The accessibility door at Carlisle Branch is not working. We aim to fix it quickly.
Carlisle Branch Accessible Door Out of Order
Published:
Thursday, June 25, 2026 - 2:45pm
Study Halls Pause for Summer Break
The last day of Study Hall is Thursday, June 25. The service will resume on Tuesday, September 8. www.hpl.ca/study-halls
Published:
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 3:00pm
Canada Day Closure - All Branches
All HPL Branches are closed on Canada Day, Wednesday, July 1st. Bookmobile is off the road and Extended Access is off the road. Regular service hours resume on Thursday, July 2. Our Virtual Branch is open at hpl.ca. www.hpl.ca/hours
Published:
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 3:00pm
Locke Branch - Exterior Neighbourhood Filming
From June 21 to June 27, filming activities, production vehicles and film equipment will be located on:
- West side, Kent Street between Homewood Avenue and Aberdeen Avenue
- East side Locke Street between Homewood Avenue and Stanley Street
- South side of Homewood Avenue
Parking may be limited at times when visiting Locke Branch. Thank you in advance for your patience.
Published:
Thursday, June 18, 2026 - 2:30pm
Construction work at Barton Branch
The entrance to the Barton Branch parking lot off of Milton St. is currently inaccessible due to construction. The parking lot can still be accessed via the alley off Fullerton St. during this time.
Published:
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 - 9:15am
Phishing Scheme
Please be aware of online phishing attempts impersonating Hamilton Public Library and Library Staff. HPL does not solicit paid freelance opportunities through social media or other messaging applications. HPL does not request personal or banking information through social media or require financial compensation when reviewing job applications. Please report phishing schemes to communications@hpl.ca. If you think you are a victim of fraud, please call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
Published:
Wednesday, June 10, 2026 - 5:00am
Bookmobile Service Modification
Due to Driver availability, Bookmobile has the following schedule modifications for the month of June. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Bookmobile Service June Modifications
Wednesday, June 24:
- Swansea - Cancelled
- Helen Detwiler - Cancelled
- Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum - Cancelled
Saturday, June 27:
- Stoney Creek Arena - Cancelled
- Riverdale - Cancelled
- Discovery Centre - 3-4pm instead
Tuesday, June 30:
- Greencedar - Cancelled
- Mountview - Cancelled
Published:
Friday, May 22, 2026 - 12:00pm
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).
