Due to maintenance, the Barton Branch will be closed on Wednesday, January, 7. Please visit Central Library or Kenilworth Branch for your library needs. www.hpl.ca/hours
Barton Branch Closure - January 7
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Published:
Wednesday, December 24, 2025 - 11:45am
Photocopying and Scanning Unavailable at Westdale Branch
Photocopying and Scanning is not working at Westdale Branch. We aim to fix it as soon as possible.
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Published:
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 3:30pm
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.
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 2:00pm
Bookmobile Service - Holiday Schedule
Bookmobile is off the road from December 25-27, December 31, and January 1st. Visit www.hpl.ca/bookmobile for our Holiday Schedule.
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Published:
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 9:00am
Central Library, Fourth Floor Closure: Friday, January 2
Due to the setup for the Noon Hour Concert, the Fourth Floor at Central Library will be closed on Friday, January 2. Makerspace and Newcomer Learning Centre will remain open. Floors 1-3 have spaces to work and study.
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Published:
Friday, December 19, 2025 - 5:00pm
All Branches Closed for New Years Day
All branches close on Thursday January 1 for New Years Day. This includes branches with Extended Access.
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Monday, December 15, 2025 - 11:00am
All Branches Closed for Boxing Day
All branches close on Friday, December 26, 2025 for Boxing Day . This includes branches with Extended Access.
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Monday, December 15, 2025 - 11:00am
December 24, Christmas Eve - Early Closure
All HPL Branches close early on Wednesday, December 24 at 1pm. Visit www.hpl.ca/hours for our Holiday Schedule.
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Monday, December 15, 2025 - 11:00am
December 31, New Year's Eve - Early Closure
All HPL Branches close early on Wednesday, December 31 at 1pm. This includes branches with Extended Access.
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Monday, December 15, 2025 - 11:00am
All Branches Closed for Christmas
All branches close on Thursday, December 25, for Christmas. This includes branches with Extended Access.
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Monday, December 15, 2025 - 11:00am
All Branches Closed Sunday December 28
All branches close on Sunday, December 28, 2025. This includes branches with Extended Access.
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Monday, December 15, 2025 - 11:00am
Study Halls - Holiday Break
Branch Study Halls are paused Friday, December 19, 2025 through Monday, January 5, 2026. Central Library Study Hall hours resume Spring 2026.
www.hpl.ca/study-halls
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 9:15am
Replacement and Damage Fees
Bring back your borrowed library items (due Oct 1 or later) within 28 days to avoid a replacement or lost fee. We'll remove the fee when you bring back your overdue items.
All Branches and Bookmobile Stops
Published:
Thursday, September 11, 2025 - 3:00pm
Research Your House
New House in Westdale
Various sources can be used to document the history of a building. Except for well-known Hamilton-area homes, most do not have a ready-made history to consult. Therefore, the researcher must construct a history from scratch using available sources. This process can take time, and unfortunately, some properties may have very few, if any, historical records. To support your research, please refer to the Houses and Property Research Guide.
Local History and Archives contains various potentially useful resources to research houses. These records include:
These directories show names, addresses and telephone numbers for the Hamilton-Wentworth region.
Researchers and genealogists use city directories to trace individuals, families and businesses. They usually include an alphabetical listing of adult residents, with their occupations and addresses.
Tax assessment records help accurately date a building's construction and disclose its original owner and list of occupants.
These records detail the chain of ownership of a property using plan and lot number.
Local History and Archives has several large scale maps that show the shape, size and exact location of individual buildings.
If your building was known by a name in addition to its address, you can search under that heading in our card catalogue. In the Local History and Archives reading room, check the Where-to-Look card catalogue under Hamilton – Street Address and Number or Hamilton – Name of house for a citation to the Image Collection. You can also check photographs of the street the house is located on to see if your building is shown.
There are also specialized finding aids for other collections available in Local History and Archives.
To obtain more information about the people associated with the building, you may wish to check family papers, clipping files, census returns, genealogical indexes, funeral home indexes, cemetery indexes, promotional booklets, photographs, local publications and other sources within Local History and Archives.
Check in the Where-to-Look under the surname or ask for assistance at the Local History and Archives Information Desk.
There are also invaluable records that can be requested through the City of Hamilton's Property Record Search and through the Ontario Land Registry (OnLand).
