The Kenilworth Branch 2nd floor will be closed on Wednesday, May 13 from 9 to 10am due to maintenance. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Kenilworth Branch Floor Closed
Published:
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 6:00pm
Catalogue Maintenance
HPL's Catalogue will undergo maintenance on Wednesday, May 13 from 12:30am to 4:30 am. There may be intermittent downtime during this maintenance window. Thank you for your patience.
Published:
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 2:00pm
Greensville Branch Accessible Washroom Out of Order
The accessible washroom at Greensville Branch is not working. We aim to get it fixed quickly.
Published:
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 10:15am
All Branches Closed - Sunday, May 17
All HPL Branches are closed on Sunday, May 17. Bookmobile is off the road. Extended Access service is not available.
Regular service hours resume on Tuesday, May 19. Visit hpl.ca for our Virtual Branch.
Published:
Monday, May 11, 2026 - 10:15am
All Branches Closed - Victoria Day, Monday, May 18
All HPL Branches are closed on Monday, May 18. Bookmobile is off the road. Extended Access and Study Hall services are not available. Regular service hours resume on Tuesday, May 19.
Published:
Monday, May 11, 2026 - 10:15am
Bookmobile Service Modification
Due to Driver availability, Bookmobile has the following schedule modifications for the month of May. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Tuesday, May 12:
- Greencedar - Cancelled
- Mountview - Cancelled
Wednesday, May 13:
- Swansea - Cancelled
- Helen Detwiler - Cancelled
- Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum - Cancelled
Thursday, May 14:
- Rockton - Cancelled
- Mohawk Gardens - Cancelled
- Meadowlands - Cancelled
Monday, May 18: All Bookmobile sites closed
Published:
Monday, May 4, 2026 - 12:00pm
Software Maintenance - Victoria Day, Monday, May 18
Due to software maintenance, HPL library's catalogue, online services and library accounts will not be available between 9am and 7pm on Monday, May 18. Thank you for your patience.
Published:
Friday, April 24, 2026 - 9:00am
Central Library: Children's Area Renovation on 2nd Floor
Renovations are currently underway for the 2nd floor Central Children's Area. Programs are still being offered as scheduled and there is a temporary pop-up Children’s Area on the northeast side of the 2nd floor (near the Piano Room), including access to collections and train tables. Construction is expected to be completed by late Spring. Thank you for your patience during this time.
Published:
Monday, March 23, 2026 - 9:00am
Sherwood Branch: Renovations
As of Monday, March 2, Sherwood Branch's 2nd floor is closed due to renovations. Makerspace, Children and Teen's collection are temporarily available on the 1st floor. All programs will be held in the basement program room. Renovations are expected to be completed in late Spring. Thank you for your patience.
Published:
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 - 1:00pm
Hamilton Reads Short Story Contest
Presented by McMaster University Libraries, McMaster Office of Community Engagement, Hamilton Public Library and Mohawk College Library.
Deadline: November 1, 2026.
Cost: Free
Prizes: $200 for first place and $100 for two runners-up in each of three categories (college or university student; senior (55+), and HPL Member) with publication of stories on hpl.ca and an invitation to read at Hamilton Reads closing ceremonies.
Theme/Genre: Fictional short stories of 2,000 words or less. Must contain a theme within the Hamilton Reads 2026 book The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse by Vinh Nguyen or written in any genre of the book.
Eligibility
- Writers must live in the Hamilton Public Library service area. Writers who live in communities with reciprocal borrowing privileges at HPL are not eligible.
- Entries are not returned.
Guidelines
- Unpublished Work: Only unpublished works are accepted. All entrants must submit a piece of writing that has NEVER been published before in any form, including social media, blogs or websites. Entrants may be professional writers; or creative writers who have never had their work published before.
- AI Work: AI-written, supported or generated pieces are not accepted.
- Formatting: Use 12-point standard font (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman) and double-space all pages. Formats may be Word, PDF or plain text.
- Entry Categories: The awards program is open to anyone in the Hamilton Public Library service area and there are three categories of entrants. Entrants may enter one work in one category only. Entrants in each category will be judged within their category and will be able to select their category on the entry form. Categories are:
- College and/or University Student
- Senior (55 +)
- Hamilton Public Library Member (entrants who are not within the above two categories and have a Hamilton Public Library card)
- One entry per entrant: All entrants are invited to submit ONE piece of writing that has NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED BEFORE.
- ‘Blind judging’: Your name must appear ONLY on your entry form, not on the work you submit. Jurors will read the works without knowing the names of the authors.
- Publication Rights: Winning authors agree to have their stories published on hpl.ca. Copyright reverts to the author thereafter.
Prizes
- Prizes are awarded in each category
- In each category: First prize: $200; Two runners-up: $100 each
- Each winner and runner-up will have their story published on hpl.ca and will be invited to read an excerpt from their work at the Hamilton Reads closing ceremony on November 26th, 2026.
All entrants will be notified of the results via email by November 2026.
Judging
Short stories will be judged by a panel of judges from Hamilton Public Library, McMaster University and Mohawk College, as well as a local author.
Submissions: Enter online below. The deadline to submit is November 1, 2026 11:59 pm.
