Unpleasant odour at Carlisle Branch

Members visiting the Carlisle Branch may notice an unpleasant odour. We are working to identify the source and hope to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

1
Affected Branch: Carlisle Branch
Published:
Thursday, November 6, 2025 - 5:30pm
Terryberry Children's Area Temporarily Closed

The children's area at the Terryberry Branch is temporarily closed due to a facilities issue. Apologies for the inconvenience.

1
Affected Branch: Terryberry Branch
Published:
Thursday, November 6, 2025 - 1:30pm
Network Maintenance - Wednesday, November 12

HPL's WiFi, Catalogue and online resources will undergo network maintenance on Wednesday, November 12 from 5-8am. We apologize for the inconvenience.

All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Thursday, November 6, 2025 - 8:00am
Parkdale Branch Network Unavailable

There is an ongoing Wifi disruption due to Wi-Fi Upgrades at Parkdale Branch on Nov 5th. We aim to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

1
Affected Branch: Parkdale Branch
Published:
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 - 9:15am
Red Hill Branch Network Unavailable

There is an ongoing Wifi disruption due to Wi-Fi Upgrades at Red Hill Branch on Nov 5th. We aim to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

1
Affected Branch: Red Hill Branch
Published:
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 - 9:15am
Red Book Will Be Unavailable

The Red Book may still be unavailable as we continue with the upgrade maintenance. Thank you for your patience.

All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 - 9:15am
Concession Branch and Sherwood Branch Network Unavailable

Wi-Fi disruption due to Wi-Fi Upgrades at Concession Branch and Sherwood Branch on Nov 6th. We aim to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

1
Affected Branch: Concession Branch
Affected Branch: Sherwood Branch
Published:
Monday, November 3, 2025 - 12:15pm
Waterdown Branch Network Unavailable

Wifi disruption due to Wi-Fi Upgrades at Waterdown Branch on Nov 4th. We aim to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

1
Affected Branch: Waterdown Branch
Published:
Monday, November 3, 2025 - 9:45am
Kenilworth Branch Reopening

The Kenilworth Branch has reopened today, Monday, October 27. Please note that there is limited parking, and noise disruptions may occur this week as the final touches are made to the renovations. Thank you for your understanding.

1
Affected Branch: Kenilworth Branch
Published:
Monday, October 27, 2025 - 3:00pm
Delayed Branch Openings 

The following locations have upcoming delayed openings due to Staff training drills. 

Friday, November 7
Terryberry Branch, 10am

Monday, November 10 
Concession Branch, 10am

Thursday, November 13
Binbrook Branch, 10am

Friday, November 14
Valley Park Branch, 10am

Monday, November 24
Mount Hope, 2pm

Thursday, November 27
Stoney Creek, 10am

You may visit nearby Branches for your library needs. www.hpl.ca/hours

All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 - 2:00pm
Replacement and Damage Fees

Bring back your borrowed library items (due Oct 1 or later) within 28 days to avoid a replacement or lost fee. We'll remove the fee when you bring back your overdue items. 

All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Thursday, September 11, 2025 - 3:00pm

Research Your House

New House in Westdale
New House in Westdale

Various sources can be used to document the history of a building. Except for well-known Hamilton-area homes, most do not have a ready-made history to consult. Therefore, the researcher must construct a history from scratch using available sources. This process can take time, and unfortunately, some properties may have very few, if any, historical records. To support your research, please refer to the Houses and Property Research Guide

Local History and Archives contains various potentially useful resources to research houses. These records include:
 
These directories show names, addresses and telephone numbers for the Hamilton-Wentworth region.
 
Researchers and genealogists use city directories to trace individuals, families and businesses. They usually include an alphabetical listing of adult residents, with their occupations and addresses.
 
Tax assessment records help accurately date a building's construction and disclose its original owner and list of occupants. 
 
These records detail the chain of ownership of a property using plan and lot number.
 
Local History and Archives has several large scale maps that show the shape, size and exact location of individual buildings. 
 
If your building was known by a name in addition to its address, you can search under that heading in our card catalogue. In the Local History and Archives reading room, check the Where-to-Look card catalogue under Hamilton – Street Address and Number or Hamilton – Name of house for a citation to the Image Collection. You can also check photographs of the street the house is located on to see if your building is shown.

There are also specialized finding aids for other collections available in Local History and Archives. 

To obtain more information about the people associated with the building, you may wish to check family papers, clipping files, census returns, genealogical indexes, funeral home indexes, cemetery indexes, promotional booklets, photographs, local publications and other sources within Local History and Archives.

Check in the Where-to-Look under the surname or ask for assistance at the Local History and Archives Information Desk.

There are also invaluable records that can be requested through the City of Hamilton's Property Record Search and through the Ontario Land Registry (OnLand)