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.
All Branches Closed - Sunday, May 17
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
Ice Harvesting
The ice harvest on Hamilton Harbour was considered by some to be the first harvest of the year. During the winter months the ice companies had to lay up enough ice to get the city residents through the sweltering summer months.
Ice harvesters cut out the first blocks as best they can to make an open space. With the removal of each block a longer channel opens. Horses are brought in and the big ice blocks are towed shoreward along these open channels.
The great ice sheds along the bayfront were filled to capacity during this harvest and you could see sleighs loaded with blocks of ice moving up the streets constantly.
One ice firm in the 1920's prided itself on cutting 4 tons of ice per minute for a total of 2,000 tons of ice daily.
With the increasing popularity of electric refrigeration, as well as the growing pollution of the bay's waters, the picturesque job of ice harvesting gradually faded away.
