All Bookmobile visits are cancelled today, Thursday, January 15 due to winter weather conditions. Stay tuned for updates on Friday, January 16.
Barton, Binbrook, Carlisle, 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 Valley Park Branch.
The following Branches open at 1pm: Ancaster, Concession, Dundas, Kenilworth, Red Hill, Terryberry, Turner Park, Saltfleet, Westdale and Sherwood.
Extended Access is not available.
Central Library opens at Noon today, Thursday, January 15. Thank you for your patience.
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.
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.
The accessibility door at Waterdown Branch is not working. We aim to fix it quickly.
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.
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.
British Empire Games

The first British Empire Games, now called the Commonwealth Games, were held in Hamilton, Ontario, August 16th to 23rd, 1930. This was due to the vision of Melville Marks Robinson of the Hamilton Spectator, who conceived the idea in the spring of 1928. Mr. Robinson, with the support of his associates in the Hamilton Olympic Club, members of the Hamilton City Council and Parks Board, and some of the leading business men of Canada, was able to bring the Games to Hamilton.
The Games brought together the best athletes of the British Commonwealth. There were 400 competitors from 11 countries in the first games. Local History & Archives possesses a collection of images captured during this historic event, depicting the athletes in competition, celebrating victories, as well as the massive crowds in attendance and the ceremonial elements of the Games.








