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, 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.
The following Branches open at 1pm: Ancaster, 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.
Borrowing Policy
Policy Purpose
To ensure that Hamilton Public Library facilitates broad utilization of library collections and serves its members in a fair and consistent manner. The borrowing policy outlines:
- The criteria for library membership in order to get a library card
- Member confidentiality and the terms of the library card agreement
- Borrowing responsibilities of the library card holder and
- Borrowing privileges and loan periods
Key Points Summary
Summary: This policy defines who is eligible for a Library card and under what terms. A library card is not required to enter the library or use most resources within the library. Members may choose to create a library card in-person at a library branch or online through the library website. A library card is used as the primary form of contact tracing when required by Provincial regulations for operations.
The Library issues the following types of cards:
- Discovery cards (Adult & Youth)
- Non-Resident card (Adult & Youth)
- Inspire card (Adult & Youth)
- Reciprocal Borrowing card
- Community card
Customer Confidentiality: The Library protects personal information about a borrower consistent with the Library’s Privacy Policy.
Borrowing Responsibilities: Library card holders are responsible for materials they have borrowed. Returning items on time enables others to share the library’s collection and provides greater opportunities to browse items at the location.
Borrowing Privileges: Loan periods vary based on the kind of materials borrowed and the type of library card. Borrowing privileges can be suspended under certain circumstances.







