Study Hall on Thursday, May 21, is cancelled due to plumbing maintenance. Study Hall will resume on Monday, May 25. Thank you for your patience.
Turner Park - Study Hall Cancellation
Published:
Wednesday, May 20, 2026 - 12:00pm
Staff Professional Development Day - All Branches Closed
All HPL Branches are closed on Friday May 29, for Staff Professional Development. Bookmobile is off the road and Extended Access service is not available. Regular service hours resume on Saturday May 30.
Visit our Virtual Branch at hpl.ca for our online resources and collections.
Published:
Thursday, May 14, 2026 - 12:00pm
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
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.
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 2026
With the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War ended, but the refugee crisis was only beginning. Among those who fled by boat was Vinh Nguyen, alongside his family—while his father, who escaped separately, mysteriously disappeared.
Decades later, Nguyen searches for answers, piecing together fragments of memory, history, and loss. Moving across refugee camps, abandoned homes, and reimagined lives, The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse explores displacement, identity, and what it means to live with what cannot be recovered. (HarperCollins Canada)
Vinh Nguyen is a writer and educator whose work has appeared in Brick, Literary Hub, and The Malahat Review. He is a nonfiction editor at The New Quarterly and co-editor of several academic works on refugee and diasporic writing. His writing has been shortlisted for a National Magazine Award and received the John Charles Polanyi Prize in Literature.
Take part in Hamilton Reads
Place a hold on a physical copy or borrow the eBook or audiobook.
Enter the Short Story Contest
Submit an original, unpublished story inspired by the book (up to 2,000 words). Open to HPL members with categories for students, seniors (55+), and general Members. Winners receive cash prizes and publication on hpl.ca. Deadline: November 1, 2026.
Join the Reading Challenge
Read one themed book each month, track your progress online, and be entered into monthly prize draws. Discover new titles or work through your to-be-read list.
Hamilton Reads Finale
Thursday, November 26: 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Central Library
Attend a live reading and conversation with Hamilton Reads author Vinh Nguyen about his book The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse. Winners of the 2026 Hamilton Reads Short Story Contest will also read from their work.
Literary Lowdown
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Rediscover past Hamilton Reads titles.
