Cold Alert - Warming Places

The Medical Officer of Health for the City of Hamilton is issuing a Cold Weather Alert effective tonight, Friday, February 6.  A Cold Weather Alert is issued when current or anticipated weather conditions are at or below minus 15 degrees Celsius or minus 20 with wind chill. This alert will remain in effect until a cancellation notice is issued. Please visit www.hamilton.ca/cold for locations and resources to stay warm and safe. 

Published:
Friday, February 6, 2026 - 2:45pm
Central Library - Living Room Renovation Preparation

Starting Tuesday, February 10, the First Floor Living Room will be unavailable due to renovation preparations. Study and work spaces are available on Floors 2-3. 

Please note the Noon Hour Concert on Friday, February 13, will be held at Terryberry Branch instead. 

Thank you for your patience.

Published:
Friday, February 6, 2026 - 9:00am
Central Library - Fourth Floor Closure

The Fourth Floor will be closed on Friday, February 6, starting at 2 pm for Seedy Saturday event setup. Makerspace and Newcomer Learning Centre will remain open. Floors 1-3 are available with study and work spaces. www.hpl.ca/central

Published:
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - 3:00pm
Red Hill Branch Accessible Door Out of Order

The accessibility door at Red Hill Branch is not working. We aim to fix it quickly.

Published:
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - 1:30pm
Bookmobile Service Modification

Please note the following Bookmobile visit updates.

Tuesday, February 10
McMaster University will be 3:30-4 pm (instead of 3:30-4:30 pm
Greencedar will be 5-5:30 pm (instead of 4-5 pm)
Mountview will be 6-6:30 pm (instead of 5:30-6:30 pm)

Published:
Monday, February 2, 2026 - 3:15pm
Mount Hope - Filming 

On Monday, February 9, Homestead Drive will be closed from 7:30am-1:30pm (local traffic only) due to filming. From 1:30-7:30pm, there will be intermittent traffic control by Hamilton Police. The Branch will remain open. Thank you for your patience.

Published:
Friday, January 30, 2026 - 1:45pm
Carlisle Branch Accessible Washroom Out of Order

The accessible washroom at Carlisle Branch is not working. We aim to get it fixed quickly.

Published:
Tuesday, January 27, 2026 - 12:30pm
Central Library - Sunday Hours Paused

Effective Sunday, February 1, Sunday service hours at Central Library will be paused. 

Sunday Hours will continue at Dundas, Red Hill, Terryberry, Turner Park, Valley Park and Waterdown Branches from 1-5pm.

www.hpl.ca/hours 

Published:
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 - 11:00am
Central Library - Daily Hours Update

Starting Monday, February 2, Central Library's daily hours will move back to a 9 am opening instead of 8 am, Monday through Saturday. Please make note of this new service change for your next visit. www.hpl.ca/hours 

Published:
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 - 11:00am
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

Media Releases

HAMILTON, ON – Jan 9, 2025 – Hamilton, if you need inspiration for your 2025 read, watch, listen lists, check out the top borrows from 2024.   Classics such as Anne of Green Gables were as popular among HPL cardholders last year as superstar Taylor Swift’s music and books by Jeff Kinney and Sarah J. Maas.  


HAMILTON, ON – August 29, 2024 – Award-winning playwright and performer Anna Chatterton is the 2024-25 Mabel Pugh Taylor Writer in Residence.


HAMILTON, ON – August 23, 2023 – Multi-award-winning local poet and author Jaclyn Desforges is the 2023-24 Mabel Pugh Taylor Writer in Residence.


HAMILTON, ON – June 19, 2024 – Hamilton Public Library (HPL) welcomed representatives from Internet Archive, Woodland Cultural Centre and Liberian Learning Center to HPL's Central Library on Monday (Jun 17) to emphasize the importance of digitally preserving the customs, cultures, languages, stories and histories of those silenced around the world.


HAMILTON, ON – June 10, 2024 – Hamilton Public Library’s Summer Reading Club is packed with fun and fascinating activities and reading adventures for kids and teens. Registration is now open. Get your free reading tracker, stickers, and book, earn prizes, and enter contests. Official Blast Off Parties are Friday June 28.  


HAMILTON, ON – May 3, 2024 – Hamilton Public Library invites you into a world of provocative short stories with this year's Hamilton Reads selection, the celebrated Chrysalis by Hamilton's Anuja Varghese. Winner of the 2023 Governor General's Literary Award, Chrysalis is a collection of genre-blending stories of transformation and belonging that centre around women of colour, queerness, family and community.


HAMILTON, ON – February 12, 2024 – Hamilton Public Library celebrates Black History Month and the life and legacy of Hamilton jazz legend Jackie Washington with a Noon Hour Concert by Blues musician Harrison Kennedy and Stewart Memorial Church Choir at Central Library February 16.


HAMILTON, ON – December 19, 2023 – Hamilton Public Library cardholders read and watched more than five million physical and digital items in 2023. Here are the Top 10 lists based on the most checked-out and renewed titles at HPL’s 23 branches and Bookmobile.


HAMILTON, ON – May 12, 2022 – First Canada issued a resounding well done for author Norma Dunning’s short story collection Tainna: The Unseen Ones. Now it’s Hamilton’s turn to do the same.


HAMILTON, ON – May 9, 2022 – Regional Indigenous artists and makers are setting up shop at Central Library on dedicated Saturdays starting in May with the launch of the Indigenous Market at HPL.


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