Kenilworth Branch Floor Closed

The Kenilworth Branch 2nd floor will be closed on Wednesday, May 13 from 9 to 10am due to maintenance. Apologies for the inconvenience.

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

The Duet Club

Duet Club Scrapbook

The Duet Club was established in Hamilton by Ellen Ambrose in 1889, making it the earliest recorded women's music club in Canada.

Ellen Sophia Ambrose (1851-1936) came to Hamilton with her family in 1875. She taught music first at the Wesleyan Ladies' College, where her father also taught, and in 1889 began teaching at Mrs. Thomas Chesnut's Ladies' School. In 1890 she opened her own studio.

Miss Ambrose had her students gather in her studio and in their respective homes to play for each other. Membership increased and the meetings moved out of houses and the fledgling organization was first known as the Haydn Duet Club (as they had been studying Haydn). The name was later changed to Duet Club.

The members met twice a month in the morning with an occasional open meeting. Originally intended for "ladies only", the Duet Club now welcomes all who enjoy fine music and who wish to support the study of it through the extensive program sponsored by the club.

The Junior Duet Club formed in 1928 and was later disbanded. It was reformed in 1959 and in 1962 given its own funds and its own executive.