Renovations are expected to be completed by May 7. Construction repairs and noise may impact your next visit. Thank you for your understanding.
Concession Branch - Renovations Underway
Published:
Monday, April 13, 2026 - 1:15pm
Turner Park - Study Hall Cancellations
Due to maintenance and construction, Study Hall is cancelled on Thursdays, April 16 and 23 (8pm-Midnight). The parking lot will also not be available on Thursday, April 23 (10pm-5am) and Friday, April 24 (10pm-5am). We apologize for the inconvenience.
Published:
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 - 2:30pm
Mount Hope Branch - Delayed Opening, Monday, May 4
Due to Staff training, Mount Hope Branch will have a delayed opening of 2 pm on Monday, May 4. You may visit Turner Park Branch as the next nearest location for your library needs. Thank you for your patience.
Published:
Friday, March 27, 2026 - 8:00am
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, April 21
- Greencedar 5:30pm-6:30pm (instead of 4-5pm)
- Mountview 5:30-6:30 pm - Cancelled
Friday, April 24
- Winona 11 am-Noon - Cancelled
- Maplewood 2:30-4 pm - Cancelled
Tuesday, April 28
- McMaster 3:30-4:30 pm - Cancelled
Wednesday, April 29
- Swansea 10-10:30 am - Cancelled
- Helen Detwiler 11 am-Noon - Cancelled
- Warplane Museum 3-4 pm - Cancelled
Published:
Monday, March 16, 2026 - 10:15am
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
Vital Statistics for Ontario
Baptism at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Indexes are available on microfilm in Local History & Archives and to borrow from the Archives of Ontario.
The full registration record is available only on loan from the Archives of Ontario or by visiting the Archives of Ontario in Toronto.
The indexes for the following years have been released and are held by the department:
- Births 1869 to 1915
- Marriages [ca.1801] to 1931
- Deaths 1869 to 1941 plus deaths of Ontarians overseas, 1939-1946
Later indexes and complete transcriptions are not available in the department but all currently available can be accessed through Ancestry.ca
Vital Statistics
Local History & Archives does have some original Vital Statistics:
Barton Township
1896 to 1924
microfilms 355 & 356
Beverly Township
1871 to 1948
microfilms 296, 297, 298 & 357
Glanford Township
Archives File - Glanford Township
Volume 1, 1869 to 1877
Volume 2, 1879 to 1897
Volume 3, 1898 to 1903
Archives File - Glanford Township
Index of names that appear in Glanford Township birth, marriage and death records
Waterdown
Archives File - Waterdown
Volume 1, 1880 to 1894 (incomplete)
West Flamborough Township
Archives File - Flamborough, West Township
Birth & Death Certificates
1873 to 1875
Birth Records pre-1869
Before 1869 there are two main sources of birth records: newspaper announcements and church baptismal records.
Some of these records are available in Local History & Archives:
Ancaster Township
Ontario Historical Society
Papers & Records
971.3 ONT
Volume 5, pages 102 to 177
1830 to 1838 – Anglican
Dundas
Dundas Warder & County of Halton General Advertiser
929.3713 DUN
1847 to 1857
Gore District
Ontario Historical Society
Papers & Records
971.3 ONT
Volume 5, pages 92 to 96
1816-1824
Hamilton
Check our Where-to-Look in the department under the name of the person to see if there is a biographical file in the collection. This may include birth, death and/or marriage announcements.
Gordon Allison Collection
Transcriptions of deaths, marriages and births published in the Hamilton Spectator from 1846 to 1899
[missing July 1876 to October 1877]
Hamilton Evening Times
February 17, 1859 to December 30, 1869
Newspapers of the Western Gore
1831 to 1859
Gore Gazette
March 2, 1827 to June 8, 1829
Hamilton Express & Free Press, 1836
Hamilton Journal & Gore District Mercantile & Agricultural Intelligencer, 1839
Hamilton Express & Political & Commercial Journal, 1839
Journal & Express, 1841 to 1853
Birth, Marriage & Death Records
929.3 OGS
November 1854 to July 1857
Central Presbyterian Church
Baptismal Registers
Microfilm 539
1842 to 1877
1877 to 1954
