, F-K, L-Misc, Miss-P, Q-So, St-Z
S File Hockey. n.d., 1949-1968, 1971-1973
S File People. By last name
Federal Politics. n.d., 1968-1982
Municipal Politics. n.d., 1968-1982
Provincial Politics. 1971-1981
S File S-1 1953-May 21, 1956
S File S-2 Aug. 23, 1956-Aug. 1959
S File S-3 1960-1965
S File S-4 1966-1971
S File S-5 n.d.
S File S-6 1956-1973
S File S-7 1974-1981
S File S-8 By Title
S File S-9 By Title
S File Spectator Employees ca 1947-1966
