Bookmobile Stops Cancelled

All Bookmobile visits are cancelled today, Thursday, January 15 due to winter weather conditions. Stay tuned for updates on Friday, January 16.

Published:

Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 12:00pm

Branch Closures

Barton, Binbrook, Carlisle, Concession, 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 Waterdown and Valley Park Branches.

Published:

Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 12:00pm

Delayed Branch Openings

The following Branches open at 1pm: Ancaster, Dundas, Kenilworth, Red Hill, Terryberry, Turner Park, Saltfleet, Westdale and Sherwood.
Extended Access is not available.

Published:

Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 11:00am

Central Library - Delayed Opening

Central Library opens at Noon today, Thursday, January 15. Thank you for your patience.

Published:

Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 7:00am

Cold Weather Alert for the City of Hamilton

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.

Published:

Wednesday, January 14, 2026 - 4:00pm

Online Resources - Update

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.

Published:

Wednesday, January 7, 2026 - 11:00am

Waterdown Branch Accessible Door Out of Order

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

Published:

Tuesday, December 30, 2025 - 12:00pm

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

Community Publicity Procedure

PROCEDURE PURPOSE

To outline the procedures related to the promotion, distribution and display of community related publicity material at the Library’s physical locations, online on the library website, or on digital screens and social media platforms.

DEFINITIONS

Community Publicity Material: Promotional material that informs the public of a free event, initiative or service in the Hamilton area. 

PROCEDURE DETAILS

Hamilton Public Library (HPL) will only promote material that aligns with its mission and vision.

HPL reserves the right to reject any community publicity material or approve exceptions to promote.

Approval to post community publicity material does not imply the Library’s endorsement of content and will only be accommodated after the Library and the Library Partners’ needs are met.

Community publicity materials may only be accepted from legally constituted non-profit or charitable organizations or government-supported agencies such as the Board of Education. 

All material submitted becomes the property of the Library and will not be returned. HPL does not notify the community group if the request is not accepted for any reason, including lack of space.

HPL reserves the right to decide the appropriate medium and location to share community publicity.

We require submission of materials 14 days in advance of event date for Library review and posting.

COMMUNITY PUBLICITY MATERIAL 

Acceptable Material 

Any print or digital copies submitted to the library must be professional and of high quality. Printed material cannot exceed 8 1/2" x 11". Content should be submitted in file formats as follows: 

Print Posters: 8.5"x11" 300dpi PDF

Digital LCD Screens: 1920x1080px JPEG

Social Promotions: 1500x1500px JPEG

Postings are dependent on space available and may vary by library branch. 

Material may be accepted if the content of the post meets all of these criteria: 

It is aligned with the Hamilton Public Library’s mission and vision.  
It is a public free event or service offered without discrimination or prejudice to any group.

It is educational, recreational, cultural, or community interest event or service. 
It is of local interest, occurring in the Hamilton area and relevant to the local community.

Unacceptable Material

Material will not be accepted if its form or content include any of the following: 

Retail or wholesale advertisements, private notices, personal services and information about money-making events sponsored by for-profit organizations. 
Petitions and solicitations including all fundraising activities and events. 
Contravenes the Human Rights Code, the Charter of Rights, the Criminal Code of Canada, City of Hamilton bylaws, or any laws or legislation. 
Material that advocates a particular view such as political, religious or philosophic position. 
Material inappropriate in size (larger than 8 1/2" x 11") format or quality.

Material received less than 14 days in advance of an event.
Material, as determined by staff, to be not relevant to their local community.

Distribution and Promotion

HPL may elect to display copies of local community newspapers (e.g. Dundas Star) or other major cultural or educational institutions publications (e.g. college calendars, Stratford or Shaw Festival events) dependent upon space, and availability of acceptable distribution stands where possible.  

Community publicity material are not to be placed at customer service desks, or in inappropriate locations such as the floor. This material should not take visual precedence over Library business. 

Digital/social media materials should be emailed to communications@hpl.ca for consideration.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS  

Community publicity material must be submitted to HPL Communications Department for review.

Digital material can be emailed to communications@hpl.ca. 

Printed material can be dropped off in the Publicity Bin on the 1st Floor of the Central Library or delivered to the following address: 

Hamilton Public Library 
P.O. Box 2700
Attn: Communications Department 
55 York Boulevard 
Hamilton, ON   L8N 4E4 

Communications Department Staff reviews daily the submitted materials to determine if it follows the policy and procedure for approval for display, distribution, or promotion.

Community publicity material is approved and posted only as space and staff time permit. Approved material will be sent to the appropriate branch(s). 