The accessible washroom at Ancaster Branch is not working. We aim to get it fixed quickly.
Ancaster Branch Accessible Washroom Out of Order
Published:
Friday, January 23, 2026 - 9:00am
Bookmobile Stops Cancelled
The Winona (11am-12pm) and Queen Victoira (3-4pm) Bookmobile stop on January 23 is cancelled. Apologies for this inconvenience.
Published:
Friday, January 23, 2026 - 8:30am
Cold Weather Alert for the City of Hamilton
Cold Weather Alert for the City of Hamilton January 22, 2026.
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:
Thursday, January 22, 2026 - 5:00pm
Locke Branch - Filming Nearby
Filming will take place at 86 Homewood Avenue from January 28-30, 7 am-11 pm. Production vehicles and equipment will be located on the north side of Stanley Avenue between Locke Street South and Kent Street. This will impact the availability of side-street parking. Thank you for your patience.
Published:
Thursday, January 22, 2026 - 3:00pm
Central Library - Sunday Hours Paused
Effective Sunday, February 1, Sunday service hours at Central Library will be paused.
Sunday Hours will continue at Dundas, Red Hill, Terryberry, Turner Park, Valley Park and Waterdown Branches from 1-5pm.
Published:
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 - 11:00am
Central Library - Daily Hours Update
Starting Monday, February 2, Central Library's daily hours will move back to a 9 am opening instead of 8 am, Monday through Saturday. Please make note of this new service change for your next visit. www.hpl.ca/hours
Published:
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 - 11:00am
Central Library – Digital Microfilm Machines
The digital microfilm machines at Central Library are not working. A single analog machine is available in the Local History and Archives Reading Room. This reader does not support printing. We apologize for the inconvenience and aim to have the digital devices repaired as soon as possible.
Published:
Monday, January 19, 2026 - 1:45pm
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
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
Collections Policy
Selection
Items are selected:
- to meet the recreational needs and interests of the community
- to enrich human understanding by celebrating the diversity of our community through inclusion of various cultural, ethnic, religious and philosophical background
- to educate and support lifelong learning
- to recognize and accommodate a range of education levels and abilities
- to inspire a love of reading, learning and creativity
- to collect and preserve materials which illustrate the growth and development of the City of Hamilton, that celebrate its history and heritage or that pertain in whole or in part to activities within the geographic boundaries of the City of Hamilton
Criteria for Selection of Materials:
- suitability of physical and/or digital form for library use
- relation to existing collections and other materials on a subject
- accessibility of materials in other libraries, for free via the internet, or from other easily and freely accessible resources
- interests and composition of the community
- popular and/or anticipated demand and current trends
- attention of critics, reviewers, and the public
- quality, clarity, comprehensiveness and accuracy of the work
- reputation, skill, competence and purpose of the originator of the work
- special value as a contribution to social questions and problems of continuing or topical interest
- timeliness or permanence of the work
- availability of funds and space
- balance of viewpoints in the collection including those considered extreme or minority
An item need not meet all of the above criteria in order to be acceptable. Items that do not meet these criteria may be purchased to satisfy demand. The Local History and Archives department will only accept material on a permanent basis, except when borrowing material for short-term loans to reproduce or to include in displays or exhibits.
Request for Removal of Items
The Hamilton Public Library recognizes the right of individuals to express opposition to author or artists’ ideas or to their creative expression in items selected for the library. While people have the right to reject for themselves items of which they do not approve, they do not have the right to restrict the freedom of others. The Hamilton Public Library is a resource where many points of view and modes of expression can be examined without hindrance. No ideas or opinions have universal acceptance and the use of language or visual depiction, either descriptive or expressive, can in itself stimulate controversy.
The Hamilton Public Library complies with any law enacted at the federal, provincial or municipal level, and therefore does not collect or maintain items which have been judged obscene or pornographic, or have been banned by the courts. The relevant sections of the Criminal Code of Canada are: sedition, hate propaganda and obscenity.
The presence of an item in the collection does not indicate an endorsement of its contents by the Hamilton Public Library, but rather is an affirmation of the principle of intellectual freedom as embodied in the Canadian Federation of Library Associations’ Position Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries.
The following will not cause an item to be automatically included or excluded from the collection:
- race, religion, nationality or political views of an author
- frankness or coarseness of language
- controversial content
- endorsement or disapproval of an individual or group
- language in which the work is written or spoken
If a customer feels that an item in our collection falls outside the criteria outlined in this policy, they are invited to complete a Resident Request for Reconsideration of Service form.
