The Seasonal Affective Disorder therapy lamp on the 2nd floor at Central Library is out of order. The estimated time of disruption is unknown at this time. For more locations, please visit Light Therapy Lamps | HPL.
Central Library: SAD Therapy Lamp Out of Order
Published:
Monday, March 23, 2026 - 10:00am
Central Library: Children's Area Renovation on 2nd Floor, March 30-April 27
Starting March 30, renovations for the 2nd floor Central Children's Area will begin. Programs will still be offered as scheduled and there will be 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. Thank you for your patience during this time.
Published:
Monday, March 23, 2026 - 9:00am
Bookmobile Service Modifications
Due to driver availability, Bookmobile is off the road for the following. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Tuesday, March 24
McMaster 3:30-4:30pm - Cancelled
Greencedar 4:30-5pm (instead of 4-5pm)
Wednesday, March 26
Rockton 10:30-11:30am - Cancelled
Meadowlands 3:30-4pm - Cancelled
Bennetto 5-5:30pm (instead of 4-5:30pm)
Published:
Monday, March 16, 2026 - 10:15am
Central Library - New Library Card Check-in Process
Starting Monday, March 16, adults 18+ are required to show their Library card to access Central Library. This is a temporary measure to ensure safety for all. Thank you for your patience in advance.
Published:
Friday, March 13, 2026 - 5:45pm
Concession Branch Children's Area Reduced Service
A Children's area activity table, including the children's computers at Concession Branch are unavailable due to a facility issue. We aim to fix them as soon as possible.
Published:
Monday, March 9, 2026 - 11:30am
HPL Telephone Main Line Roll Back
HPL's original phone number is back in service. Please call 905-546-3200. The 289-779-7588 number, created due to the 2024 cybersecurity incident, is also working.
Published:
Friday, March 6, 2026 - 9:15am
Valley Park Community Centre Closure
From March 23 until April 12, Valley Park Community Centre will be closed for renovations, reopening April 13. Pool and changerooms will remain closed until early summer 2026.
Valley Park Branch will remain open during the renovations for your library needs.
Published:
Friday, February 27, 2026 - 11:00am
Concession Branch: Renovations
As of Monday, March 2, Concession Branch's Living Room and Makerspace areas are closed. (The next nearest Makerspaces are Sherwood and Terryberry Branches.) Seating may be limited at times. Renovations are expected to be completed in late Spring. Thank you for your patience.
Published:
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 - 1:00pm
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
Carlisle Branch Accessible Washroom Out of Order
The accessible washroom at Carlisle Branch is not working. We aim to get it fixed quickly.
Published:
Tuesday, January 27, 2026 - 12:30pm
Hamilton Spectator Collection
Boxing at St. Mary’s Boxing Club, 1959-04-07
In 1978, the Executive Editor of the Spectator newspaper arranged to begin transferring their reference files of photographic negatives and news clippings to Local History & Archives [then Special Collections]. The arrangement was that the Spectator would only hold the most recent five years worth of negatives and all negatives older than that would be transferred.
Over the years other material has been transferred including:
Hamilton Spectator Daily Negatives
The negatives taken by staff photographers for the daily edition of the newspaper. They are filed chronologically by the date the photograph appeared in the newspaper. There is no master index; therefore, to find the image required, you must know the day the photograph appeared in the newspaper. Many of these daily negatives have been printed and added to the mounted photograph collection by subject.
These files start in 1955 and continue until 1998 with gaps.
"S" Files
These are special negatives which were removed from the daily files because of special interest or subject matter, and filed separately by title (ie. Football, Politics, People, etc.) or date range.
Murdoch Collection Listing
From November 4, 1950 until August 28, 1965, Bruce Murdoch (ca1893-1966), a Spectator photographer, wrote and illustrated a weekly series of articles about small towns in Ontario. There is a complete index of this part of the collection.
Spectator Collection Antiquarian Photographs
40 antiquarian photographs (most late 19th and early 20th century) of Hamilton and area. All have been copied and added to the mounted picture collection.
Finding Aid: R019 HOU CESH
